As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 19, 2019

Securities Act File No. 333-231722

Investment Company Act File No. 811-23445

 

 

 

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form N-2

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 

  REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
  Pre-Effective Amendment No.1
  Post-Effective Amendment No.     
    and
  REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940
  Amendment No.1

 

 

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Declaration of Trust

 

 

333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606

Address of Principal Executive Offices (Number, Street, City, State, Zip Code)

(800) 257-8787

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code

Gifford R. Zimmerman

Vice President and Secretary

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, Illinois 60606

Name and Address (Number, Street, City, State, Zip Code) of Agent for Service.

 

 

Copies of Communications to:

 

David P. Glatz   Eric F. Fess
Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP

191 N. Wacker Drive, Ste. 1601

Chicago, Illinois 60606

  Chapman and Cutler LLP

111 W. Monroe

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering:

As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

 

 

If any of the securities being registered on this form are offered on a delayed or continuous basis in reliance on Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered in connection with a dividend reinvestment plan, check the following box. ☒

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)

☐ when declared effective pursuant to section 8(c)

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

 

Title of Securities
Being Registered
   Amount Being
Registered
     Proposed
Maximum
Offering Price
Per Unit
     Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price(1)
     Amount of
Registration
Fee(2)
 
Common Shares, $0.01 par value      100,000      $ 10.00      $ 1,000,000      $ 121.20  

 

(1)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee.

(2)

Previously paid.

The registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that the Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.


THE INFORMATION IN THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT COMPLETE AND MAY BE CHANGED. WE MAY NOT SELL THESE SECURITIES UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IS EFFECTIVE. THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES AND WE ARE NOT SOLICITING OFFERS TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION WHERE THE OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.

 

Preliminary Prospectus dated December 19, 2019

Subject to Completion

 

LOGO

 

Interval Fund

 

2019

 

 

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

Common Shares

 

      Institutional Class        
Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund   

[Ticker]

The Fund. Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund (the “Fund”) is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that continuously offers its common shares of beneficial interest (the “Common Shares”) and is operated as an “interval fund.” The Fund currently offers one class of Common Shares: Institutional Class. The Fund may offer additional classes of Common Shares in the future.

Investment Objectives. The Fund’s primary investment objective is attractive total return and its secondary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. However, there can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve either of its investment objectives or that the Fund’s investment strategies will be successful.

Fund Strategies and Policies. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objectives by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its Assets (as defined on page         ) in municipal securities and other related investments, the income from which is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. The Fund’s portfolio will be actively managed to identify and capitalize on special situations municipal securities (as described below) that offer favorable risk/reward potential. The Fund may invest up to 60% of its Managed Assets (as defined on page         ) in special situations municipal securities, which are securities

 

   

that are in distressed financial or operating circumstances, in default or in an active workout;

 

   

whose issuers are in bankruptcy; or

 

   

that present uncertainties or complex features that could render them unsuitable for certain investors.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 65% of its Assets in low- to medium-quality municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated BBB/Baa or lower or are unrated but judged by the subadviser to be of comparable quality. Low- to medium-quality municipal securities include below investment grade securities (or “junk bonds”). Below investment grade securities (securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower) are regarded as having

 

(continued on following page)

 

The date of this prospectus is                                         , 2019.

Prospectus


Fund Strategies.

(continued from previous page)

 

predominately speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay principal, which implies higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade instruments of comparable terms and duration. The Fund may invest up to 80% of its Managed Assets in below investment grade securities. Additionally, the Fund will invest at least 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated investment grade (securities rated BBB/Baa or higher) or are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by the subadviser, and may invest up to 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities, the income from which is subject to regular U.S. federal income taxes.

The subadviser uses a research-driven approach that seeks attractive total return by identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in special situations municipal securities. The Fund invests in below investment grade bonds as well as special situations municipal securities that the subadviser believes may offer the potential for attractive total returns, even after taking into account the significant risk (relative to higher quality securities) that these securities typically present. Special situations municipal securities, in particular, may offer illiquidity and complexity premiums, which in turn may create significant investment opportunity for the Fund. Illiquidity and complexity are notably two fundamental characteristics of special situations municipal securities that distinguish them from more traditional municipal investments. The ability to extract illiquidity and complexity premiums from special situations investments requires significant scale and credit research resources. The portfolio team believes its credit and workout expertise and capacity to negotiate security structure improvements over time, especially as it pertains to issuers in distress and/or bankruptcy, is essential to achieving the Fund’s investment objectives. Further, the portfolio team believes that the Fund’s “interval” structure (which as a fundamental policy limits both the amount and frequency of its Repurchase Offers) provides the flexibility to utilize its deep credit expertise to manage and realize the long-term value of special situations municipal securities.

Leverage. The Fund anticipates using leverage to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may use leverage to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940. If current market conditions persist, the Fund intends initially to obtain leverage through either the issuance of preferred shares of beneficial interest, or investments in inverse floating rate securities, which represent leveraged investments in underlying bonds, or a combination of both. If current market conditions persist, the Fund anticipates using leverage obtained by issuing preferred shares or investing in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, in an aggregate amount equal to approximately 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets. The Fund may reduce or increase the amount of leverage based upon changes in market conditions and composition of the Fund’s holdings. The Fund’s leverage ratio will vary from time to time based upon such changes in the amount of leverage used, variations in the value of the Fund’s holdings and the levels of common share subscription and repurchase offer activity related to the Fund’s continuously offered interval fund structure. In addition, the Fund may use derivatives that have the economic effect of leverage. The use of leverage creates special risks for holders of Common Shares (“Common Shareholders”). See “Leverage,” “Special Risk Considerations—Fund Level Risks—Leverage Risk” and “—Portfolio Level Risks—Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk.” There is no assurance that the Fund will use leverage or that the Fund’s use of leverage will work as planned or achieve its goals.

Repurchase Offers. In order to provide liquidity to Common Shareholders, the Fund has adopted a fundamental investment policy to make quarterly offers to repurchase between 5% and 25% of its outstanding Common Shares at net asset value, reduced by any applicable repurchase fee. Subject to applicable law and approval of the Fund’s Board of Trustees, for each quarterly repurchase offer, the Fund currently expects to offer to repurchase 5% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares at net asset value. If the value of Common Shares tendered for repurchase exceeds the value the Fund intended to repurchase, the Fund may determine to repurchase less than the full number of Common Shares tendered. In such event, Common Shareholders will have their Common Shares repurchased on a pro rata basis, and tendering shareholders will not have all of their tendered Common Shares repurchased by the Fund. The Fund expects the first repurchase request deadline to occur no later than six months after the initial effective date of this registration statement. See “Periodic Repurchase Offers” and “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Repurchase Offers Risk.”

Fund Distributions. The Fund currently intends to declare dividends daily, and pay such dividends monthly, usually on the first business day of the month. The Fund also intends to declare and pay any capital gains or other taxable distributions once a year at year end. See “Distributions.”

Purchasing Institutional Class Shares. Only certain investors are eligible to purchase Institutional Class Common Shares. See “Plan of Distribution—Share Classes.” The minimum initial investment for Institutional Class Common Shares is $1,000,000 per account, except that the minimum investment amount may be modified for certain eligible investors. See “Purchase of Institutional Class Common Shares by Eligible Investors” in the Statement of Additional Information for details. The minimum subsequent investment amount will be $2,500. See “Plan of Distribution—Purchasing Shares.”

 

(notes continued on following page)

 

Prospectus


      Price to Public(1)      Sales Load      Proceeds to the Fund(2)  
Per Institutional Class Share      $10.00        None        $                  
Maximum Offering(3)      $10.00        None        $                  
(1)

The Common Shares are offered on a best efforts basis. No escrow arrangements have been established in connection with the initial offering period. It is estimated that the net proceeds of the initial offering will be invested over a period of three months or less, subject to market conditions.

 

(2)

Nuveen Fund Advisors has agreed to (i) reimburse all organization expenses of the Fund (approximately $16,000) and (ii) pay the Fund’s initial offering costs. Based on an estimated initial offering size of $100,000,000 (approximately 10,000,000 Common shares), Nuveen Fund Advisors would pay all initial offering costs, which is currently estimated to be $            . The Fund is not obligated to repay any such organization expense or initial offering costs paid by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

 

(3)

Assumes sale of all Institutional Class Common Shares currently registered at the Price to the Public. There is no assurance that the Fund will raise such amount.

 

   

The Fund’s Common Shares are not listed for trading on any national securities exchange. The Fund’s Common Shares have no trading market and no market is expected to develop.

 

   

An investment in the Fund is not suitable for investors who need certainty about their ability to access all of the money they invest in the short term.

 

   

Even though the Fund will make periodic repurchase offers for its outstanding Common Shares, subject to the limitations described herein, investors should consider Common Shares of the Fund to be an illiquid investment.

 

   

There is no guarantee that you will be able to sell your Common Shares at any given time or in the quantity that you desire.

 

   

There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to make any distributions or maintain a certain level of distributions to Common Shareholders.

This prospectus sets forth concisely information about the Fund that a prospective investor should know before investing, and should be retained for future reference. Investing in the Fund’s Common Shares involves certain risks. The Fund’s anticipated exposure to special situations municipal securities and below investment grade quality securities (or junk bonds) involves special risks, including an increased risk with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest, dividends and repay principal. You could lose some or all of your investment. See “Risks” beginning on page      of this prospectus. Certain of these risks are summarized in “Prospectus Summary—Special Risk Considerations” beginning on page      of this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the SEC, paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will not be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Fund’s website (www.nuveen.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report. If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically anytime by contacting your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer or bank, through which you hold your Common Shares or, if you are a direct investor, by enrolling at www.nuveen.com/e-reports. Shareholders may at any time elect to receive paper copies of the shareholder reports without charge by contacting your financial intermediary or by contacting Nuveen Investor Services by calling (833) 688-3368 or by writing to 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606; or, if you are a direct investor, by enrolling at www.nuveen.com/e-reports. You may elect to receive all future shareholder reports in paper free of charge at any time by contacting your financial intermediary or, if you are a direct investor, by calling (833) 688-3368. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account with your financial intermediary or, if you are a direct investor, to all your directly held Nuveen funds and any other directly held funds within the same group of related investment companies.

You should read this prospectus, which contains important information about the Fund, before deciding whether to invest, and retain it for future reference. A Statement of Additional Information, dated             , 2019, as amended or supplemented through the effective date of this prospectus, containing additional information about the Fund, has been filed with the SEC and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into this prospectus. You may request a free copy of the Statement of Additional Information, the table of contents of which is on page      of this prospectus, annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, when available, and other information about the Fund, and make shareholder inquiries by calling (833) 688-3368 or by writing to the Fund, or from the Fund’s website (www.nuveen.com). The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Fund’s website is not part of this prospectus. You also may obtain a copy of the Statement of Additional Information (and other information regarding the Fund) from the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov).

 

Prospectus


Table of Contents

 

Prospectus Summary      1  
Summary of Fund Expenses    17  
Financial Highlights    18  
The Fund    18  
Use of Proceeds    18  
The Fund’s Investments    19  
Portfolio Composition and Other Information    22  
Leverage    31  
Risks    34  
Management of the Fund    49  
Net Asset Value    52  
Distributions    53  
Dividend Payments and Reinvestment Options    54  
Description of Shares and Debt    55  
Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and
By-Laws
   59  
Conversion to Open-End Fund    60  
Tax Matters    61  

Plan of Distribution

   64  

Periodic Repurchase Offers

   67  
Distributor, Custodian and Transfer Agent    70  
Legal Opinions and Experts    70  
Table of Contents for the Statement of Additional
Information
   71  

The Fund’s Common Shares do not represent a deposit or obligation of, and are not guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. The Fund has not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. The Fund is not making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus. The Fund’s business, financial condition and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

NOT FDIC OR GOVERNMENT INSURED     MAY LOSE VALUE     NO BANK GUARANTEE


Prospectus Summary

This is only a summary. You should review the more detailed information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) prior to making an investment in the Fund, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risks.”

The Fund

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund (the “Fund”) is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that continuously offers its common shares of beneficial interest (“Common Shares”) and is operated as an “interval fund.” The Fund currently offers one class of Common Shares: Institutional Class. The Fund may offer additional classes of Common Shares in the future pursuant to exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

The Offering

The Institutional Class Common Shares are being offered initially at an offering price of $10.00 per share. The minimum initial investment for Institutional Class Common Shares is $1,000,000 per account, except that the minimum investment amount may be modified for certain eligible investors. See “Plan of Distribution” in this Prospectus and “Purchase of Institutional Class Common Shares by Eligible Investors” in the SAI for details. The minimum subsequent investment amount will be $2,500. Following this initial offering, Institutional Class Common Shares are expected to be offered on a continuous basis at net asset value (“NAV”) per share. If additional classes of Common Shares are offered by the Fund, those additional classes of Common Shares would be expected to be offered on a continuous basis at NAV per share, plus an initial sales charge, unless you are eligible for a waiver. The initial sales charge will vary depending upon the size of your purchase. Proceeds from the offering will be held by the Fund’s custodian. In this prospectus, we refer to holders of Common Shares as “Common Shareholders.”

Common Shares are being offered through Nuveen Securities, LLC (the “Distributor”), on a best efforts basis. For additional information regarding Institutional Class Common Shares please see “Plan of Distribution—Share Classes” in this prospectus. The Fund reserves the right to reject a purchase order for any reason. Common Shareholders will not have the right to redeem their Common Shares. However, as described below, in order to provide some liquidity to Common Shareholders, the Fund will conduct periodic repurchase offers for a portion of its outstanding Common Shares. Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser (“Nuveen Fund Advisors”), will pay all organizational expenses and initial offering costs of the Fund.

Periodic Repurchase Offers; Unlisted Shares

In order to provide liquidity to Common Shareholders, the Fund has adopted a fundamental investment policy, which may only be changed by a majority vote of shareholders, to make quarterly offers to repurchase between 5% and 25% of its outstanding Common Shares at NAV, reduced by any applicable repurchase fee. Subject to applicable law and approval of the Board of Trustees of the Fund (the “Board of Trustees”), for each quarterly repurchase offer, the Fund currently expects to offer to repurchase 5% of the outstanding Common Shares at NAV. Written notification of each quarterly repurchase offer (the “Repurchase Offer Notice”) will be sent to Common Shareholders at least 21 calendar days before the repurchase request deadline (i.e., the date by which Common Shareholders can tender their Common Shares in response to a repurchase offer) (the “Repurchase Request Deadline”).

The Common Shares are not listed on any securities exchange, and the Fund anticipates that no secondary market will develop for its Common Shares. Accordingly, you may not be able to sell Common Shares when and/or in the amount that you desire. Investors should consider Common Shares to be an illiquid investment. In addition, the Fund’s repurchase offers may subject the Fund and Common Shareholders to special risks. See “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Repurchase Offers Risk.”

The Fund does not currently expect to charge a repurchase fee. However, the Fund may charge a repurchase fee of up to 2.00% of the repurchase proceeds, which the Fund would retain to help offset non-de minimis estimated costs related to the repurchase incurred by the Fund, directly or indirectly, as a result of repurchasing Common Shares, thus allocating estimated transaction costs to the Common Shareholder whose Common Shares are being repurchased. The Fund may introduce, or modify the amount of, a repurchase fee at any time. The Fund may also waive or reduce the repurchase fee if Nuveen Fund Advisors determines that the repurchase is offset by a corresponding purchase or if for other reasons the Fund will not incur transaction costs or will incur reduced transaction costs.


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

1


Who May Want to Invest

You should consider your financial situation and needs, other investments, investment goals, investment experience, time horizons, liquidity needs and risk tolerance before investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not appropriate for all investors and is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the Fund is not suitable for investors who need certainty about their ability to access all of the money they invest in the short term. Even though the Fund will make periodic repurchase offers for its outstanding Common Shares, as described above, investors should consider the Common Shares to be an illiquid investment. The Fund may be appropriate for investors who are seeking the following features and potential benefits:

 

   

attractive total returns through access to special situations municipal securities, which are primarily high yielding, low- to medium-quality securities (as described below);

 

   

attractive monthly income exempt from U.S. federal income tax; and

 

   

access to the deep credit focus and workout expertise managing illiquid special situations securities of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC, the Fund’s subadviser (“Nuveen Asset Management”).

However, keep in mind that you will need to assume the risks associated with an investment in the Fund. See “Risks.”

Investment Objectives

The Fund’s primary investment objective is attractive total return and its secondary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. However, there can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve either of its investment objectives or that the Fund’s investment strategies will be successful. See “The Fund’s Investments” and “Risks.”

Fund Strategies

Nuveen Asset Management uses a research-driven approach that seeks attractive total return by identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in special situations municipal securities. The Fund invests in below investment grade bonds as well as special situations municipal securities that Nuveen Asset Management believes may offer the potential for attractive total returns, even after taking into account the significant risk (relative to higher quality securities) that these securities typically present. Special situations municipal securities, in particular, may offer illiquidity and complexity premiums, which in turn may create significant investment opportunity for the Fund. Illiquidity and complexity are notably two fundamental characteristics of special situations municipal securities that distinguish them from more traditional municipal investments. The ability to extract illiquidity and complexity premiums from special situations investments requires significant scale and credit research resources. The portfolio team believes its credit and workout expertise and capacity to negotiate security structure improvements over time, especially as it pertains to issuers in distress and/or bankruptcy, is essential to achieving the Fund’s investment objectives. Further, the portfolio team believes that the Fund’s “interval” structure (which as a fundamental policy limits both the amount and frequency of its Repurchase Offers) provides the flexibility to utilize its deep credit expertise to manage and realize the long-term value of special situations municipal securities.

Portfolio Contents

The Fund will invest its assets in a portfolio of municipal securities. Municipal securities include municipal bonds, notes, securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, certificates of participation, variable rate demand obligations, lease obligations, municipal notes, pre-refunded municipal bonds, private activity bonds, securities issued by tender option bond trusts, including inverse floating rate securities, and other forms of municipal bonds and securities, and other related instruments that create exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax.

Municipal Securities. Municipal securities are debt obligations generally issued by states, cities and local authorities and certain possessions and territories of the United States (such as Puerto Rico and Guam) to finance or refinance public purpose projects such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance and refinance privately owned facilities, such as housing, medical and educational construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects deemed to serve a public purpose. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide long-term financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments and mortgage payments. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of long-term debt.


 

2

Prospectus Summary


Municipal securities may be issued and purchased in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms including fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds or inverse floating rate securities; or acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships or other investment companies. Inverse floating rate securities are securities that pay interest at rates that vary inversely with changes in prevailing short-term tax exempt interest rates and represent a leveraged investment in an underlying municipal security, which may increase the leverage of the Fund.

The market value of a municipal security will generally depend upon its form, maturity, call features and interest rate, as well as the credit quality or credit rating of the issuer, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends.

Most municipal securities generate income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. The Fund may also invest in municipal securities that are taxable. Although municipal bonds issued to finance activities with a broad public purpose are generally exempt from federal income tax, taxable municipal bonds are issued to finance activities with less significant benefits to the public, such as the construction of sports facilities, and as such the interest paid to holders of such bonds is taxable as ordinary income. Many taxable municipal bonds offer yields comparable to those of other taxable bonds, such as corporate and agency bonds. Taxable municipal bonds may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and pay interest based on fixed or floating rate coupons. Maturities may range from long-term to short-term.

The Fund may also invest in “AMT Bonds”, which are municipal securities that pay interest that is taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to noncorporate taxpayers.

The Fund may invest in “tobacco settlement bonds.” Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are secured or payable solely from the collateralization of the proceeds from class action or other litigation against the tobacco industry. Investments in tobacco settlement bonds are subject to risks. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Tobacco Settlement Bond Risk” below.

Special Situations Municipal Securities. The Fund may invest in special situations municipal securities. Special situations municipal securities are those:

 

   

that are in distressed financial or operating circumstances, in default or in an active workout;

 

   

whose issuers are in bankruptcy; or

 

   

that present uncertainties or complex features that could render them undesirable for certain investors.

The Fund expects that over time a substantial portion of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in special situations municipal securities, and that such investments are an important component of the Fund’s investment strategy in pursuit of its investment objectives. The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk” below.

Directly Originated Securities. The Fund may invest in directly originated securities. Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which it invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the education sector include charter schools, student housing and other education subsectors, including, for example, private schools, parochial schools and vocational and technical schools. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the healthcare sector include issuers in the senior care and housing, hospitals and providers and other healthcare subsectors, including, for example, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. The Fund may invest in municipal-related securities of private issuers in the industrial and infrastructure sectors as well as in municipal-related securities of general nonprofit organizations, human services providers and issuers in the non-student and non-senior housing subsectors. In addition, the Fund may invest in municipal-related securities issued by or on behalf of public authorities to finance or refinance privately owned or operated facilities, including in respect of electric energy or gas, sewage, solid waste disposal and other specialized facilities. Other private activity securities, the proceeds of which may be used for, as an example, the construction, equipment or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal-related securities, but current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

3


See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information” for additional information on the types of securities in which the Fund may invest.

Derivatives. The Fund also may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. Nuveen Asset Management may use derivative instruments to attempt to hedge some of the risk of the Fund’s investments or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Derivatives.”

Investment Policies

As a fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its Assets (as defined below) in municipal securities and other related investments, the income from which is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. As a non-fundamental investment policy subject to change by the Board of Trustees upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 65% of its Assets in low- to medium-quality municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated BBB/Baa or lower or are unrated but judged by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality. Low- to medium-quality municipal securities include below investment grade securities (or “junk bonds”). Below investment grade securities (securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower) are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay principal, which implies higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade instruments of comparable terms and duration.

Under normal circumstances the Fund also will invest subject to the following non-fundamental policies:

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 60% of its Managed Assets in special situations municipal securities;

 

   

The Fund will invest at least 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated investment grade (rated BBB/Baa or higher) or are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by Nuveen Asset Management;

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 80% of its Managed Assets in below investment grade securities (as described below);

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities, the income from which is subject to regular U.S. federal income taxes (“taxable municipal securities”);

 

   

The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its Managed Assets in any one issuer;

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 10% of its Managed Assets in directly originated securities; and

 

   

The Fund will not invest in common equity securities. This policy does not apply to shares of other investment companies or to common equity securities acquired in connection with a workout of an issuer of a debt security as discussed below.

The foregoing policies apply only at the time of any new investment.

 

“Assets” means net assets of the Fund plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes. “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating leverage). Total assets for this purpose shall include assets attributable to the Fund’s use of leverage (whether or not those assets are reflected in the Fund’s financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles), and derivatives will be valued at their market value.

Below investment grade securities are generally securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower at the time of investment. For purposes of the investment limitations in this prospectus, a security’s rating is determined using the lowest rating of Moody’s Investor Services, Inc. (“Moody’s”), Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC business (“Standard & Poor’s” or “S&P”) and Fitch Ratings, a part of the Fitch Group (“Fitch”) if all three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) rate the security. If ratings are provided by only two of those NRSROs, the lower rating is used to determine the rating. If only one of those NRSROs provides a rating, that rating is used. If a security is not rated by any NRSRO, the rating determined by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality is used.

Investment rating limitations are considered to apply only at the time of investment and will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an acquisition of securities.


 

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Prospectus Summary


The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in below investment grade municipal securities or securities that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by Nuveen Asset Management may vary over time, and may fluctuate significantly over time.

Nuveen Asset Management may determine that it is in the best interest of shareholders to pursue a workout arrangement with respect to a defaulted security, which may involve making loans to the issuer or another party, or purchasing an equity or other interest from the issuer or another party, or other related or similar steps involving the investment of additional monies.

For temporary defensive purposes, during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, or the time periods during which the Fund conducts periodic repurchase offers (i.e., the time commencing on the date that the Repurchase Offer Notice is made available to Common Shareholders and ending on the date that will be used to determine the Fund’s NAV applicable to the repurchase offer (this period is referred to herein as a “Repurchase Offer Period”)), the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality short-term debt securities. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when Nuveen Asset Management believes the instruments in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors, in the event that unanticipated legal or regulatory developments interfere with implementation of the Fund’s principal investment strategies, and in other extraordinary circumstances. For a more complete discussion of the Fund’s portfolio composition, see “The Fund’s Investments.”

See “The Fund’s Investments—Investment Objectives” and “—Investment Policies” for additional information regarding the Fund’s investment objectives and policies.

Leverage

The Fund anticipates using leverage to seek to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may use leverage to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). If current market conditions persist, the Fund intends initially to obtain leverage through either the issuance of preferred shares of beneficial interest (“Preferred Shares”), which have seniority over the Common Shares, or investments in residual interest certificates of tender option bond trusts, also called inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of leverage because the Fund’s investment exposure to the underlying bonds held by the trust have been effectively financed by the trust’s issuance of floating rate certificates, or a combination of both. If current market conditions persist, the Fund anticipates using leverage obtained by issuing preferred shares or investing in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, in an aggregate amount equal to approximately 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets.

The Fund does not intend to issue Preferred Shares until after the proceeds of the initial offering have been substantially invested in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives.

The Fund may source leverage through a number of methods including the issuance of Preferred Shares, issuance of debt securities, borrowings, entering into reverse repurchase agreements (effectively a borrowing), and investing in inverse floating rate securities. In addition, the Fund may use derivatives such as financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments that may have the economic effect of leverage. See “Leverage” and “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Derivatives.”

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. Selling a portfolio security and agreeing to buy it back under a reverse repurchase agreement is economically equivalent to borrowing. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk.”

The Fund may reduce or increase the amount of leverage based upon changes in market conditions and the composition of the Fund’s holdings. The Fund’s leverage ratio will vary from time to time based upon such changes in the amount of leverage used, variations in the value of the Fund’s holdings and the levels of Common Share subscription and repurchase offer activity related to the Fund’s continuously offered interval fund structure. So long as the net income received on the Fund’s investments purchased with leverage proceeds exceeds the then current expense on any leverage, the investment of leverage proceeds will generate more net income than if the Fund had not used leverage. Under these circumstances, the excess net income will be available to pay higher distributions to Common Shareholders. However, if the net income received from the Fund’s portfolio investments purchased with leverage is less than the then current expense on outstanding


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

5


leverage, the Fund may be required to utilize other Fund assets to make expense payments on outstanding leverage, which may result in a decline in Common Share NAV and reduced net investment income available for distribution to Common Shareholders.

The Fund pays a management fee to Nuveen Fund Advisors (which in turn pays a portion of such fee to Nuveen Asset Management) based on a percentage of Managed Assets. Managed Assets include the proceeds realized and managed from the Fund’s use of most types of leverage (excluding the leverage exposure attributable to the use of futures, swaps and similar derivatives). Because Managed Assets include the Fund’s net assets as well as assets that are attributable to the Fund’s investment of the proceeds of its leverage, it is anticipated that the Fund’s Managed Assets will be greater than its net assets. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will be responsible for using leverage to pursue the Fund’s investment objectives. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will base their decision regarding whether and how much leverage to use for the Fund, and the terms of that leverage, on their assessment of whether such use of leverage is in the best interests of the Fund. However, a decision to employ or increase leverage will have the effect, all other things being equal, of increasing Managed Assets and therefore Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s fees. Thus, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management may have a conflict of interest in determining whether to use or increase leverage. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will seek to manage that potential conflict by recommending to the Board of Trustees to leverage the Fund (or increase such leverage) only when they determine that such action would be in the best interests of the Fund, and by periodically reviewing with the Board of Trustees the Fund’s performance and the impact of the use of leverage on that performance.

The Fund may borrow for temporary purposes as permitted by the 1940 Act.

The use of leverage creates additional risks for Common Shareholders, including increased variability of the Fund’s NAV, net income and distributions in relation to market changes. See “Leverage” and “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Leverage Risk” and “—Portfolio Level Risks—Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk.” There is no assurance that the Fund will use leverage. The Fund’s use of leverage may not work as planned or achieve its goals.

Distributions

Commencing with the Fund’s first dividend, the Fund currently intends to declare dividends daily and pay such dividends monthly, usually on the first business day of the month. Your account will begin to accrue dividends on the business day after the day when the monies used to purchase your Common Shares are collected by the transfer agent. The distribution paid by the Fund for any particular monthly period may be more or less than the amount of net income actually earned by the Fund during such period, and any such under- (or over-) distribution of income is reflected in the Fund’s NAV. This policy is designed to result in the distribution of substantially all of the Fund’s net income over time. The Fund declares and pays any capital gains or other taxable distributions once a year at year end.

The Fund will continue to pay at least the percentage of its net investment income and any gains necessary to maintain its status as a regulated investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

 

The Fund reserves the right to change its distribution policy and the basis for establishing the rate of its monthly distributions at any time upon notice to Common Shareholders, upon a determination by the Board of Trustees that such change is in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders.

Automatic Reinvestment

The Fund automatically reinvests your dividends in additional Fund shares unless you request otherwise. You may request to have your dividends paid to you by check, sent via electronic funds transfer through Automated Clearing House network. For further information, contact your financial advisor or call Nuveen Investor Services at (800) 257-8787. If you request that your distributions be paid by check but those distributions cannot be delivered because of an incorrect mailing address, or if a distribution check remains uncashed for six months, the undelivered or uncashed distributions and all future distributions will be reinvested in Fund shares at the current net asset value. See “Dividend Payments and Reinvestment Options” for more information.

Investment Adviser and Subadviser

Investment Adviser. Nuveen Fund Advisors is the Fund’s investment adviser, responsible for overseeing the Fund’s overall investment strategy and its implementation.


 

6

Prospectus Summary


Nuveen Fund Advisors offers advisory and investment management services to a broad range of investment company clients. Nuveen Fund Advisors has overall responsibility for management of the Fund, oversees the management of the Fund’s portfolio, manages the Fund’s business affairs and provides certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. Nuveen Fund Advisors is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Nuveen Fund Advisors is an indirect subsidiary of 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. As of September 30, 2019, Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”) managed approximately $1.03 trillion in assets, of which approximately $152.6 billion was managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

Subadviser. Nuveen Asset Management, a registered investment adviser, is the Fund’s subadviser responsible for investing the Fund’s Managed Assets. Nuveen Asset Management is a subsidiary of Nuveen Fund Advisors.

Management Fees. The Fund will pay Nuveen Fund Advisors an annual management fee, payable monthly in arrears, in a maximum amount equal to 1.25% of the Fund’s average daily Managed Assets. This maximum fee is equal to the sum of two components—a “fund-level fee,” based only on the amount of assets within the Fund, and a “complex-level fee,” based upon the aggregate amount of all eligible assets of all Nuveen Funds (as described in “Management of the Fund—Investment Management and Subadvisory Agreements—Complex-Level Fee”). The fund-level fee is 1.05% of the Fund’s average daily Managed Assets. The complex-level fee begins at a maximum of 0.2000% of average daily Managed Assets, based upon complex-wide eligible assets of $55 billion, with lower fees for eligible assets above that level. For more information, see “Management of the Fund—Investment Management and Subadvisory Agreements.” Based on eligible assets as of September 30, 2019, the complex-level fee would be 0.1570% of Managed Assets, and the total fee to Nuveen Fund Advisors would be 1.2177% of Managed Assets.

Pursuant to an investment subadvisory agreement between Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management, Nuveen Fund Advisors will pay Nuveen Asset Management a portfolio management fee equal to 50% of the investment management fee paid on the Fund’s average daily Managed Assets. Nuveen Asset Management will be responsible for investing the Fund’s Managed Assets. The amount of fees paid to Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will be higher if the Fund utilizes leverage because the fees will be calculated based on the Fund’s Managed Assets—this may create an incentive for Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management to seek to use leverage.

For more information on fees and expenses, including fees attributable to Common Shares, see “Summary of Fund Expenses” and “Management of the Fund.”

Distributor, Custodian and Transfer Agent

Nuveen Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management, will serve as the Fund’s principal underwriter and distributor. State Street Bank and Trust Company will serve as the Fund’s custodian, and DST Systems, Inc. will serve as the transfer agent. See “Distributor, Custodian and Transfer Agent.”

Investor Suitability

An investment in the Fund involves a considerable amount of risk. It is possible that you will lose money. An investment in the Fund is suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with the limited liquidity of the Common Shares and should be viewed as a long-term investment. Before making your investment decision, you should (i) consider the suitability of this investment with respect to your investment objectives and personal financial situation and (ii) consider factors such as your personal net worth, income, age, risk tolerance and liquidity needs.

Special Risk Considerations

Investment in the Fund involves special risk considerations, which are summarized below. The risks have been divided into (i) Portfolio Level Risks, (ii) Fund Level Risks, and (iii) Other Risks. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program. See “Risks” for a more complete discussion of the special risk considerations of an investment in the Fund.

Portfolio Level Risks

Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk—The availability of special situations municipal securities that present attractive investment opportunities has historically been sporadic and may in the future be rare or at times non-existent. As such, the portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities


 

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7


may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. At times when the portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities is low, due to lack of availability of special situations municipal securities or otherwise, that low level exposure to such securities may impede the Fund’s ability to fully pursue its investment objectives.

Special situations municipal securities present both unusual opportunities and challenges. The ability of the Fund to capitalize on its investments in special situations municipal securities will be dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, Nuveen Asset Management’s ability (1) to select special situations municipal securities to invest in that have good prospects for improving their creditworthiness over time, or otherwise experiencing price improvement; (2) to manage the various special situations municipal securities’ credits through the recovery process, including workouts, buyouts and bankruptcies; (3) to buy attractively-priced special situations municipal securities that have the potential to appreciate significantly in value or minimize losses, depending on market conditions; and (4) to liquidate its investments in special situations municipal securities, either by selling such securities to other investors at attractive prices, or by receiving cash, securities or other assets of value after and as a result of a workout or the issuer’s emergence from bankruptcy.

Nuveen Asset Management’s ability to succeed in these efforts will require skills and techniques that are different from or in addition to the skills and techniques used by a typical municipal investment manager. There is no assurance that Nuveen Asset Management will succeed in its efforts, or that market circumstances will end up being favorable to deriving outsized returns from investments in special situations municipal securities.

Municipal Securities Market Risk—The amount of public information available about the municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds, and the investment performance of the Fund may therefore be more dependent on the analytical abilities of Nuveen Asset Management than if the Fund were a stock fund or taxable bond fund. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly the below investment grade municipal securities in which the Fund may invest, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to sell its municipal securities at attractive prices. In addition, the market for below investment grade municipal securities has experienced in the past, and may experience in the future, periods of significant volatility, which could negatively impact the value of the municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio.

Directly Originated Securities Risk—Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which the Fund invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. The Fund expects that these directly originated securities will have limited trading markets and therefore will tend to be less liquid than securities rated investment grade. This may make it difficult for the Fund to value the directly originated securities in which it invests. In addition, the Fund will likely be able to sell such directly originated securities only in private transactions with another investor or group of investors, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to successfully arrange such transactions if and when the Fund desires to sell any of its directly originated securities or, if successfully arranged, that the Fund will be able to obtain favorable values upon the sale of its directly originated securities in such transactions.

Issuer Credit Risk—Issuers of municipal securities in which the Fund may invest may default on their obligations to pay principal or interest when due. This non-payment would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a reduction in the value of a municipal security experiencing non-payment and, potentially, a decrease in the NAV of the Fund. To the extent that the credit rating assigned to a municipal security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

Below Investment Grade Risk—Securities of below investment grade quality are regarded as having speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal, and may be subject to higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade securities of comparable terms and duration. Issuers of lower grade securities may be highly leveraged and may not have available to them more traditional methods of financing. The prices of these lower grade securities are typically more sensitive to negative developments, such as a decline in the issuer’s revenues or a general economic downturn. The secondary market for lower rated securities may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated securities, a factor which may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to dispose of a particular security.

If a below investment grade security goes into default, or its issuer enters bankruptcy, it might be difficult to sell that security in a timely manner at a reasonable price.


 

8

Prospectus Summary


Interest Rate Risk—Generally, when market interest rates rise, bond prices fall, and vice versa. Interest rate risk is the risk that the municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline in value because of increases in market interest rates. As interest rates decline, issuers of municipal securities may prepay principal earlier than scheduled, forcing the Fund to reinvest in lower-yielding municipal securities and potentially reducing the Fund’s income. As interest rates increase, slower than expected principal payments may extend the average life of municipal securities, potentially locking in a below-market interest rate and reducing the Fund’s value. In typical market interest rate environments, the prices of longer-term municipal securities generally fluctuate more than prices of shorter-term municipal securities as interest rates change. The Federal Reserve recently raised the federal funds rate several times. Therefore, there is a risk that interest rates will rise, which will likely drive down bond prices.

Duration Risk—Duration is the sensitivity, expressed in years, of the price of a fixed-income security to changes in the general level of interest rates (or yields). Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate (or yield) changes, which typically corresponds to increased volatility and risk, than securities with shorter durations. For example, if a security or portfolio has a duration of three years and interest rates increase by 1%, then the security or portfolio would decline in value by approximately 3%. Duration differs from maturity in that it considers potential changes to interest rates, and a security’s coupon payments, yield, price and par value and call features, in addition to the amount of time until the security matures. The duration of a security will be expected to change over time with changes in market factors and time to maturity.

Call Risk—The Fund may invest in municipal securities that are subject to call risk. Such municipal securities may be redeemed at the option of the issuer, or “called,” before their stated maturity or redemption date. In general, an issuer will call its instruments if they can be refinanced by issuing new instruments which bear a lower interest rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call its high yielding municipal securities. The Fund would then be forced to invest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

Reinvestment Risk—Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund’s portfolio will decline if and when the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called municipal securities at market interest rates that are below the portfolio’s current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the Fund’s NAV and/or a Common Shareholder’s overall returns.

Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk—The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities. Typically, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust (sometimes called a “tender option bond trust”) formed for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Inverse Floating Rate Securities.” In general, income on inverse floating rate securities will decrease when short-term interest rates increase and increase when short-term interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floating rate securities may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal. In addition, inverse floating rate securities may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Fund’s investment. As a result, the market value of such securities generally will be more volatile than that of fixed rate securities.

The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund. In Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s discretion, the Fund may enter into a separate shortfall and forbearance agreement with the third party granting liquidity to the floating rate security holders of the special purpose trust. The Fund may enter into such recourse agreements (i) when the liquidity provider to the special purpose trust requires such an agreement because the level of leverage in the special purpose trust exceeds the level that the liquidity provider is willing to support absent such an agreement; and/or (ii) to seek to prevent the liquidity provider from collapsing the special purpose trust in the event that the municipal obligation held in the trust has declined in value. Such an agreement would require the Fund to reimburse the third party granting liquidity to the floating rate security holders of the special purpose trust, upon termination of the trust issuing the inverse floater, the difference between the liquidation value of the bonds held in the trust and the principal amount due to the holders of floating rate interests. In such instances, the Fund may be at risk of loss that exceeds its investment in the inverse floating rate securities.

The Fund’s investments in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund may be highly leveraged. The structure and degree to which the Fund’s inverse floating rate securities are highly leveraged will vary based upon a number of factors, including the size of the trust itself and the terms of the underlying municipal security. In the event of a significant decline in the value of an underlying security, the Fund may suffer losses in excess of the amount of its investment (up to an amount equal to the value of the


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

9


municipal securities underlying the inverse floating rate securities) as a result of liquidating special purpose trusts or other collateral required to maintain the Fund’s anticipated leverage ratio.

The Fund’s investment in inverse floating rate securities will create leverage, which will create an opportunity for increased Common Share net income and returns, but will also create the possibility that Common Share long-term returns will be diminished if the cost of leverage exceeds the return on the inverse floating rate securities purchased by the Fund. Inverse floating rate securities have varying degrees of liquidity based upon the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in a special purpose trust. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is more volatile than the underlying securities due to leverage. The leverage attributable to such inverse floating rate securities may be “called away” on relatively short notice and therefore may be less permanent than more traditional forms of leverage. In certain circumstances, the likelihood of an increase in the volatility of net asset value and market price of the Common Share may be greater for a fund (like the Fund) that relies primarily on inverse floating rate securities to achieve a desired leverage ratio. The Fund may be required to sell its inverse floating rate securities at less than favorable prices, or liquidate other Fund portfolio holdings in certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

   

If the Fund has a need for cash and the securities in a special purpose trust are not actively trading due to adverse market conditions; and

 

   

If the value of an underlying security declines significantly and if additional collateral has not been posted by the Fund.

See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk.”

Restricted and Illiquid Securities Risk—Illiquid securities are securities that are not readily marketable. These securities may include restricted securities, which cannot be resold to the public without an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), or, if they are unregistered, may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. The Fund may not be able to readily dispose of such securities at prices that approximate those at which the Fund could sell such securities if they were more widely traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Fund may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations. Limited liquidity can also affect the market price of securities, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV and ability to make dividend distributions. The financial markets in general have in recent years experienced periods of extreme secondary market supply and demand imbalance, resulting in a loss of liquidity during which market prices were suddenly and substantially below traditional measures of intrinsic value. During such periods, some securities could be sold only at arbitrary prices and with substantial losses. Periods of such market dislocation may occur again at any time.

Defaulted and Distressed Securities Risk—The Fund may invest in securities of an issuer that is in default or that is in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings at the time of purchase. In addition, the Fund may hold investments that at the time of purchase are not in default or involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, but may later become so. Moreover, the Fund may invest in securities either rated Caa/CCC or lower, or unrated but judged by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality. Some or many of these low-rated securities, although not in default, may be “distressed,” meaning that the issuer is experiencing financial difficulties or distress at the time of acquisition. Such securities would present a substantial risk of future default, which may cause the Fund to incur losses, including additional expenses, to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on those securities. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio security, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Defaulted or distressed securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.

Derivatives Risk—The Fund’s use of derivatives involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the investments underlying the derivatives. If the Fund enters into a derivative transaction, it could lose more than the principal amount invested.

The risks associated with derivatives transactions include (i) the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets, (ii) the possible default of the counterparty to the transaction, (iii) illiquidity of the derivative instruments, and (iv) high volatility losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited. In addition, as the protection seller in a credit default swap, the Fund effectively adds 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. Although


 

10

Prospectus Summary


both over-the-counter (“OTC”) and exchange-traded derivatives markets may experience a lack of liquidity, OTC non-standardized derivative transactions are generally less liquid than exchange-traded instruments. The illiquidity of the derivatives markets may be due to various factors, including congestion, disorderly markets, limitations on deliverable supplies, the participation of speculators, government regulation and intervention, and technical and operational or system failures. In addition, daily limits on price fluctuations and speculative position limits on exchanges on which the Fund may conduct its transactions in derivative instruments may prevent prompt liquidation of positions, subjecting the Fund to the potential of greater losses.

Whether the Fund’s use of derivatives is successful will depend on, among other things, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management correctly forecasting market circumstances, liquidity, market values, interest rates and other applicable factors. If Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management incorrectly forecast these and other factors, the investment performance of the Fund will be unfavorably affected. In addition, there can be no assurance that the derivatives investing techniques, as they may be developed and implemented by the Fund, will be successful in mitigating risk or achieving the Fund’s investment objectives. The use of derivatives to enhance returns may be particularly speculative.

The Fund may enter into various types of derivatives transactions, including financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts and other derivative instruments consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies. The use of derivatives is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. In addition, the use of derivatives requires an understanding by Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management of not only the referenced asset, rate or index, but also of the derivative itself. The derivatives market is subject to a changing regulatory environment. It is possible that regulatory or other developments in the derivatives market, including the SEC’s proposed rules on the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to successfully use derivative instruments. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Derivatives Risk,” “—Counterparty Risk,” “—Hedging Risk,” “—Taxability Risk,” and the SAI. Some derivatives involve specific risks. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Risk of Swaps and Swap Options” and “—Risk of Financial Futures and Options Transactions.”

Puerto Rico Municipal Securities Market Risk—To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or its political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities, or public corporations (collectively referred to in this prospectus as “Puerto Rico” or the “Commonwealth”), it will be disproportionally affected by political, social and economic conditions and developments in the Commonwealth. In addition, economic, political or regulatory changes in that territory could adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

Puerto Rico currently is experiencing significant fiscal and economic challenges, including substantial debt service obligations, high levels of unemployment, underfunded public retirement systems, and persistent government budget deficits. These challenges may negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments in Puerto Rican municipal securities. Major ratings agencies have downgraded the general obligation debt of Puerto Rico to below investment grade and continue to maintain a negative outlook for this debt, which increases the likelihood that the rating will be lowered further. In both August 2015 and January 2016, Puerto Rico defaulted on its debt by failing to make full payment due on its outstanding bonds, and there can be no assurance that Puerto Rico will be able to satisfy its future debt obligations. Further downgrades or defaults may place additional strain on the Puerto Rico economy and may negatively affect the value, liquidity, and volatility of the Fund’s investments in Puerto Rican municipal securities. Legislation, including legislation that would allow Puerto Rico to restructure its municipal debt obligations, thus increasing the risk that Puerto Rico may never pay off municipal indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed, could also impact the value of the Fund’s investments in Puerto Rican municipal securities.

These challenges and uncertainties have been exacerbated by Hurricane Maria and the resulting natural disaster in Puerto Rico. In September 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, causing major damage across the Commonwealth, including damage to its water, power, and telecommunications infrastructure. The length of time needed to rebuild Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is unclear, but could amount to years, during which the Commonwealth is likely to be in an uncertain economic state. The full extent of the natural disaster’s impact on Puerto Rico’s economy and foreign investment in Puerto Rico is difficult to estimate.

Puerto Rico’s political and economic conditions could have a negative impact on the liquidity or value of Puerto Rican municipal securities, and consequently may affect the Fund’s investments and its performance if the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in Puerto Rican municipal securities.


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

11


Hedging Risk—The Fund’s use of derivatives or other transactions to reduce risks involves costs and will be subject to Nuveen Asset Management’s ability to correctly predict changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Fund’s portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that Nuveen Asset Management’s judgment in this respect will be correct. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so.

Tax Risk—The Fund intends to elect to be treated and to qualify each year as a registered investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. As a RIC, the Fund is not expected to be subject to U.S. federal income tax if it complies with certain income, distribution and diversification requirements. If the Fund fails to qualify as a RIC, subject to certain cure provisions, the Fund would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the corporate income tax rate. The value of the Fund’s investments and its NAV may be adversely affected by changes in tax rates and rules. Because interest income from municipal securities is normally not subject to U.S. regular federal income taxation, the attractiveness of municipal securities in relation to other investment alternatives is affected by changes in federal income tax rates or changes in the tax exempt status of interest income from municipal securities. Additionally, the Fund is not a suitable investment for individual retirement accounts, for other tax exempt or tax-deferred accounts or for investors who are not sensitive to the federal income tax consequences of their investments. The Fund’s investment in AMT Bonds may trigger adverse tax consequences for Fund shareholders who are subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. If you are, or as a result of investment in the Fund would become, subject to the federal alternative minimum tax, the Fund may not be a suitable investment for you. In addition, distributions of taxable ordinary income (including any net short-term capital gain) will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (and not eligible for favorable taxation as “qualified dividend income”), and capital gain dividends will be taxable as long-term capital gains. Interest income on municipal securities also may be subject to state and local income taxes. See “Tax Matters.”

Taxability Risk—The Fund will invest in municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income under the regular U.S. federal income tax, and Nuveen Asset Management will not independently verify that opinion. Subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of such a municipal security, however, the security may be determined to pay, or to have paid, taxable income. In addition, the Fund’s investment in tender offer bonds (“TOBs”) includes the risk that the Fund might not be considered the owner for federal income tax purposes of the municipal obligations underlying a TOB and thus would not be permitted to treat income derived from the TOB as exempt from federal income taxes. Further, under some circumstances, the creation of a TOB could be considered a reissuance of the underlying municipal obligations, which might not satisfy the then current requirements for a tax-exempt obligation. As a result, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt-interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased federal income tax liabilities. Certain other investments made by the Fund, including derivatives transactions, may result in the receipt of taxable income or gains by the Fund.

Inflation Risk—Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Common Shares and distributions can decline.

Insurance Risk—The Fund may purchase municipal securities that are secured by insurance, bank credit agreements or escrow accounts. The credit quality of the companies that provide such credit enhancements will affect the value of those securities. Certain significant providers of insurance for municipal securities have in the past incurred significant losses as a result of exposure to sub-prime mortgages and other lower credit quality investments that have experienced recent defaults or otherwise suffered extreme credit deterioration. As a result, such losses reduced the insurers’ capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such insurance if they are called upon to do so in the future. While an insured municipal security will typically be deemed to have the rating of its insurer, if the insurer of a municipal security suffers a downgrade in its credit rating or the market discounts the value of the insurance provided by the insurer, the rating of the underlying municipal security will be more relevant and the value of the municipal security would more closely, if not entirely, reflect such rating. In such a case, the value of insurance associated with a municipal security would decline and may not add any value. The insurance feature of a municipal security does not guarantee the full payment of principal and interest through the life of an insured obligation, the market value of the insured obligation or the net asset value of the Common Shares represented by such insured obligation.

Debt Securities Risk—Issuers of debt instruments in which the Fund may invest may default on their obligations to pay principal or interest when due. This non-payment would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a


 

12

Prospectus Summary


reduction in the value of a debt instrument experiencing non-payment and, potentially, a decrease in the NAV of the Fund. There can be no assurance that liquidation of collateral would satisfy the issuer’s obligation in the event of non-payment of scheduled interest or principal or that such collateral could be readily liquidated. In the event of bankruptcy of an issuer, the Fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of any collateral securing a security. To the extent that the credit rating assigned to a security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

Tender Option Bond Regulatory Risk—The federal banking regulators, the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) in recent years have adopted rules and regulations that have impacted or may impact TOB trusts and securities issued by such trusts, including most notably the so-called “Volcker Rule”, added to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 with the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”). The Volcker Rule places certain restrictions on the ability of any “banking entity” to sponsor, acquire interests in and engage in certain activities with a TOB trust. As a result, certain activities to support the remarketing of floating rate certificates undertaken by banking entities, in their role as remarketing agents or liquidity providers to TOB trusts, before the compliance date for the Volcker Rule, are no longer permitted under the standard TOB trust structure. To be compliant with the Volcker Rule, the standard TOB trust structure has been modified since the Rule’s adoption (i) to shift certain rights and responsibilities from the remarketing agent and liquidity provider to the owners of the inverse floating rate securities such as the Fund itself, and (ii) to change the way in which liquidity is provided to support remarketing of the floating rate securities. Holders of the inverse floating rate securities, including the Fund, may delegate many of these responsibilities to a third party administrator, which would generate additional costs relative to the standard TOB trust structure. The total impact of these modifications remains to be fully seen, but the operational and structural changes associated with these modifications may make early unwinds of TOB trusts in adverse market scenarios more likely, may make the use of TOB trusts more expensive and, overall, may make it more difficult to use TOB trusts to effectively leverage municipal investments to the extent that the Fund may desire. In addition, these modifications have raised or may raise other regulatory issues that may require further refinement to the structure, may impede the future use of TOB trusts as a means of financing leverage, or may increase future costs of TOB-based leverage.

Tobacco Settlement Bond Risk—Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are backed solely by expected revenues to be derived from lawsuits involving tobacco related deaths and illnesses which were settled between certain states and American tobacco companies. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured by an issuing state’s proportionate share in the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”). The MSA is an agreement reached out of court in November 1998 between 46 states and nearly all of the U.S. tobacco manufacturers. Under the terms of the MSA, the actual amount of future settlement payments by tobacco manufacturers is dependent on many factors, including, but not limited to, annual domestic cigarette shipments, reduced cigarette consumption, increased taxes on cigarettes, inflation, financial capability of tobacco companies, continuing litigation and the possibility of tobacco manufacturer bankruptcy. Payments made by tobacco manufacturers could be negatively impacted if the decrease in tobacco consumption is significantly greater than the forecasted decline.

Fund Level Risks

Investment and Market Risk—An investment in Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. Your investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund. Your Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.

Repurchase Offers Risk—As described under “Periodic Repurchase Offers” above, the Fund is an “interval fund” and, in order to provide liquidity to Common Shareholders, the Fund, subject to applicable law, intends to conduct quarterly repurchase offers of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares at NAV, subject to approval of the Board of Trustees. In each quarter, such repurchase offers will be for at least 5% of its outstanding Common Shares at NAV, pursuant to Rule 23c-3 under the 1940 Act.

The Fund currently expects to conduct quarterly repurchase offers for 5% of its outstanding Common Shares under ordinary circumstances. The Fund believes that these repurchase offers are generally beneficial to the Fund’s Common Shareholders, and repurchases generally will be funded from available cash or sales of portfolio securities. However, repurchase offers and the need to fund repurchase obligations may affect the ability of the Fund to be fully invested or force the Fund to maintain a higher percentage of its assets in liquid investments, which may harm the Fund’s investment performance. Moreover, diminution in the size of the Fund through


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

13


repurchases may result in untimely sales of portfolio securities (with associated imputed transaction costs, which may be significant), and may limit the ability of the Fund to participate in new investment opportunities or to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may accumulate cash by holding back (i.e., not reinvesting) payments received in connection with the Fund’s investments. The Fund believes that payments received in connection with the Fund’s investments will generate sufficient cash to meet the maximum potential amount of the Fund’s repurchase obligations. If at any time cash and other liquid assets held by the Fund are not sufficient to meet the Fund’s repurchase obligations, the Fund intends, if necessary, to sell investments. If, as expected, the Fund employs leverage, repurchases of Common Shares would compound the adverse effects of leverage in a declining market. In addition, if the Fund borrows to finance repurchases, interest on that borrowing will negatively affect Common Shareholders who do not tender their Common Shares by increasing the Fund’s expenses and reducing any net investment income. If a repurchase offer is oversubscribed, the Board of Trustees may determine to increase the amount repurchased by up to 2% of the Fund’s outstanding shares as of the date of the Repurchase Request Deadline. In the event that the Board of Trustees determines not to repurchase more than the repurchase offer amount, or if Common Shareholders tender more than the repurchase offer amount plus 2% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares as of the date of the Repurchase Request Deadline, the Fund will repurchase the Common Shares tendered on a pro rata basis, and Common Shareholders will have to wait until the next repurchase offer to make another repurchase request. As a result, Common Shareholders may be unable to liquidate all or a given percentage of their investment in the Fund during a particular repurchase offer. Some Common Shareholders, in anticipation of proration, may tender more Common Shares than they wish to have repurchased in a particular quarter, thereby increasing the likelihood that proration will occur. A Common Shareholder may be subject to market and other risks, and the NAV of Common Shares tendered in a repurchase offer may decline between the Repurchase Request Deadline and the date on which the NAV for tendered Common Shares is determined. In addition, the repurchase of Common Shares by the Fund may be a taxable event to Common Shareholders.

While the Fund anticipates having enough cash on hand to fund share repurchases, it may need to sell securities in order to generate enough cash to fund share repurchases. This may cause the Fund to have a higher portfolio turnover rate than is generally anticipated. A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher taxes to Fund investors. This is because the sale of securities may accelerate the recognition of capital gains by the Fund (if the Fund’s basis in securities sold is less than the proceeds from the sale of the security) which may be distributed to investors, and it is more likely that such gains will be taxable as short-term capital gains rather than long-term capital gains that are taxable at lower rates.

If shares tendered by an investor are repurchased by the Fund, it will be a taxable transaction to the investor either in the form of a “sale or exchange” which would be taxable to an investor at capital gain tax rates, assuming such shares are held as a capital asset, or, under certain circumstances, a “dividend” which would be taxable to an investor at ordinary income tax rates. See “Tax Matters—Sale, Exchange of Liquidation of Fund Shares” in the SAI for additional information.

Leverage Risk—The use of leverage creates special risks for Common Shareholders, including potential interest rate risks and the likelihood of greater volatility of NAV and Common Share distributions. The use of leverage in a declining market will likely cause a greater decline in Common Share NAV than if the Fund were not to have used leverage.

The Fund will pay (and Common Shareholders will bear) any costs and expenses relating to the Fund’s use of leverage, which will result in a reduction in the NAV of the Common Shares. Nuveen Fund Advisors may, based on its assessment of market conditions, composition of the Fund’s holdings, increase or decrease the amount of leverage. Such changes may impact the Fund’s distributions. There is no assurance that the Fund will utilize leverage or that the Fund’s use of leverage will be successful. Furthermore, the amount of fees paid to Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management for investment advisory services will be higher if the Fund uses leverage because the fees will be calculated based on the Fund’s Managed Assets—this may create an incentive for Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management to leverage the Fund or increase the Fund’s leverage. See “Leverage.”

Non-Diversified Status Risk—The Fund is a non-diversified fund. As defined in the 1940 Act, a non-diversified fund may invest a significant part of its investments in a smaller number of issuers than can a diversified fund. Having a larger percentage of assets in a smaller number of issuers makes a non-diversified fund, like the Fund, more susceptible to the risk that one single event or occurrence can have a significant adverse impact upon the Fund.


 

14

Prospectus Summary


Large Shareholder Risk—To the extent a large proportion of the Common Shares are held by a small number of Common Shareholders (or a single shareholder), including affiliates of Nuveen Fund Advisors, the Fund is subject to the risk that these shareholders will purchase or redeem Common Shares in large amounts rapidly or unexpectedly. These transactions could adversely affect the ability of the Fund to conduct its investment program. Furthermore, it is possible that in response to a repurchase offer, the total amount of Common Shares tendered by a small number of Common Shareholders (or a single shareholder) may exceed the number of Common Shares that the Fund has offered to repurchase. If a repurchase offer is oversubscribed by Common Shareholders, the Fund will repurchase only a pro rata portion of shares tendered by each shareholder. See “Fund Level Risks—Repurchase Offers Risk” above.

No Operating History—The Fund is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company with no history of operations. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history upon which to base their investment decision.

Litigation Risk—From time to time, the Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management may be subject to pending or threatened litigation or regulatory action. Some of these claims may result in significant defense costs and potentially significant judgments. The ultimate outcome of any potential litigation or regulatory action or any claims that may arise in the future cannot be predicted and the reputation of the Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management could be damaged as a result. Certain litigation or regulatory scrutiny could materially adversely affect the Fund. The resolution of certain claims may result in significant fines, judgments, or settlements, which, if partially or completely uninsured, could adversely impact the Fund or the ability of Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management to perform their duties to the Fund.

Other Risks

 

Economic and Political Events Risk—The Fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in the bonds of similar projects (such as those relating to the education, health care, housing, transportation, or utilities industries), industrial development bonds, or in particular types of municipal securities (such as general obligation bonds, private activity bonds or moral obligation bonds). Such developments may adversely affect a specific industry or local political and economic conditions, and thus may lead to declines in the bonds’ creditworthiness and value.

Recent Market Conditions—Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the United States and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects. Conditions in the United States and many foreign economies have resulted, and may continue to result, in certain instruments experiencing unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all. In some cases, traditional market participants have been less willing to make a market in some types of debt instruments, which has affected the liquidity of those instruments. During times of market turmoil, investors tend to look to the safety of securities issued or backed by the U.S. Treasury, causing the prices of these securities to rise and the yields to decline. Reduced liquidity in fixed income and credit markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide. In addition, 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. A rise in protectionist trade policies, and the possibility of changes to some international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.

In response to the financial crisis, the United States and other governments and the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. Policy and legislative changes by the United States government and the Federal Reserve to assist in the ongoing support of financial markets, both domestically and in other countries, are changing many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time. In some countries where economic conditions are recovering, such countries are nevertheless perceived as still fragile. Withdrawal of government support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding, could adversely impact the value and liquidity of certain securities. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations, including changes in tax laws and the imposition of trade barriers. The impact of new financial regulation legislation on the markets and the practical implications for market participants may not be fully known for some time. Changes to the Federal Reserve policy, including with


 

Prospectus Summary

 

 

15


respect to certain interest rates and with respect to its quantitative easing policy, may affect the value, volatility and liquidity of dividend and interest paying securities. Markets may react strongly to expectations about the changes in these policies, which could increase volatility, especially if the markets’ expectations for changes in government policies are not borne out.

Changes in market conditions will not have the same impact on all types of securities. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the United States and abroad but there is consensus that interest rates will continue to increase during the life of the Fund, which could negatively impact the price of debt securities. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the impact of a significant rate increase on various markets. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the United States and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country’s economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse. The precise details and the resulting impact of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union (“EU”), commonly referred to as “Brexit,” are not yet known. The effect on the United Kingdom’s economy will likely depend on the nature of trade relations with the EU and other major economies following its exit, which are matters to be negotiated. The outcomes may cause increased volatility and have a significant adverse impact on world financial markets, other international trade agreements, and the United Kingdom and European economies, as well as the broader global economy for some time. Additionally, a number of countries in Europe have suffered terror attacks, and additional attacks may occur in the future. Ukraine has experienced ongoing military conflict; this conflict may expand and military attacks could occur elsewhere in Europe. Europe has also been struggling with mass migration from the Middle East and Africa. The ultimate effects of these events and other socio-political or geographical issues are not known but could profoundly affect global economies and markets.

The impact of these developments in the near- and long-term is unknown and could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world.

Legislation and Regulatory Risk—At any time after the date of this prospectus, legislation or additional regulations may be enacted that could negatively affect the assets of the Fund, securities held by the Fund or the issuers of such securities. Fund shareholders may incur increased costs resulting from such legislation or additional regulation. There can be no assurance that future legislation, regulation or deregulation will not have a material adverse effect on the Fund or will not impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objectives.

The SEC proposed rules governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, which could affect the nature and extent of derivatives used by the Fund. The proposed rules have not yet been adopted and therefore the full extent of such rules is uncertain at this time. It is possible that such rules, if adopted, could limit the implementation of the Fund’s use of derivatives, which could have an adverse impact on the Fund.

Potential Conflicts of Interest Risk—Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management each provide a wide array of portfolio management and other asset management services to a mix of clients and may engage in ordinary course activities in which their respective interests or those of their clients may compete or conflict with those of the Fund. In certain circumstances, and subject to its fiduciary obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Nuveen Asset Management may have to allocate a limited investment opportunity among its clients, which include closed-end funds, open-end funds and other commingled funds. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management have each adopted policies and procedures designed to address such situations and other potential conflicts of interests.


 

16

Prospectus Summary


Summary of Fund Expenses

This table is intended to assist investors in understanding the various costs and expenses directly or indirectly associated with investing in Institutional Class Common Shares.

Shareholder Transaction Expenses

(fees paid directly from your investment):

      Institutional Class  
Maximum Initial Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases
(as a percentage of offering price)
     None  
Dividend Reinvestment Fees      None  
Repurchase Fee on Shares Repurchased Within One Year of Purchase
(as a percentage of amount redeemed)(1)
     None  
(1)

The Fund does not currently intend to charge a repurchase fee; however, the Fund is permitted to charge a repurchase fee of up to 2.00%.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses  
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):  
     Percentage of Net Assets
Attributable to
Common Shares
(assuming the use of
leverage)(1)
 
      Institutional Class Common Shares  
Management Fees(2)              %  
Distribution and/or Service Fees      None  
Fees on Preferred Shares and Interest and Related Expenses from Inverse Floaters(1)(3)              %  
Other Expenses(4)              %  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses              %  
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(5)              %  
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement              %  
(1)

The table above assumes the use of leverage representing approximately 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets.

(2)

The table above is based on Net Assets Attributable to Common Shares, calculated at the highest Fund-level breakpoint ([                ]% of Managed Assets or [                ]% of Net Assets Attributable to Common Shares) and the highest complex-level breakpoint ([                ]% of Managed Assets or [                ]% of Net Assets Attributable to Common Shares). As of [                ], 2019 the complex-level fee was [                ]% of Managed Assets or [                ]% of Net Assets Attributable to Common Shares. See “Management of the Fund—Investment Management and Subadvisory Agreements.”

(3)

Fees on Preferred Shares assume annual dividends paid and amortization of offering costs. Interest and Related Expenses from Inverse Floaters include interest expense attributable to inverse floating rate securities created by selling a fixed-rate bond to a broker dealer for deposit into the special purpose trust and receiving in turn the residual interest in the trust. The actual fees on Preferred Shares and interest and related expenses from inverse floaters are subject to change based on prevailing market conditions.

(4)

Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year, and include organizational expenses equal to [    ]% of net assets attributable to Common Shares, which will be paid and satisfied in the Fund’s first year of operation.

(5)

Nuveen Fund Advisors has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses through [                ] so that the total annual operating expenses of the Fund (excluding any distribution and/or service fees that may be applicable to a particular class of shares, issuance and dividend costs of Preferred Shares that may be issued by the Fund, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, litigation expenses and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed [    ]% of the average daily Managed Assets of any class of Fund shares. This expense limitation may be terminated or modified prior to that date only with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Example

As required by relevant SEC regulations, the following example illustrates the expenses that you would pay on a $1,000 investment in the Common Shares, assuming a 5% annual return(1):

 

      Institutional Class
Common Shares
 
1 Year    $            
3 Years    $            
5 Years    $            
10 Years    $            
(1)

The example above should not be considered a representation of future expenses. Actual expenses may be higher or lower than those shown. The example assumes that the estimated Dividend Cost on Preferred Shares and Other Expenses set forth in the Annual Expenses table are accurate, that the Annual Fund Operating Expenses (as described above) remain the same, and takes into account the effect of the fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement (if any) during the first year, except to reduce annual expenses upon completion of organization and offering expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those assumed. Moreover, the Fund’s actual rate of return may be greater or less than the hypothetical 5% annual return shown in the example.

 

Summary of Fund Expenses

 

 

17


Financial Highlights

The Fund is newly organized and its Common Shares have not previously been offered. Therefore, the Fund does not have any financial history. Additional information about the Fund’s investments will be available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports when they are prepared.

The Fund

The Fund is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) that continuously offers its Common Shares and is operated as an interval fund. The Fund currently offers one class of Common Shares: Institutional Class. The Fund may offer additional classes of Common Shares in the future pursuant to exemptive relief from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Fund was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on May 22, 2019, pursuant to the Fund’s Declaration of Trust (the “Declaration of Trust”), which is governed by the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts. As a newly organized entity, the Fund has no operating history. The Fund’s principal office is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, and its telephone number is (800) 257-8787.

Use of Proceeds

The Fund will invest the proceeds of the continuous offering of Common Shares on an ongoing basis in accordance with its investment objectives and policies as stated below. It is currently anticipated that the Fund will be able to invest all or substantially all of the net proceeds according to its investment objectives and policies within approximately three months after receipt of the proceeds, depending on the amount and timing of proceeds available to the Fund as well as the availability of investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives and policies, and except to the extent proceeds are held in cash to pay dividends or expenses, satisfy repurchase offers or for temporary defensive purposes. Pending such investment, it is anticipated that the proceeds of an offering will be invested in high quality, short-term, municipal or other tax-exempt securities, although the Fund may, if necessary, also invest in other high-quality, short-term securities.

 

18

Financial Highlights/The Fund/Use of Proceeds


The Fund’s Investments

Investment Objectives

The Fund’s primary investment objective is attractive total return and its secondary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. However, there can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve either of its investment objectives or that the Fund’s investment strategies will be successful. See “Risks.”

Fund Strategies

Nuveen Asset Management uses a research-driven approach that seeks attractive total return by identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in special situations municipal securities. The Fund invests in below investment grade bonds as well as special situations municipal securities that Nuveen Asset Management believes may offer the potential for attractive total returns, even after taking into account the significant risk (relative to higher quality securities) that these securities typically present. Special situations municipal securities, in particular, may offer illiquidity and complexity premiums, which in turn may create significant investment opportunity for the Fund. Illiquidity and complexity are notably two fundamental characteristics of special situations municipal securities that distinguish them from more traditional municipal investments. The ability to extract illiquidity and complexity premiums from special situations investments requires significant scale and credit research resources. The portfolio team believes its credit and workout expertise and capacity to negotiate security structure improvements over time, especially as it pertains to issuers in distress and/or bankruptcy, is essential to achieving the Fund’s investment objectives. Further, the portfolio team believes that the Fund’s “interval” structure (which as a fundamental policy limits both the amount and frequency of its Repurchase Offers) provides the flexibility to utilize its deep credit expertise to manage and realize the long-term value of special situations municipal securities.

Portfolio Contents

The Fund will invest its assets in a portfolio of municipal securities. Municipal securities include municipal bonds, notes, securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, certificates of participation, variable rate demand obligations, lease obligations, municipal notes, pre-refunded municipal bonds, private activity bonds, securities issued by tender option bond trusts, including inverse floating rate securities, and other forms of municipal bonds and securities, and other related instruments that create exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax.

Municipal Securities. Municipal securities are debt obligations generally issued by states, cities and local authorities and certain possessions and territories of the United States (such as Puerto Rico and Guam) to finance or refinance public purpose projects such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance and refinance privately owned facilities, such as housing, medical and educational construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects deemed to serve a public purpose. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide long-term financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments and mortgage payments. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of long-term debt. Municipal securities may be issued and purchased in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms including fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds or inverse floating rate securities; or acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships or other investment companies. Inverse floating rate securities are securities that pay interest at rates that vary inversely with changes in prevailing short-term tax exempt interest rates and represent a leveraged investment in an underlying municipal security, which may increase the leverage of the Fund.

The market value of a municipal security will generally depend upon its form, maturity, call features and interest rate, as well as the credit quality or credit rating of the issuer, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends.

Most municipal securities generate income that is tax exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. The Fund may also invest in municipal securities that are taxable. Although municipal bonds issued to finance activities with a broad public purpose are generally exempt from federal income tax, taxable municipal bonds are issued to finance activities with less significant benefits to the public, such as the construction of sports facilities, and as such the interest paid to holders of such bonds is taxable as ordinary income. Many taxable municipal bonds offer yields comparable to those of other taxable bonds, such as corporate and agency bonds. Taxable municipal bonds may be rated investment-grade or below investment-grade and pay interest based on fixed or floating rate coupons. Maturities may range from long-term to short-term.

 

The Fund’s Investments

 

 

19


The Fund may also invest in “AMT Bonds”, which are municipal securities that pay interest that is taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to noncorporate taxpayers.

Special Situations Municipal Securities. The Fund may invest in special situations municipal securities. Special situations municipal securities are those:

 

   

that are in distressed financial or operating circumstances, in default or in an active workout;

 

   

whose issuers are in bankruptcy; or

 

   

that present uncertainties or complex features that could render them unsuitable for certain investors.

The Fund expects that over time a substantial portion of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in special situations municipal securities, and that such investments are an important component of the Fund’s investment strategy in pursuit of its investment objectives. The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk” below.

Directly Originated Securities. The Fund may invest in directly originated securities. Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which it invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the education sector include charter schools, student housing and other education subsectors, including, for example, private schools, parochial schools and vocational and technical schools. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the healthcare sector include issuers in the senior care and housing, hospitals and providers and other healthcare subsectors, including, for example, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. The Fund may invest in municipal-related securities of private issuers in the industrial and infrastructure sectors as well as in municipal-related securities of general nonprofit organizations, human services providers and issuers in the non-student and non-senior housing subsectors. In addition, the Fund may invest in municipal-related securities issued by or on behalf of public authorities to finance or refinance privately owned or operated facilities, including in respect of electric energy or gas, sewage, solid waste disposal and other specialized facilities. Other private activity securities, the proceeds of which may be used for, as an example, the construction, equipment or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal-related securities, but current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.

See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information” for additional information on the types of securities in which the Fund may invest.

Derivatives. The Fund also may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. Nuveen Asset Management may use derivative instruments to attempt to hedge some of the risk of the Fund’s investments or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Derivatives.”

Investment Policies

As a fundamental policy, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its Assets in municipal securities and other related investments, the income from which is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. As a non-fundamental investment policy subject to change by the Board of Trustees of the Fund (the “Board of Trustees”) upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 65% of its Assets in low- to medium-quality municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated BBB/Baa or lower or are unrated but judged by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality. Low- to medium-quality municipal securities include below investment grade securities (or “junk bonds”). Below investment grade securities (securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower) are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay principal, which implies higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade instruments of comparable terms and duration.

Under normal circumstances the Fund also will invest subject to the following non-fundamental policies:

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 60% of its Managed Assets in special situations municipal securities;

 

   

The Fund will invest at least 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated investment grade (rated BBB/Baa or higher) or are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by Nuveen Asset Management;

 

20

The Fund’s Investments


   

The Fund may invest up to 80% of its Managed Assets in below investment grade securities (as described below);

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities, the income from which is subject to regular U.S. federal income taxes (“taxable municipal securities”);

 

   

The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its Managed Assets in any one issuer;

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 10% of its Managed Assets in directly originated securities; and

 

   

The Fund will not invest in common equity securities. This policy does not apply to shares of other investment companies or to common equity securities acquired in connection with a workout of an issuer of a debt security as discussed below.

The foregoing policies apply only at the time of any new investment. The Fund has no limitation as to the maturity or duration of the municipal securities in which it will invest.

“Assets” means net assets of the Fund plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes. “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating leverage). Total assets for this purpose shall include assets attributable to the Fund’s use of leverage (whether or not those assets are reflected in the Fund’s financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles), and derivatives will be valued at their market value.

 

Below investment grade securities are generally securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower at the time of investment. For purposes of the investment limitations in this prospectus, a security’s rating is determined using the lowest rating of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch if all three NRSROs rate the security. If ratings are provided by only two of those NRSROs, the lower rating is used to determine the rating. If only one of those NRSROs provides a rating, that rating is used. If a security is not rated by any NRSRO, the rating determined by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality is used.

Investment rating limitations are considered to apply only at the time of investment and will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an acquisition of securities.

The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in below investment grade municipal securities or securities that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by Nuveen Asset Management may vary over time, and may fluctuate significantly over time.

Nuveen Asset Management may determine that it is in the best interest of shareholders to pursue a workout arrangement with respect to a defaulted security, which may involve making loans to the issuer or another party, or purchasing an equity or other interest from the issuer or another party, or other related or similar steps involving the investment of additional monies.

For temporary defensive purposes, during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, or during a Repurchase Offer Period, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality short-term debt securities. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when Nuveen Asset Management believes the instruments in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors, in the event that unanticipated legal or regulatory developments interfere with implementation of the Fund’s principal investment strategies, and in other extraordinary circumstances.

Other Policies

The Fund may enter into certain derivative transactions as a hedging technique to protect against potential adverse changes in the market value of portfolio securities. The Fund also may use derivatives to attempt to protect the NAV of the Fund, to facilitate the sale of certain portfolio securities, to manage the Fund’s effective interest rate exposure, and as a temporary substitute for purchasing or selling particular instruments. From time to time, the Fund also may enter into derivative transactions to create investment exposure to the extent such transactions may facilitate implementation of its strategy more efficiently than through outright purchases or sales of portfolio securities.

Certain investment policies specifically identified in this prospectus and the SAI as such are considered fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval. See “Investment Restrictions” in the SAI. All of the Fund’s other investment policies are not considered to be fundamental by the Fund and can be changed by the Board of Trustees without a vote of the Common Shareholders. The Fund cannot change its fundamental policies without the approval of the holders of a “majority of the outstanding” Common Shares. When used with respect to particular shares of the Fund, a “majority of the outstanding” shares means (i) 67% or more of the shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present or represented by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the shares, whichever is less.

 

The Fund’s Investments

 

 

21


Portfolio Composition and Other Information

The Fund’s portfolio will be composed principally of the following investments. More detailed information about the Fund’s portfolio investments are contained in the SAI under “Portfolio Composition and Other Information.”

Municipal Securities

Municipal securities are either general obligation or revenue bonds and typically are issued to finance public projects (such as roads or public buildings), to pay general operating expenses or to refinance outstanding debt.

Municipal securities may also be issued for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned industrial development and pollution control projects. General obligation bonds are backed by the full faith and credit, or taxing authority, of the issuer and may be repaid from any revenue source; revenue bonds may be repaid only from the revenues of a specific facility or source. The Fund may also purchase municipal securities that represent lease obligations, municipal notes, pre-refunded municipal bonds, private activity bonds, tender option bonds and other forms of municipal bonds and securities.

The municipal securities in which the Fund will invest are generally issued by states, cities and local authorities and certain possessions and territories of the United States (such as Puerto Rico and Guam), and pay interest that, in the opinion of bond counsel to the issuer (or on the basis of other authority believed by Nuveen Asset Management to be reliable), is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax, although the interest may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Municipal securities issued by Puerto Rico involve specific risks. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Puerto Rico Municipal Securities Market Risk” below.

The yields on municipal securities depend on a variety of factors, including prevailing interest rates and the condition of the general money market and the municipal bond market, the size of a particular offering, the maturity of the obligation and the rating of the issue. The market value of municipal securities will vary with changes in interest rate levels and as a result of changing evaluations of the ability of their issuers to meet interest and principal payments.

The Fund may invest in “tobacco settlement bonds.” Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are secured or payable solely from the collateralization of the proceeds from class action or other litigation against the tobacco industry. Investments in tobacco settlement bonds are subject to risks. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Tobacco Settlement Bond Risk” below.

Municipal Leases and Certificates of Participation. The Fund also may purchase municipal securities that represent lease obligations and certificates of participation in such leases. These carry special risks because the issuer of the securities may not be obligated to appropriate money annually to make payments under the lease. A municipal lease is an obligation in the form of a lease or installment purchase which is issued by a state or local government to acquire equipment and facilities. Income from such obligations is generally exempt from U.S. federal income tax, as well as from state and local taxes in the state of issuance. Leases and installment purchase or conditional sale contracts (which normally provide for title to the leased asset to pass eventually to the governmental issuer) have evolved as a means for governmental issuers to acquire property and equipment without meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements for the issuance of debt. The debt issuance limitations are deemed to be inapplicable because of the inclusion in many leases or contracts of “non-appropriation” clauses that relieve the governmental issuer of any obligation to make future payments under the lease or contract unless money is appropriated for such purpose by the appropriate legislative body on a yearly or other periodic basis. In addition, such leases or contracts may be subject to the temporary abatement of payments in the event the issuer is prevented from maintaining occupancy of the leased premises or utilizing the leased equipment or facilities. Although the obligations may be secured by the leased equipment or facilities, the disposition of the property in the event of non-appropriation or foreclosure might prove difficult, time consuming and costly, and result in a delay in recovering, or the failure to recover fully, the Fund’s original investment. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated municipal leases or participates in such leases, the credit quality rating and risk of cancellation of such unrated leases will be monitored on an ongoing basis. In order to reduce this risk, the Fund will only purchase municipal securities representing lease obligations where Nuveen Asset Management believes the issuer has a strong incentive to continue making appropriations until maturity.

A certificate of participation represents an undivided interest in an unmanaged pool of municipal leases, an installment purchase agreement or other instruments. The certificates are typically issued by a municipal agency, a trust or other entity that has received an assignment of the payments to be made by the state or political subdivision under such leases or installment purchase agreements. Such certificates provide the Fund with the right to a pro rata undivided interest in the underlying municipal securities. In addition, such participations generally provide the Fund with the right to demand payment, on not more than seven days’ notice, of all or any part of the Fund’s participation interest in the underlying municipal securities, plus accrued interest.

 

22

Portfolio Composition and Other Information


Municipal Notes. Municipal securities in the form of notes generally are used to provide for short-term capital needs, in anticipation of an issuer’s receipt of other revenues or financing, and typically have maturities of up to three years. Such instruments may include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, tax and revenue anticipation notes and construction loan notes. Tax anticipation notes are issued to finance the working capital needs of governments. Generally, they are issued in anticipation of various tax revenues, such as income, sales, property, use and business taxes, and are payable from these specific future taxes. Revenue anticipation notes are issued in expectation of receipt of other kinds of revenue, such as federal revenues available under federal revenue sharing programs. Bond anticipation notes are issued to provide interim financing until long-term bond financing can be arranged. In most cases, the long-term bonds then provide the funds needed for repayment of the bond anticipation notes. Tax and revenue anticipation notes combine the funding sources of both tax anticipation notes and revenue anticipation notes. Construction loan notes are sold to provide construction financing. Mortgage notes insured by the Federal Housing Authority secure these notes; however, the proceeds from the insurance may be less than the economic equivalent of the payment of principal and interest on the mortgage note if there has been a default. The anticipated revenues from taxes, grants or bond financing generally secure the obligations of an issuer of municipal notes. An investment in such instruments, however, presents a risk that the anticipated revenues will not be received or that such revenues will be insufficient to satisfy the issuer’s payment obligations under the notes or that refinancing will be otherwise unavailable.

Pre-Refunded Municipal Securities. The principal of, and interest on, pre-refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre-refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to securities that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre-refunded municipal securities. However, except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre-refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed by the issuer.

Private Activity Bonds. Private activity bonds, formerly referred to as industrial development bonds, are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to provide privately operated housing facilities, airport, mass transit or port facilities, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal or hazardous waste treatment or disposal facilities and certain local facilities for water supply, gas or electricity. Other types of private activity bonds, the proceeds of which are used for the construction, equipment, repair or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal securities, although the current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues. Under current law, a significant portion of the private activity bond market is comprised of AMT Bonds. The Fund’s distributions of its interest income from private activity bonds may subject certain investors to the federal alternative minimum tax. See “Tax Matters.”

Inverse Floating Rate Securities. The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities. Inverse floating rate securities are securities whose interest rates bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. Generally, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust, commonly referred to as a “tender option bond trust” (“TOB trust”), that holds municipal bonds. The TOB trust typically sells two classes of beneficial interests or securities: floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as short-term floaters or tender option bonds (“TOBs”)), and inverse floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as inverse floaters). Both classes of beneficial interests are represented by certificates or receipts. The floating rate securities have first priority on the cash flow from the municipal bonds held by the TOB trust. In this structure, the floating rate security holders have the option, at periodic short-term intervals, to tender their securities to the trust for purchase and to receive the face value thereof plus accrued interest. The obligation of the trust to repurchase tendered securities is supported by a remarketing agent and by a liquidity provider. As consideration for providing this support, the remarketing agent and the liquidity provider receive periodic fees. The holder of the short-term floater effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term, tax-exempt rate. However, the trust is not obligated to purchase tendered short-term floaters in the event of certain defaults with respect to the underlying municipal bonds or a significant downgrade in the credit rating assigned to the bond issuer.

As the holder of an inverse floating rate investment, the Fund receives the residual cash flow from the TOB trust. Because the holder of the short-term floater is generally assured liquidity at the face value of the security plus accrued interest, the holder of the inverse floater assumes the interest rate cash flow risk and the market value risk associated with the municipal bond deposited into the TOB trust. The volatility of the interest cash flow and the residual market value will vary with the degree to which the trust is leveraged. This is expressed in the ratio of the total face value of the short-term floaters to the value of the inverse floaters that are issued by the TOB trust. All voting rights and

 

Portfolio Composition and Other Information

 

 

23


decisions to be made with respect to any other rights relating to the municipal bonds held in the TOB trust are passed through, pro rata, to the holders of the short-term floaters and to the Fund as the holder of the associated inverse floaters.

Because any increases in the interest rate on the short-term floaters issued by a TOB trust would reduce the residual interest paid on the associated inverse floaters, and because fluctuations in the value of the municipal bond deposited in the TOB trust would only affect the value of the inverse floater and not the value of the short-term floater issued by the trust so long as the value of the municipal bond held by the trust exceeded the face amount of short-term floaters outstanding, the value of inverse floaters is generally more volatile than that of an otherwise comparable municipal bond held on an unleveraged basis outside a TOB trust. Inverse floaters generally will underperform the market of fixed-rate bonds in a rising interest rate environment (i.e., when bond values are falling), but will tend to outperform the market of fixed-rate bonds when interest rates decline or remain relatively stable. Although volatile in value and return, inverse floaters typically offer the potential for yields higher than those available on fixed-rate bonds with comparable credit quality, coupon, call provisions and maturity. Inverse floaters have varying degrees of liquidity or illiquidity based primarily upon the inverse floater holder’s ability to sell the underlying bonds deposited in the TOB trust at an attractive price.

The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by TOB trusts in which the liquidity providers have recourse to the Fund pursuant to a separate shortfall and forbearance agreement. Such an agreement would require the Fund to reimburse the liquidity provider, among other circumstances, upon termination of the TOB trust for the difference between the liquidation value of the bonds held in the trust and the principal amount and accrued interest due to the holders of floating rate securities issued by the trust. The Fund will enter into such a recourse agreement (1) when the liquidity provider requires such a recourse agreement because the level of leverage in the TOB trust exceeds the level that the liquidity provider is willing to support absent such an agreement; and/or (2) to seek to prevent the liquidity provider from collapsing the trust in the event the municipal bond held in the trust has declined in value to the point where it may cease to exceed the face amount of outstanding short-term floaters. In an instance where the Fund has entered such a recourse agreement, the Fund may suffer a loss that exceeds the amount of its original investment in the inverse floating rate securities; such loss could be as great as that original investment amount plus the face amount of the floating rate securities issued by the trust plus accrued interest thereon.

The Fund will segregate or earmark liquid assets with its custodian in accordance with the 1940 Act to cover its obligations with respect to its investments in TOB trusts.

The Fund may invest in both inverse floating rate securities and floating rate securities (as discussed below) issued by the same TOB trust.

Floating Rate Securities. The Fund may also invest in short-term floating rate securities, as described above, issued by TOB trusts. Generally, the interest rate earned will be based upon the market rates for municipal securities with maturities or remarketing provisions that are comparable in duration to the periodic interval of the tender option, which may vary from weekly, to monthly, to other periods of up to one year. Since the tender option feature provides a shorter term than the final maturity or first call date of the underlying municipal bond deposited in the trust, the Fund, as the holder of the floating rate securities, relies upon the terms of the remarketing and liquidity agreements with the financial institution that acts as remarketing agent and/or liquidity provider as well as the credit strength of that institution. As further assurance of liquidity, the terms of the TOB trust provide for a liquidation of the municipal bond deposited in the trust and the application of the proceeds to pay off the floating rate securities. The TOB trusts that are organized to issue both short-term floating rate securities and inverse floaters generally include liquidation triggers to protect the investor in the floating rate securities.

Special Taxing Districts. Special taxing districts are organized to plan and finance infrastructure developments to induce residential, commercial and industrial growth and redevelopment. The bond financing methods such as tax increment finance, tax assessment, special services district and Mello-Roos bonds, are generally payable solely from taxes or other revenues attributable to the specific projects financed by the bonds without recourse to the credit or taxing power of related or overlapping municipalities. They often are exposed to real estate development-related risks and can have more taxpayer concentration risk than general tax-supported bonds, such as general obligation bonds. Further, the fees, special taxes, or tax allocations and other revenues that are established to secure such financings are generally limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. The bonds could default if development failed to progress as anticipated or if larger taxpayers failed to pay the assessments, fees and taxes as provided in the financing plans of the districts.

 

24

Portfolio Composition and Other Information


Special Situations Securities

The Fund may invest in special situations municipal securities. Special situations municipal securities are those:

 

   

that are in distressed financial or operating circumstances, in default or in an active workout;

 

   

whose issuers are in bankruptcy; or

 

   

that present uncertainties or complex features that could render them unsuitable for certain investors.

The Fund expects that over time a substantial portion of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in special situations municipal securities, and that such investments are an important component of the Fund’s investment strategy in pursuit of its investment objectives. The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk” below.

Directly Originated Securities

The Fund may invest in directly originated securities. Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which it invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the education sector include charter schools, student housing and other education subsectors, including, for example, private schools, parochial schools and vocational and technical schools. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the healthcare sector include issuers in the senior care and housing, hospitals and providers and other healthcare subsectors, including, for example, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. The Fund may invest in municipal-related securities of private issuers in the industrial and infrastructure sectors as well as in municipal-related securities of general nonprofit organizations, human services providers and issuers in the non-student and non-senior housing subsectors. In addition, the Fund may invest in municipal-related securities issued by or on behalf of public authorities to finance or refinance privately owned or operated facilities, including in respect of electric energy or gas, sewage, solid waste disposal and other specialized facilities. Other private activity securities, the proceeds of which may be used for, as an example, the construction, equipment or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal-related securities, but current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.

Derivatives

The Fund may use in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts or other derivative instruments. The Fund may also use credit default swaps and interest rate swaps. Credit default swaps may require initial premium (discount) payments as well as periodic payments (receipts) related to the interest leg of the swap or to the default of a reference obligation. If the Fund is a seller of a contract, the Fund would be required to pay the par (or other agreed upon) value of a referenced debt obligation to the counterparty in the event of a default or other credit event by the reference issuer, such as a U.S. or foreign corporate issuer, with respect to such debt obligations. In return, the Fund would receive from the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the Fund would keep the stream of payments and would have no payment obligations. As the seller, the Fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap. If the Fund is a buyer of a contract, the Fund would have the right to deliver a referenced debt obligation and receive the par (or other agreed-upon) value of such debt obligation from the counterparty in the event of a default or other credit event (such as a credit downgrade) by the reference issuer, such as a U.S. or foreign corporation, with respect to its debt obligations. In return, the Fund would pay the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the counterparty would keep the stream of payments and would have no further obligations to the Fund. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the Fund with a counterparty of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, such as an exchange of fixed-rate payments for floating rate payments. The Fund will usually enter into interest rate swaps on a net basis; that is, the two payment streams will be netted out in a cash settlement on the payment date or dates specified in the instrument, with the Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Hedging Strategies and Other Uses of Derivatives” in the SAI and “Asset Segregation” below.

The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) may also limit the extent to which the Fund may invest in futures, options on futures and swaps. See “Tax Matters.”

 

Portfolio Composition and Other Information

 

 

25


Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to hedge some of the risk of the Fund’s investments in municipal securities or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of strategies may generate taxable income. The Fund will value derivative instruments at market/fair value for purposes of calculating compliance with the Fund’s 80% investment policy in municipal securities and other related investments the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax.

There is no assurance that these derivative strategies will be available at any time or that, if used, that the strategies will be successful.

Swap Transactions. The Fund may enter into total return, interest rate and credit default swap agreements and interest rate caps, floors and collars. The Fund may also enter into options on the foregoing types of swap agreements (“swap options”).

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 return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining

a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, as a duration management technique, to attempt to reduce risk arising from the ownership of a particular instrument, or to gain exposure to certain sectors or markets in the most economical way possible.

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.

Interest Rate Swaps, Caps, Collars and Floors. Interest rate swaps are bilateral contracts in which each party agrees to make periodic payments to the other party based on different referenced interest rates (e.g., a fixed rate and a floating rate) applied to a specified notional amount. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate floor. The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index rises above a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. Interest rate collars involve selling a cap and purchasing a floor or vice versa to protect the Fund against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.

The use of interest rate transactions, such as interest rate swaps and caps, is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio security transactions. Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the Fund’s use of interest rate swaps or caps could enhance or harm the overall performance of the Fund’s common shares. To the extent there is a decline in interest rates, the value of the interest rate swap or cap could decline, and could result in a decline in the NAV of the common shares. In addition, if short-term interest rates are lower than the Fund’s fixed rate of payment on the interest rate swap, the swap will reduce common share net earnings. If, on the other hand, short-term interest rates are higher than the fixed rate of payment on the interest rate swap, the swap will enhance common share net earnings. Buying interest rate caps could enhance the performance of the common shares by providing a maximum leverage expense. Buying interest rate caps could also decrease the net earnings of the common shares in the event that the premium paid by the Fund to the counterparty exceeds the additional amount such Fund would have been required to pay had it not entered into the cap agreement.

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 equity indices, single stocks, 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. In connection with the Fund’s position in a swap contract, the Fund will segregate liquid assets or will otherwise cover its position in accordance with applicable requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). See “—Asset Segregation” below.

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

 

26

Portfolio Composition and Other Information


seller. The Fund may buy protection to attempt to mitigate the risk of default or credit quality deterioration in an individual security or 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 would 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 sells or writes credit default swaps, the Fund will segregate the full notional amount of the payment obligation under the credit default swap that must be paid upon the occurrence of a credit event. See “—Asset Segregation” below.

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 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 the economic effect of 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 obligation(s) 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 would 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 would 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 Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management is incorrect in its forecasts of default risks, market spreads or other applicable factors or events, 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 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 generally may only close out a swap, cap, floor, collar or other two-party contract with its particular counterparty, and generally 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 Fund’s ability to terminate existing swap or other agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.

Futures and Options on Futures Generally. A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security, index or interest rate (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 (same exchange, underlying financial instrument, and delivery month). 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

 

Portfolio Composition and Other Information

 

 

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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 the futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (“FCM”), an amount of cash or securities equal to a varying 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 in the margin account generally is not income producing. However, couponbearing securities, such as Treasury securities, held in margin accounts generally will earn income.

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 FCM’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund. Futures transactions also involve brokerage costs and the Fund may have to segregate additional liquid assets in accordance with applicable SEC requirements. See “—Asset Segregation” below.

A futures option gives the purchaser of such option the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a long position (call) or short position (put) in a futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of a call option, the purchaser acquires a long position in the futures contract and the writer is assigned the opposite short position. Upon the exercise of a put option, the opposite is true.

Asset Segregation

As a closed-end investment company registered with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and various interpretive positions of the SEC and its staff. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must maintain liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivative instruments and financial agreements (such as reverse repurchase agreements).

Generally, the Fund will maintain an amount of liquid assets with its custodian in an amount at least equal to the current amount of its obligations under derivative instruments and financial agreements, in accordance with SEC guidance. However, the Fund also may “cover” certain obligations by other means such as through ownership of the underlying security or financial instrument. The Fund also may enter into offsetting transactions with respect to certain instruments consistent with existing SEC staff guidance so that its combined position, coupled with any liquid assets maintained by its custodian, equals its net outstanding obligation in related derivatives or financial agreements.

The Fund reserves the right to modify its policies in the future to comply with any changes in the positions from time to time articulated by the SEC or its staff, such as the SEC’s proposed rules governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, regarding asset segregation.

High Yield Securities

High yield securities or “junk bonds” that are below investment grade involve a greater degree of risk (in particular, a greater risk of default) than, and special risks in addition to the risks associated with investment grade securities. Under rating agency guidelines, medium- and lower-rated securities and comparable unrated securities will likely have some quality and protective characteristics that are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. Medium- and lower-rated securities may have poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing, may have a current identifiable vulnerability to default or be in default, may be unlikely to have the capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay liquidation preference or principal when due in the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, and/or may be likely to be in default or not current in the payment of interest, dividends, liquidation preference or principal. Such securities are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay liquidation preference or principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations. Accordingly, it is possible that these types of factors could reduce the value of securities held by the Fund with a commensurate effect on the value of the Common Shares. High yield securities involve substantial risk of loss and are susceptible to default or decline in market value due to real or perceived adverse economic conditions, as

 

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Portfolio Composition and Other Information


compared to higher-rated instruments. These securities generally provide higher income than investment grade securities in an effort to compensate investors for their higher risk of default, which is the issuer’s failure to make required interest, dividends, liquidation preference or principal payments on the securities.

The secondary markets for these securities are generally not as liquid as the secondary markets for higher rated securities. The secondary markets for high yield securities are concentrated in relatively few market makers and the participants in the market are mostly institutional investors, including insurance companies, banks, other financial institutions and mutual funds. In addition, the trading volume for high yield securities is generally lower than that for higher-rated securities, and the secondary markets could contract under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. These factors may have an adverse effect on the ability of the Fund to dispose of particular portfolio investments, may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV per share and may limit the ability of the Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing securities and calculating NAV. If the Fund is not able to obtain precise or accurate market quotations for a particular security, it will become more difficult to value the Fund’s portfolio securities, and a greater degree of judgment may be necessary in making such valuations. Less liquid secondary markets may also affect the ability of the Fund to sell securities at their fair value. If the secondary markets for high yield securities contract due to adverse economic conditions or for other reasons, certain liquid securities in the Fund’s portfolio may become illiquid and the proportion of the Fund’s assets invested in illiquid securities may significantly increase.

Prices for high yield securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These laws could adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and investment practices, the secondary market for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value of outstanding high yield securities. For example, federal legislation requiring the divestiture by federally insured savings and loan associations of their investments in high yield bonds and limiting the deductibility of interest by certain corporate issuers of high yield bonds adversely affected the market in the past. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Below Investment Grade Risk.”

Bonds

The Fund may invest in a wide variety of bonds of varying maturities issued by the U.S. government and municipalities (during the initial investment period or for temporary defensive measures) and other issuers. Bonds are fixed or variable-rate debt obligations, including bills, notes, debentures, money market instruments and similar instruments and securities. Bonds generally are used by corporations as well as governments and other issuers to borrow money from investors. The issuer pays the investor a fixed or variable rate of interest and normally must repay the amount borrowed on or before maturity. Corporate bonds come in many varieties and may differ in the way that interest is calculated, the amount and frequency of payments, the type of collateral, if any, and the presence of special features (e.g., conversion rights).

Illiquid Securities

The Fund may invest in securities and other instruments that, at the time of investment, are illiquid (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable). For this purpose, illiquid securities may include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may only be resold pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) that are deemed to be illiquid, and certain repurchase agreements.

Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market circumstances were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. Illiquid securities will be priced at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees or its delegate.

Temporary Defensive Investments

For temporary defensive purposes, during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, or during a Repurchase Offer Period, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality short-term debt securities. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when Nuveen Asset Management believes the instruments in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors, in the event that unanticipated legal or regulatory developments interfere with implementation of the Fund’s principal investment strategies, and in other extraordinary circumstances.

 

Portfolio Composition and Other Information

 

 

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Portfolio Turnover

It is not the Fund’s policy to engage in transactions with the objective of seeking profits from short-term trading. However, the Fund may engage in active and frequent trading when Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management believes such trading is, in light of prevailing economic and market circumstances, in the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders. Although the Fund cannot predict its annual portfolio turnover rate, it is generally not expected to exceed 60% under normal circumstances. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the Fund’s performance, and may result in the realization of net short-term capital gains by the Fund which, when distributed to Common Shareholders, will be treated as ordinary income. See “Tax Matters.”

 

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Portfolio Composition and Other Information


Leverage

The Fund anticipates using leverage to seek to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may use leverage to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act. If current market conditions persist, the Fund intends initially to obtain leverage through either the issuance of Preferred Shares, or investments in inverse floating rate securities, which represent leveraged investments in underlying bonds, or a combination of both. If current market conditions persist, the Fund anticipates using leverage obtained by issuing Preferred Shares or investing in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, in an aggregate amount equal to approximately 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets.

The Fund does not intend to issue Preferred Shares until after the proceeds of this offering have been substantially invested in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives.

The Fund may source leverage through a number of methods including the issuance of Preferred Shares, issuance of debt securities, borrowings, entering into reverse repurchase agreements (effectively a borrowing), and investing in inverse floating rate securities. The Fund may issue “senior securities” as defined under the 1940 Act. “Senior securities” include (i) the issuance of Preferred Shares; (ii) borrowings (including loans from financial institutions); and (iii) the issuance of debt securities. “Senior securities” have seniority over the Common Shares in regard to the income and assets of the Fund.

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. Selling a portfolio security and agreeing to buy it back under a reverse repurchase agreement is economically equivalent to borrowing. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk.”

The Fund may use derivatives, such as interest rate swaps with varying terms, in order to manage the interest rate expense associated with all or a portion of its leverage. Interest rate swaps are bi-lateral agreements whereby parties agree to exchange future payments, typically based upon the differential of a fixed rate and a variable rate, on a specified notional amount. Interest rate swaps can enable the Fund to effectively convert its variable leverage expense to fixed, or vice-versa. For example, if the Fund issues leverage having a short-term floating rate of interest, the Fund could use interest rate swaps to hedge against a rise in the short-term benchmark interest rates associated with its outstanding leverage. In doing so, the Fund would seek to achieve lower leverage costs, and thereby enhance Common Share distributions, over an extended period, which would be the result if short-term market interest rates on average exceed the fixed interest rate over the term of the swap. To the extent the fixed swap rate is greater than short-term market interest rates on average over the period, overall costs associated with leverage will be greater (and thereby reduce distributions to Common Shareholders) than if the Fund had not entered into the interest rate swap(s). See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Derivatives.”

The Fund also may borrow for temporary purposes as permitted by the 1940 Act.

The Fund may reduce or increase the amount of leverage based upon changes in market conditions and/or composition of the Fund’s holdings. The Fund’s leverage ratio will vary from time to time based upon such changes in the amount of leverage used, variations in the value of the Fund’s holdings and the levels of Common Share subscription and repurchase offer activity related to the Fund’s continuously offered interval fund structure. So long as the net income received from the Fund’s investments purchased with leverage proceeds exceeds the then current expense of any leverage, the investment of the proceeds of leverage will generate more net income than if the Fund had not leveraged itself. Under these circumstances, the excess net income will be available to pay higher distributions to Common Shareholders. However, if the net income received from the Fund’s portfolio investments purchased with the proceeds of leverage is less than the current expense of any leverage, the Fund may be required to utilize other Fund assets to make interest payments on its leveraging instruments which may result in a decline in Common Share NAV and reduced net investment income available for distribution to Common Shareholders.

The Fund pays a management fee to Nuveen Fund Advisors (which in turn pays a portion of such fee to Nuveen Asset Management) based on a percentage of Managed Assets. Managed Assets include the proceeds realized and managed from the Fund’s use of most types of leverage (excluding the leverage exposure attributable to the use of futures, swaps and similar derivatives). Because Managed Assets include the Fund’s net assets as well as assets that are attributable to the Fund’s investment of the proceeds of its leverage, it is anticipated that the Fund’s Managed Assets will be greater than its net assets. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will be responsible for using leverage to pursue the Fund’s investment objectives. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will base their decision regarding whether and how much leverage to use for the Fund, and the terms of that leverage, on their assessment of whether such use of leverage is in the best interests of the Fund. However, a decision to employ or increase leverage will have the effect, all other things being equal, of increasing Managed Assets and in turn Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s management fees. Thus, Nuveen Fund Advisors and

 

Leverage

 

 

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Nuveen Asset Management may have a conflict of interest in determining whether to use or increase leverage. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will seek to manage that potential conflict by using leverage only when they determine that such action would be in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders, and by periodically reviewing with the Board of Trustees the Fund’s performance and the Fund’s degree of overall use of leverage and the impact of the use of leverage on that performance.

The 1940 Act generally defines a “senior security” as any bond, debenture, note, or similar obligation or instrument constituting a security and evidencing indebtedness, and any stock of a class having priority over any other class as to distribution of assets or payment of dividends; however, the term does not include any promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness issued in consideration of any loan, extension, or renewal thereof, made for temporary purposes and in an amount not exceeding five percent of the value of the Fund’s total assets. A loan shall be presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed.

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund is not permitted to issue “senior securities” that are Preferred Shares if, immediately after the issuance of Preferred Shares, the asset coverage ratio with respect to such Preferred Shares would be less than 200%. With respect to any such Preferred Shares, asset coverage means the ratio which the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities, bears to the aggregate amount of senior securities representing indebtedness of the Fund plus the aggregate liquidation preference of such Preferred Shares.

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund is not permitted to issue “senior securities representing indebtedness” if, immediately after the issuance of such senior securities representing indebtedness, the asset coverage ratio with respect to such senior securities would be less than 300%. “Senior securities representing indebtedness” include borrowings (including loans from financial institutions) and debt securities. “Senior securities representing indebtedness” also include other derivative investments or transactions, such as reverse repurchase agreements, to the extent the Fund has not fully covered, segregated or earmarked cash or liquid assets in accordance with the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and applicable positions of the SEC and its staff. With respect to any such senior securities representing debt, asset coverage means the ratio which the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), bears to the aggregate amount of such borrowing represented by senior securities issued by the Fund.

If the Fund issues senior securities and the asset coverage with respect to such senior securities declines below the required ratios discussed above (as a result of market fluctuations or otherwise), the Fund may sell portfolio securities when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

Certain types of leverage used by the Fund may result in the Fund being subject to certain covenants, asset coverage or other portfolio composition limits by its lenders, debt or preferred securities purchasers, rating agencies that may rate the debt or preferred securities, or reverse repurchase counterparties. Such limitations may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act and may impact whether the Fund is able to maintain its desired amount of leverage. In order to comply with these limitations, the Fund may be required to take certain actions, such as redeeming all or a portion of its Preferred Shares or reducing its borrowings. The Fund may find it necessary to hold a portion of its net assets in cash or other liquid assets or sell a portion of its portfolio investments during times and at prices when it otherwise would not do so in order to accomplish such actions. Accordingly, such actions could reduce the net earnings or returns to Common Shareholders over time, and such impact would be magnified when Preferred Shares and/or borrowings are outstanding as the Fund would be required to make provision for both the potential need to redeem Preferred Shares and/or repay borrowings and its obligation to repurchase Common Shares pursuant to the Fund’s fundamental policy regarding repurchases. See “Periodic Repurchase Offers.” Moreover, the Fund also may be required to redeem its Preferred Shares or reduce borrowings from time to time to permit it to repurchase Common Shares pursuant to the Fund’s repurchase policy in compliance with applicable asset coverage requirements described above. At this time Nuveen Fund Advisors does not believe that any such potential investment limitations will impede it from managing the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with its investment objectives and policies.

Utilization of leverage is a speculative investment technique and involves certain risks to the Common Shareholders, including increased variability of the Fund’s net income, distributions and NAV in relation to market changes. See “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Leverage Risk.” There is no assurance that the Fund will use leverage or that the Fund’s use of leverage will work as planned or achieve its goals.

Effects of Leverage

Assuming the utilization of leverage through either Preferred Shares or investments in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, of approximately 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets, at a leverage expense rate of             % payable on either such Preferred Shares or investments in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of

 

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Leverage


both, the income generated by the Fund’s portfolio (net of non-leverage expenses) must exceed             % in order to cover such dividend payments and other expenses specifically related to either Preferred Shares or investments in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both. Of course, these numbers are merely estimates, used for illustration. Actual dividend rates and other leverage expenses may vary frequently and may be significantly higher or lower than the rate estimated above.

The following table is furnished in response to requirements of the SEC. It is designed to illustrate the effect of leverage on Common Share total return, assuming investment portfolio total returns (comprised of income and changes in the value of securities held in the Fund’s portfolio) of –10%, –5%, 0%, 5% and 10%. These assumed investment portfolio returns are hypothetical figures and are not necessarily indicative of the investment portfolio returns experienced or expected to be experienced by the Fund. See “Risks.” The table further reflects the issuance of either Preferred Shares or investments in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, representing 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets, net of expenses, and the Fund’s currently projected annual leverage expense rate on either of the Preferred Shares and/or costs of inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, of             %.

 

Assumed Portfolio Total Return (Net of Expenses)      (10)%        (5)%      0%      5%      10%
Common Share Total Return                  %                    %                    %                    %                    %  

Common Share Total Return is composed of two elements: the Common Share dividends paid by the Fund (the amount of which is largely determined by the net investment income of the Fund after paying dividends and other costs on its leverage) and gains or losses on the value of the securities the Fund owns. As required by SEC rules, the table above assumes that the Fund is more likely to suffer capital losses than to enjoy capital appreciation. For example, to assume a total return of 0% the Fund must assume that the interest it receives on its portfolio investments is entirely offset by losses in the value of those investments.

 

Leverage

 

 

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Risks

The Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that continuously offers its Common Shares and is operated as an interval fund. The Fund is not intended to be a complete investment program and, due to the uncertainty inherent in all investments, there can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objectives. The Fund’s performance and the value of its investments will vary in response to changes in interest rates, inflation, the financial condition of a security’s issuer, ratings on a security, perceptions of the issuer, and other market factors. Your Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.

Portfolio Level Risks

Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk—The availability of special situations municipal securities that present attractive investment opportunities has historically been sporadic and may in the future be rare or at times non-existent. As such, the portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. At times when the portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities is low, due to lack of availability of special situations municipal securities or otherwise, that low level exposure to such securities may impede the Fund’s ability to fully pursue its investment objectives.

Special situations municipal securities present both unusual opportunities and challenges. The ability of the Fund to capitalize on its investments in special situations municipal securities will be dependent on several factors including, but not limited to, Nuveen Asset Management’s ability (1) to select special situations municipal securities to invest in that have good prospects for improving their creditworthiness over time, or otherwise experiencing price improvement; (2) to manage the various special situations municipal securities’ credits through the recovery process, including workouts, buyouts and bankruptcies; (3) to buy attractively-priced special situations municipal securities that have the potential to appreciate significantly in value or minimize losses, depending on market conditions; and (4) to liquidate its investments in special situations municipal securities, either by selling such securities to other investors at attractive prices, or by receiving cash, securities or other assets of value after and as a result of a workout or the issuer’s emergence from bankruptcy.

Nuveen Asset Management’s ability to succeed in these efforts will require skills and techniques that are different from or in addition to the skills and techniques used by a typical municipal investment manager. There is no assurance that Nuveen Asset Management will succeed in its efforts, or that market circumstances will end up being favorable to deriving outsized returns from investments in special situations municipal securities.

Municipal Securities Market Risk—Investing in the municipal securities market involves certain risks. The municipal market is one in which dealer firms make markets in bonds on a principal basis using their proprietary capital, and during the market turmoil in 2008-2009 these firms’ capital was severely constrained. As a result, some firms were unwilling to commit their capital to purchase and to serve as a dealer for municipal bonds. The amount of public information available about the municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds, and the investment performance of the Fund may therefore be more dependent on the analytical abilities of Nuveen Asset Management than if the Fund were a stock fund or taxable bond fund. The secondary market for municipal securities, particularly the below investment grade bonds in which the Fund may invest, also tends to be less well-developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to sell its municipal securities at attractive prices or at prices approximating those at which the Fund currently values them. In addition, the market for below investment grade municipal securities has experienced in the past, and may experience in the future, periods of significant volatility, which could negatively impact the value of the municipal securities in the Fund’s portfolio.

The ability of municipal issuers to make timely payments of interest and principal may be diminished during general economic downturns and as governmental cost burdens are reallocated among federal, state and local governments. In addition, laws enacted in the future by Congress or state legislatures or referenda could extend the time for payment of principal and/or interest, or impose other constraints on enforcement of such obligations, or on the ability of municipalities to levy taxes. Further, some state and local governments have been and in the future may be subject to direct ballot referenda that could limit their financial flexibility, or their ability to levy taxes or raise revenues, which may adversely affect the marketability of notes and bonds issued by those state and local governments. Issuers of municipal securities might seek protection under the bankruptcy laws. In the event of bankruptcy of such an issuer, the Fund could experience delays in collecting principal and interest and the Fund may not, in all circumstances, be able to collect all principal and interest to which it is entitled. To enforce its rights in the event of a default in the payment of interest or repayment of principal, or both, the Fund may take possession of and manage the assets securing the

 

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Risks


issuer’s obligations on such securities, which may increase the Fund’s operating expenses. Any income derived from the Fund’s ownership or operation of such assets may not be tax-exempt.

Directly Originated Securities Risk—Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which the Fund invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. The Fund expects that these directly originated securities will have limited trading markets and therefore will tend to be less liquid than securities rated investment grade. This may make it difficult for the Fund to value the directly originated securities in which it invests. In addition, the Fund will likely be able to sell such directly originated securities only in private transactions with another investor or group of investors, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to successfully arrange such transactions if and when the Fund desires to sell any of its directly originated securities or, if successfully arranged, that the Fund will be able to obtain favorable values upon the sale of its directly originated securities in such transactions.

Issuer Credit Risk—Issuers of securities in which the Fund may invest may default on their obligations to pay dividends, principal or interest when due. This non-payment would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a reduction in the value of a debt security experiencing non-payment and, potentially, a decrease in the NAV of the Fund. With respect to the Fund’s investments in securities that are secured, there can be no assurance that liquidation of collateral would satisfy the issuer’s obligation in the event of non-payment of a scheduled dividend, interest or principal payment or that such collateral could be readily liquidated. In the event of the bankruptcy of an issuer, the Fund could experience delays or limitations with respect to its ability to realize the benefits of any collateral securing a security. To the extent that the credit rating assigned to a security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected.

Below Investment Grade Risk—Debt instruments of below investment grade quality are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest, dividends and repay principal, and are commonly referred to as junk bonds or high yield debt, which implies higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade instruments of comparable terms and duration. Issuers of lower grade instruments may be highly leveraged and may not have available to them more traditional methods of financing. The prices of these lower grade instruments are typically more sensitive to negative developments, such as a decline in the issuer’s revenues or a general economic downturn, than are the prices of higher grade instruments.

If a below investment grade security goes into default, or its issuer enters bankruptcy, it might be difficult to sell that security in a timely manner at a reasonable price.

The secondary market for lower grade instruments may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated instruments, a factor which may have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to dispose of a particular instrument. There are fewer dealers in the market for lower grade securities than for investment grade obligations. The prices quoted by different dealers for lower grade instruments may vary significantly and the spread between the bid and ask price for such instruments is generally much larger than for higher quality instruments. Under adverse market or economic conditions, the secondary market for lower grade securities could contract further, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer, and these instruments may become illiquid. As a result, the Fund could find it more difficult to sell these instruments or may be able to sell the instruments only at prices lower than if such instruments were widely traded. Prices realized upon the sale of such lower rated or unrated instruments, under these circumstances, may be less than the prices used in calculating the Fund’s NAV.

For these reasons, an investment in the Fund, compared with a portfolio consisting solely of investment grade securities, may experience the following:

 

   

increased price sensitivity resulting from a deteriorating economic environment and changing interest rates;

 

   

greater risk of loss due to default or declining credit quality;

 

   

adverse issuer specific events that are more likely to render the issuer unable to make interest and/or principal payments; and

 

   

the possibility that a negative perception of the below investment grade market develops, resulting in the price and liquidity of below investment grade securities becoming depressed, and this negative perception could last for a significant period of time.

In the event that the Fund disposes of a portfolio security subsequent to its being downgraded, the Fund may experience a greater loss than if such security had been sold prior to such downgrade.

 

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Interest Rate Risk—Interest rate risk is the risk that debt securities in the Fund’s portfolio will decline in value because of changes in market interest rates. Generally, when market interest rates rise, the market value of such securities will fall, and vice versa. As interest rates decline, issuers of debt securities may prepay principal earlier than scheduled, forcing the Fund to reinvest in lower-yielding securities and potentially reducing the Fund’s income. As interest rates increase, slower than expected principal payments may extend the average life of securities, potentially locking in a below-market interest rate and reducing the Fund’s value. In typical market interest rate environments, the prices of longer-term debt securities generally fluctuate more than prices of shorter-term debt securities as interest rates change. The Federal Reserve recently raised the federal funds rate several times. Therefore, there is a risk that interest rates will rise, which will likely drive down bond prices.

Duration Risk—Duration is the sensitivity, expressed in years, of the price of a fixed-income security to changes in the general level of interest rates (or yields). Securities with longer durations tend to be more sensitive to interest rate (or yield) changes, which typically corresponds to increased volatility and risk, than securities with shorter durations. For example, if a security or portfolio has a duration of three years and interest rates increase by 1%, then the security or portfolio would decline in value by approximately 3%. Duration differs from maturity in that it considers potential changes to interest rates, and a security’s coupon payments, yield, price and par value and call features, in addition to the amount of time until the security matures. The duration of a security will be expected to change over time with changes in market factors and time to maturity.

Call Risk—During periods of declining interest rates or for other purposes, issuers may exercise their option to prepay principal earlier than scheduled, forcing the Fund to reinvest in lower yielding instruments. This is known as prepayment or “call” risk. The Fund may invest in securities that are subject to call risk. Debt and preferred instruments may be redeemed at the option of the issuer, or “called,” before their stated maturity or redemption date. In general, an issuer will call its debt or preferred instruments if they can be refinanced by issuing new instruments which bear a lower interest or dividend rate. The Fund is subject to the possibility that during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer will call its high yielding debt or preferred instruments. The Fund would then be forced to invest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest or dividend rates, resulting in a decline in the Fund’s income.

Reinvestment Risk—Reinvestment risk is the risk that income from the Fund’s portfolio will decline if and when the Fund invests the proceeds from matured, traded or called securities at market interest rates that are below the portfolio’s current earnings rate. A decline in income could affect the Common Shares’ NAV and/or a Common Shareholder’s overall returns. As the average maturity of the Fund’s portfolio shortens, the Fund will reinvest in shorter maturity securities at market interest rates that may be lower than at the Fund’s inception.

Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk—The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities. Typically, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust (sometimes called a “tender option bond trust”) formed for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Municipal Securities—Inverse Floating Rate Securities.” In general, income on inverse floating rate securities will decrease when short-term interest rates increase and increase when short-term interest rates decrease. Investments in inverse floating rate securities may subject the Fund to the risks of reduced or eliminated interest payments and losses of principal.

The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund. In Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s discretion, the Fund may enter into a separate shortfall and forbearance agreement with the third party granting liquidity to the floating rate security holders of the special purpose trust. The Fund may enter into such recourse agreements (i) when the liquidity provider to the special purpose trust requires such an agreement because the level of leverage in the trust exceeds the level that the liquidity provider is willing to support absent such an agreement; and/or (ii) to seek to prevent the liquidity provider from collapsing the trust in the event that the municipal obligation held in the trust has declined in value. Such an agreement would require the Fund to reimburse the third party granting liquidity to the floating rate security holders of the special purpose trust, upon termination of the trust issuing the inverse floater, the difference between the liquidation value of the bonds held in the trust and the principal amount due to the holders of floating rate interests. In such instances, the Fund may be at risk of loss that exceeds its investment in the inverse floating rate securities.

Inverse floating rate securities may increase or decrease in value at a greater rate than the underlying interest rate, which effectively leverages the Fund’s investment. As a result, the market value of such securities generally will be more volatile than that of fixed rate securities.

The Fund’s investments in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund may be highly leveraged. The structure and degree to which the Fund’s inverse floating rate securities are highly leveraged will vary based upon a number of factors, including the size of the trust itself and the terms of the underlying municipal security. In the event of a significant decline in the value of an underlying security, the Fund may

 

36

Risks


suffer losses in excess of the amount of its investment (up to an amount equal to the value of the municipal securities underlying the inverse floating rate securities) as a result of liquidating special purpose trusts or other collateral required to maintain the Fund’s anticipated leverage ratio.

The Fund’s investment in inverse floating rate securities creates leverage. Any leverage achieved through the Fund’s investment in inverse floating rate securities will create an opportunity for increased Common Share net income and returns, but will also create the possibility that Common Share long-term returns will be diminished if the cost of leverage exceeds the return on the inverse floating rate securities purchased by the Fund. See “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Leverage Risk.”

The amount of fees paid to Nuveen Asset Management for investment advisory services will be higher if the Fund uses leverage because the fees will be calculated based on the Fund’s Managed Assets—this may create an incentive for Nuveen Asset Management to leverage the Fund. “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating leverage). Total assets for this purpose shall include assets attributable to the Fund’s use of leverage (whether or not those assets are reflected in the Fund’s financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles), and derivatives will be valued at their market value.

Inverse floating rate securities have varying degrees of liquidity based, among other things, upon the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in a special purpose trust. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is more volatile than the underlying securities due to leverage. The leverage attributable to such inverse floating rate securities may be “called away” on relatively short notice and therefore may be less permanent than more traditional forms of leverage. In certain circumstances, the likelihood of an increase in the volatility of NAV and market price of the Common Shares may be greater for a fund (like the Fund) that relies primarily on inverse floating rate securities to achieve a desired leverage ratio. The Fund may be required to sell its inverse floating rate securities at less than favorable prices, or liquidate other Fund portfolio holdings in certain circumstances, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

   

If the Fund has a need for cash and the securities in a special purpose trust are not actively trading due to adverse market conditions; and

 

   

If the value of an underlying security declines significantly and if additional collateral has not been posted by the Fund.

There is no assurance that the Fund’s strategy of investing in inverse floating rate securities will be successful.

Restricted and Illiquid Securities Risk—Illiquid securities are securities that are not readily marketable. These securities may include restricted securities, which can not be resold to the public without an effective registration statement under the 1933 Act, or, if they are unregistered, may be sold only in a privately negotiated transaction or pursuant to an exemption from registration. The Fund may not be able to readily dispose of such securities at prices that approximate those at which the Fund could sell such securities if they were more widely traded and, as a result of such illiquidity, the Fund may have to sell other investments or engage in borrowing transactions if necessary to raise cash to meet its obligations. Limited liquidity can also affect the market price of securities, thereby adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV and ability to make dividend distributions. The financial markets in general have in recent years experienced periods of extreme secondary market supply and demand imbalance, resulting in a loss of liquidity during which market prices were suddenly and substantially below traditional measures of intrinsic value. During such periods, some securities could be sold only at arbitrary prices and with substantial losses. Periods of such market dislocation may occur again at any time.

Defaulted and Distressed Securities Risk—The Fund may invest in any securities of an issuer that is in default or that is in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. However, the Fund may hold investments that at the time of purchase are not in default or involved in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, but may later become so. Moreover, the Fund may invest to a limited extent in securities rated Caa/CCC or lower, or unrated but judged by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality. Some or many of these low-rated securities, although not in default, may be “distressed,” meaning that the issuer is experiencing financial difficulties or distress at the time of acquisition. Such securities would present a substantial risk of future default which may cause the Fund to incur losses, including additional expenses, to the extent it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on those securities. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a portfolio security, the Fund may lose its entire investment or may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than its original investment. Defaulted or distressed securities may be subject to restrictions on resale.

Derivatives Risk—The Fund’s use of derivatives involves risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in the investments underlying the derivatives. If the Fund enters into a derivative

 

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37


transaction, it could lose more than the principal amount invested. The risks associated with derivatives transactions include (i) the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and the underlying assets, (ii) the possible default of the counterparty to the transaction, (iii) illiquidity of the derivative instruments, and (iv) high volatility losses caused by unanticipated market movements, which are potentially unlimited. Although both over-the-counter (”OTC”) and exchange-traded derivatives markets may experience a lack of liquidity, OTC non-standardized derivative transactions are generally less liquid than exchange-traded instruments. The illiquidity of the derivatives markets may be due to various factors, including congestion, disorderly markets, limitations on deliverable supplies, the participation of speculators, government regulation and intervention, and technical and operational or system failures. In addition, daily limits on price fluctuations and speculative position limits on exchanges on which the Fund may conduct its transactions in derivative instruments may prevent prompt liquidation of positions, subjecting the Fund to the potential of greater losses.

Whether the Fund’s use of derivatives is successful will depend on, among other things, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management correctly forecasting market circumstances, liquidity, market values, interest rates and other applicable factors. If Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management incorrectly forecast these and other factors, the investment performance of the Fund will be unfavorably affected. In addition, there can be no assurance that the derivatives investing techniques, as they may be developed and implemented by the Fund, will be successful in mitigating risk or achieving the Fund’s investment objectives. The use of derivatives to enhance returns may be particularly speculative.

Risk of Swaps and Swap Options—The Fund may enter into debt-related derivatives instruments including credit default swap contracts and interest rate swaps. Like most derivative instruments, the use of swaps is a highly specialized activity that involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. In addition, the use of swaps requires an understanding by Nuveen Asset Management not only of the referenced asset, rate or index, but also of the swap itself. If Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management is incorrect in its forecasts of default risks, market spreads or other applicable factors or events, 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 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 generally may only close out a swap, cap, floor, collar or other two-party contract with its particular counterparty, and generally may only transfer a position with the consent of that counterparty. Because they are two-party contracts and because they may have terms of greater than seven days, swap agreements may be considered illiquid. 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. Moreover, the Fund bears the risk of loss of the amount expected to be received under a swap agreement in the event of the default or bankruptcy of a swap agreement counterparty. 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.

The Fund may write (sell) and purchase put and call swap options. 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. When the Fund writes a swap option, upon exercise of the option the Fund would become obligated according to the terms of the underlying agreement.

It is possible that developments in the derivatives market, including changes in government regulation, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to terminate existing swap agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.

Risk of Financial Futures and Options Transactions—The Fund may use certain transactions for hedging the portfolio’s exposure to credit risk and the risk of increases in interest rates, which could result in poorer overall performance for the Fund. The Fund’s use of certain transactions to reduce risk involves costs and will be subject to Nuveen Asset Management’s ability to predict correctly changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Fund’s portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that Nuveen Asset Management’s judgment in this respect will be correct. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so.

There are certain risks associated with the use of financial futures and options to hedge investment portfolios. There may be an imperfect correlation between price movements of the futures and options and price movements of the portfolio securities being hedged. Losses may be incurred in hedging transactions, which could reduce the portfolio gains that might have been realized if the hedging transactions had not been entered into. If the Fund engages in futures transactions or in the writing of options on futures, it will be required to maintain initial margin and maintenance margin and may be required to make daily variation margin payments in accordance with applicable

 

38

Risks


rules of the exchanges and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). If the Fund purchases a financial futures contract or a call option or writes a put option in order to hedge the anticipated purchase of municipal securities, and if the Fund fails to complete the anticipated purchase transaction, the Fund may have a loss or a gain on the futures or options transaction that will not be offset by price movements in the municipal securities that were the subject of the anticipatory hedge. The cost of put options on debt securities or indexes effectively increases the cost of the securities subject to them, thereby reducing the yield otherwise available from these securities. If the Fund decides to use futures contracts or options on futures contracts for hedging purposes, the Fund will be required to establish an account for such purposes with one or more CFTC-registered futures commission merchants. A futures commission merchant could establish initial and maintenance margin requirements for the Fund that are greater than those which would otherwise apply to the Fund under applicable rules of the exchanges and the CFTC. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist at a time when the Fund seeks to close out a derivatives or futures or a futures option position, and the Fund would remain obligated to meet margin requirements until the position is closed. Futures exchanges may limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in certain 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 day’s settlement price at the end of the current trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a futures contract subject to the limit, no more trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movements during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses because the limit may work to prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. For example, futures prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of positions and subjecting some holders of futures contracts to substantial losses.

Puerto Rico Municipal Securities Market Risk—To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities issued by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or its political subdivisions, agencies, instrumentalities, or public corporations (collectively referred to in this prospectus as “Puerto Rico” or the “Commonwealth”), it will be disproportionally affected by political, social and economic conditions and developments in the Commonwealth. In addition, economic, political or regulatory changes in that territory could adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investment portfolio.

Puerto Rico currently is experiencing significant fiscal and economic challenges, including substantial debt service obligations, high levels of unemployment, underfunded public retirement systems, and persistent government budget deficits. These challenges may negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments in Puerto Rican municipal securities. Major ratings agencies have downgraded the general obligation debt of Puerto Rico to below investment grade and continue to maintain a negative outlook for this debt, which increases the likelihood that the rating will be lowered further. In both August 2015 and January 2016, Puerto Rico defaulted on its debt by failing to make full payment due on its outstanding bonds, and there can be no assurance that Puerto Rico will be able to satisfy its future debt obligations. Further downgrades or defaults may place additional strain on the Puerto Rico economy and may negatively affect the value, liquidity, and volatility of the Fund’s investments in Puerto Rican municipal securities. Legislation, including legislation that would allow Puerto Rico to restructure its municipal debt obligations, thus increasing the risk that Puerto Rico may never pay off municipal indebtedness, or may pay only a small fraction of the amount owed, could also impact the value of the Fund’s investments in Puerto Rican municipal securities.

These challenges and uncertainties have been exacerbated by Hurricane Maria and the resulting natural disaster in Puerto Rico. In September 2017, Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, causing major damage across the Commonwealth, including damage to its water, power, and telecommunications infrastructure. The length of time needed to rebuild Puerto Rico’s infrastructure is unclear, but could amount to years, during which the Commonwealth is likely to be in an uncertain economic state. The full extent of the natural disaster’s impact on Puerto Rico’s economy and foreign investment in Puerto Rico is difficult to estimate.

Puerto Rico’s political and economic conditions could have a negative impact on the liquidity or value of Puerto Rican municipal securities, and consequently may affect the Fund’s investments and its performance if the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in Puerto Rican municipal securities.

Hedging Risk—The Fund’s use of derivatives or other transactions to reduce risks involves costs and will be subject to Nuveen Asset Management’s ability to predict correctly changes in the relationships of such hedge instruments to the Fund’s portfolio holdings or other factors. No assurance can be given that Nuveen Asset Management’s judgment in this respect will be correct. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Fund will enter into hedging or other transactions at times or under circumstances in which it may be advisable to do so.

Tax Risk—The Fund intends to elect to be treated and to qualify each year as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). As a RIC, the Fund is not expected to be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its investment company taxable income and net capital gains. To qualify for the special tax treatment available to a RIC, the Fund must comply with certain income, distribution, and diversification requirements.

 

Risks

 

 

39


Under certain circumstances, the Fund may be forced to sell certain assets when it is not advantageous in order to meet these requirements, which may reduce the Fund’s overall return. If the Fund fails to meet any of these requirements, subject to the opportunity to cure such failures under applicable provisions of the Code, the Fund’s income would be subject to a double level of U.S. federal income tax. The Fund’s income, including its net capital gain, would first be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates, even if such income were distributed to shareholders and, second, all distributions by the Fund from earnings and profits, including distributions of net capital gain (if any), would be taxable to shareholders as dividends. See “Tax Matters.”

The value of the Fund’s investments and its NAV may be adversely affected by changes in tax rates and rules. Because interest income from municipal securities is normally not subject to U.S. regular federal income taxation, the attractiveness of municipal securities in relation to other investment alternatives is affected by changes in federal income tax rates or changes in the tax exempt status of interest income from municipal securities. Additionally, the Fund is not a suitable investment for individual retirement accounts, for other tax exempt or tax-deferred accounts or for investors who are not sensitive to the federal income tax consequences of their investments. The Fund’s investment in AMT Bonds may trigger adverse tax consequences for Fund shareholders who are subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. If you are, or as a result of investment in the Fund would become, subject to the federal alternative minimum tax, the Fund may not be a suitable investment for you. In addition, distributions of taxable ordinary income (including any net short-term capital gain) will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (and not eligible for favorable taxation as “qualified dividend income”), and capital gain dividends will be taxable as long-term capital gains. Interest income on municipal securities also may be subject to state and local income taxes. See “Tax Matters.”

Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk—Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price and date, thereby establishing an effective interest rate. The Fund’s use of reverse repurchase agreements, in economic essence, constitute a securitized borrowing by the Fund from the security purchaser. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements for the purpose of creating a leveraged investment exposure and, as such, their usage involves essentially the same risks associated with a leveraging strategy generally since the proceeds from these agreements may be invested in additional securities. Reverse repurchase agreements tend to be short-term in tenor, and there can be no assurances that the purchaser (lender) will commit to extend or “roll” a given agreement upon its agreed-upon repurchase date or an alternative purchaser can be identified on similar terms.

Reverse repurchase agreements also involve the risk that purchaser fails to return the securities as agreed upon, files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent. The Fund may be restricted from taking normal portfolio actions during such time, could be subject to loss to the extent that the proceeds of the agreement are less than the value of securities subject to the agreement and may experience adverse tax consequences.

Taxability Risk—The Fund will invest in municipal securities in reliance at the time of purchase on an opinion of bond counsel to the issuer that the interest paid on those securities will be excludable from gross income for federal income tax purposes, and Nuveen Asset Management will not independently verify that opinion. Subsequent to the Fund’s acquisition of such a municipal security, however, the security may be determined to pay, or to have paid, taxable income. As a result, the treatment of dividends previously paid or to be paid by the Fund as “exempt-interest dividends” could be adversely affected, subjecting the Fund’s shareholders to increased federal income tax liabilities.

Distributions of taxable ordinary income (including any net short-term capital gain) will be taxable to shareholders as ordinary income (and not eligible for favorable taxation as “qualified dividend income”), and capital gain dividends will be taxable as long-term capital gains. See “Tax Matters.”

Inflation Risk—Inflation risk is the risk that the value of assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the real value of the Common Shares and distributions can decline.

Insurance Risk—The Fund may purchase municipal securities that are secured by insurance, bank credit agreements or escrow accounts. The credit quality of the companies that provide such credit enhancements will affect the value of those securities. Certain significant providers of insurance for municipal securities have incurred significant losses as a result of exposure to sub-prime mortgages and other lower credit quality investments that have experienced defaults or otherwise suffered extreme credit deterioration. As a result, such losses have reduced the insurers’ capital and called into question their continued ability to perform their obligations under such insurance if they are called upon to do so in the future. While an insured municipal security will typically be deemed to have the rating of its insurer, if the insurer of a municipal security suffers a downgrade in its credit rating or the market discounts the value of the insurance provided by the insurer, the rating of the underlying municipal security will be more relevant and the value of the municipal security would more closely, if not entirely, reflect such rating. In such a case, the value of insurance

 

40

Risks


associated with a municipal security would decline and may not add any value. The insurance feature of a municipal security does not guarantee the full payment of principal and interest through the life of an insured obligation, the market value of the insured obligation or the NAV of the Common Shares represented by such insured obligation.

Debt Securities Risk—Issuers of debt instruments in which the Fund may invest may default on their obligations to pay principal or interest when due. This non-payment would result in a reduction of income to the Fund, a reduction in the value of a debt instrument experiencing non-payment and, potentially, a decrease in the NAV of the Fund. To the extent that the credit rating assigned to a security in the Fund’s portfolio is downgraded, the market price and liquidity of such security may be adversely affected. When market interest rates rise, the market value of such instruments generally will fall.

Tender Option Bond Regulatory Risk—The federal banking regulators, the SEC and the CFTC in recent years have adopted rules and regulations that have impacted or may impact TOB trusts and securities issued by such trusts, including most notably the so-called “Volcker Rule”, added to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 with the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Act. The Volcker Rule places certain restrictions on the ability of any “banking entity” to sponsor, acquire interests in and engage in certain activities with a TOB trust. As a result, certain activities to support the remarketing of floating rate certificates undertaken by banking entities, in their role as remarketing agents or liquidity providers to TOB trusts, before the compliance date for the Volcker Rule, are no longer permitted under the standard TOB trust structure. To be compliant with the Volcker Rule, the standard TOB trust structure has been modified since the Rule’s adoption (i) to shift certain rights and responsibilities from the remarketing agent and liquidity provider to the owners of the inverse floating rate securities such as the Fund itself, and (ii) to change the way in which liquidity is provided to support remarketing of the floating rate securities. Holders of the inverse floating rate securities, including the Fund, may delegate many of these responsibilities to a third party administrator, which would generate additional costs relative to the standard TOB trust structure. The total impact of these modifications remains to be fully seen, but the operational and structural changes associated with these modifications may make early unwinds of TOB trusts in adverse market scenarios more likely, may make the use of TOB trusts more expensive and, overall, may make it more difficult to use TOB trusts to effectively leverage municipal investments to the extent that the Fund may desire. In addition, these modifications have raised or may raise other regulatory issues that may require further refinement to the structure, may impede the future use of TOB trusts as a means of financing leverage, or may increase future costs of TOB-based leverage.

Tobacco Settlement Bond Risk—Tobacco settlement bonds are municipal securities that are backed solely by expected revenues to be derived from lawsuits involving tobacco related deaths and illnesses which were settled between certain states and American tobacco companies. Tobacco settlement bonds are secured by an issuing state’s proportionate share in the Master Settlement Agreement (“MSA”). The MSA is an agreement reached out of court in November 1998 between 46 states and nearly all of the U.S. tobacco manufacturers. Under the terms of the MSA, the actual amount of future settlement payments by tobacco manufacturers is dependent on many factors, including, but not limited to, annual domestic cigarette shipments, reduced cigarette consumption, increased taxes on cigarettes, inflation, financial capability of tobacco companies, continuing litigation and the possibility of tobacco manufacturer bankruptcy. Payments made by tobacco manufacturers could be negatively impacted if the decrease in tobacco consumption is significantly greater than the forecasted decline.

Fund Level Risks

Investment and Market Risk—An investment in Common Shares is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount that you invest. Your investment in Common Shares represents an indirect investment in the securities owned by the Fund. Your Common Shares at any point in time may be worth less than your original investment, even after taking into account the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions.

Repurchase Offers Risk—As described under “Periodic Repurchase Offers”, the Fund is an “interval fund” and, in order to provide liquidity to Common Shareholders, the Fund, subject to applicable law, intends to conduct quarterly repurchase offers of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares at NAV, subject to approval of the Board of Trustees. In each quarter, such repurchase offers will be for at least 5% of its outstanding Common Shares at NAV, pursuant to Rule 23c-3 under the 1940 Act.

The Fund currently expects to conduct quarterly repurchase offers for 5% of its outstanding Common Shares under ordinary circumstances. The Fund believes that these repurchase offers are generally beneficial to the Fund’s Common Shareholders, and repurchases generally will be funded from available cash or sales of portfolio securities. However, repurchase offers and the need to fund repurchase obligations may affect the ability of the Fund to be fully invested or force the Fund to maintain a higher percentage of its assets in liquid investments, which may harm the Fund’s investment performance. Moreover, diminution in the size of the Fund through repurchases may result in untimely sales of portfolio securities (with associated imputed transaction costs, which may be significant), and may

 

Risks

 

 

41


limit the ability of the Fund to participate in new investment opportunities or to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may accumulate cash by holding back (i.e., not reinvesting) payments received in connection with the Fund’s investments. The Fund believes that payments received in connection with the Fund’s investments will generate sufficient cash to meet the maximum potential amount of the Fund’s repurchase obligations. If at any time cash and other liquid assets held by the Fund are not sufficient to meet the Fund’s repurchase obligations, the Fund intends, if necessary, to sell investments. If, as expected, the Fund employs leverage, repurchases of Common Shares would compound the adverse effects of leverage in a declining market. In addition, if the Fund borrows to finance repurchases, interest on that borrowing will negatively affect Common Shareholders who do not tender their Common Shares by increasing the Fund’s expenses and reducing any net investment income. If a repurchase offer is oversubscribed, the Board of Trustees may determine to increase the amount repurchased by up to 2% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares as of the date of the Repurchase Request Deadline. In the event that the Board of Trustees determines not to repurchase more than the repurchase offer amount, or if Common Shareholders tender more than the repurchase offer amount plus 2% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares as of the date of the Repurchase Request Deadline, the Fund will repurchase the Common Shares tendered on a pro rata basis, and Common Shareholders will have to wait until the next repurchase offer to make another repurchase request. As a result, Common Shareholders may be unable to liquidate all or a given percentage of their investment in the Fund during a particular repurchase offer. Some Common Shareholders, in anticipation of proration, may tender more Common Shares than they wish to have repurchased in a particular quarter, thereby increasing the likelihood that proration will occur. A Common Shareholder may be subject to market and other risks, and the NAV of Common Shares tendered in a repurchase offer may decline between the Repurchase Request Deadline and the date on which the NAV for tendered Common Shares is determined. In addition, the repurchase of Common Shares by the Fund may be a taxable event to Common Shareholders.

While the Fund anticipates having enough cash on hand to fund share repurchases, it may need to sell securities in order to generate enough cash to fund share repurchases. This may cause the Fund to have a higher portfolio turnover rate than is generally anticipated. A higher portfolio turnover rate may result in higher taxes to Fund investors. This is because the sale of securities may accelerate the recognition of capital gains by the Fund (if the Fund’s basis in securities sold is less than the proceeds from the sale of the security) which may be distributed to investors, and it is more likely that such gains will be taxable as short-term capital gains rather than long-term capital gains that are taxable at lower rates.

If shares tendered by an investor are repurchased by the Fund, it will be a taxable transaction to the investor either in the form of a “sale or exchange” which would be taxable to an investor at capital gain tax rates, assuming such shares are held as a capital asset, or, under certain circumstances, a “dividend” which would be taxable to an investor at ordinary income tax rates. See “Tax Matters—Sale, Exchange of Liquidation of Fund Shares” in the SAI for additional information.

Leverage Risk—The Fund’s anticipated use of leverage through either issuing Preferred Shares or investing in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, creates special risks for Common Shareholders, including potential interest rate risks and the likelihood of greater volatility of NAV and Common Share distributions. The use of leverage in a declining market will likely cause a greater decline in Common Share NAV than if the Fund were not to have used leverage. The Fund will pay (and Common Shareholders will bear) any costs and expenses relating to the Fund’s use of leverage, which will result in a reduction in the NAV of the Common Shares. Nuveen Fund Advisors may, based on its assessment of market conditions, composition of the Fund’s holdings, increase or decrease the amount of leverage. Such changes may impact the Fund’s distributions. There is no assurance that the Fund will utilize leverage or that the Fund’s use of leverage will be successful. See “Leverage.”

The Fund pays a management fee to Nuveen Fund Advisors for investment advisory services, which in turn pays a portion of its fee to Nuveen Asset Management for investment sub-advisory services, based on a percentage of the Fund’s Managed Assets. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will base the decision regarding whether and how much leverage to use for the Fund based on their assessment of whether such use of leverage is in the best interests of the Fund. However, the fact that a decision to employ or increase the Fund’s leverage will have the effect, all other things being equal, of increasing Managed Assets and therefore Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s fees means that they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether to use or increase leverage. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will seek to manage that potential conflict by leveraging the Fund (or increasing such leverage) only when they determine that such action is in the best interests of the Fund, and by periodically reviewing the Fund’s performance and use of leverage with the Board of Trustees.

Non-Diversified Status Risk—The Fund is a non-diversified fund. As defined in the 1940 Act, a non-diversified fund may invest a significant part of its investments in a smaller number of issuers than can a diversified fund. Having a larger percentage of assets in a smaller number of issuers makes a non-diversified fund, like the Fund, more susceptible to the risk that one single event or occurrence can have a significant adverse impact upon the Fund.

 

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Large Shareholder Risk—To the extent a large proportion of the Common Shares are held by a small number of Common Shareholders (or a single shareholder), including affiliates of Nuveen Fund Advisors, the Fund is subject to the risk that these shareholders will purchase or redeem Common Shares in large amounts rapidly or unexpectedly. These transactions could adversely affect the ability of the Fund to conduct its investment program. Furthermore, it is possible that in response to a repurchase offer, the total amount of Common Shares tendered by a small number of Common Shareholders (or a single shareholder) may exceed the number of Common Shares that the Fund has offered to repurchase. If a repurchase offer is oversubscribed by Common Shareholders, the Fund will repurchase only a pro rata portion of shares tendered by each shareholder. See “Fund Level Risks—Repurchase Offers Risk” above.

No Operating History—The Fund is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company with no history of operations. As a result, prospective investors have no track record or history upon which to base their investment decision.

Litigation Risk—From time to time, the Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management may be subject to pending or threatened litigation or regulatory action. Some of these claims may result in significant defense costs and potentially significant judgments. The ultimate outcome of any potential litigation or regulatory action or any claims that may arise in the future cannot be predicted and the reputation of the Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management could be damaged as a result. Certain litigation or regulatory scrutiny could materially adversely affect the Fund. The resolution of certain claims may result in significant fines, judgments, or settlements, which, if partially or completely uninsured, could adversely impact the Fund or the ability of Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management to perform their duties to the Fund.

Other Risks

Economic and Political Events Risk—The Fund may be more sensitive to adverse economic, business or political developments if it invests a substantial portion of its assets in the bonds of similar projects (such as those relating to the education, health care, housing, transportation, or utilities industries), industrial development bonds, or in particular types of municipal securities (such as general obligation bonds, private activity bonds or moral obligation bonds). Such developments may adversely affect a specific industry or local political and economic conditions, and thus may lead to declines in the bonds’ creditworthiness and value.

Recent Market Conditions—Since the financial crisis that started in 2008, the United States and many foreign economies continue to experience its after-effects. Conditions in the United States and many foreign economies have resulted, and may continue to result, in certain instruments experiencing unusual liquidity issues, increased price volatility and, in some cases, credit downgrades and increased likelihood of default. These events have reduced the willingness and ability of some lenders to extend credit, and have made it more difficult for some borrowers to obtain financing on attractive terms, if at all. In some cases, traditional market participants have been less willing to make a market in some types of debt instruments, which has affected the liquidity of those instruments. During times of market turmoil, investors tend to look to the safety of securities issued or backed by the U.S. Treasury, causing the prices of these securities to rise and the yields to decline. Reduced liquidity in fixed income and credit markets may negatively affect many issuers worldwide. In addition, 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. A rise in protectionist trade policies, and the possibility of changes to some international trade agreements, could affect the economies of many nations in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen at the present time.

In response to the financial crisis, the United States and other governments and the Federal Reserve and certain foreign central banks have taken steps to support financial markets. Policy and legislative changes by the United States government and the Federal Reserve to assist in the ongoing support of financial markets, both domestically and in other countries, are changing many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time. In some countries where economic conditions are recovering, such countries are nevertheless perceived as still fragile. Withdrawal of government support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding, could adversely impact the value and liquidity of certain securities. The severity or duration of adverse economic conditions may also be affected by policy changes made by governments or quasi-governmental organizations, including changes in tax laws and the imposition of trade barriers. The impact of new financial regulation legislation on the markets and the practical implications for market participants may not be fully known for some time. Changes to the Federal Reserve policy, including with respect to certain interest rates and with respect to its quantitative easing policy, may affect the value, volatility and liquidity of dividend and interest paying securities. Regulatory changes are causing some financial services companies to exit long-standing lines of business, resulting in dislocations for other market participants. In addition, the contentious domestic political environment, as well as

 

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political and diplomatic events within the United States and abroad, such as the U.S. government’s inability at times to agree on a long-term budget and deficit reduction plan, the threat of a federal government shutdown and threats not to increase the federal government’s debt limit, may affect investor and consumer confidence and may adversely impact financial markets and the broader economy, perhaps suddenly and to a significant degree. The U.S. government has recently reduced federal corporate income tax rates, and future legislative, regulatory and policy changes may result in more restrictions on international trade, less stringent prudential regulation of certain players in the financial markets, and significant new investments in infrastructure and national defense. Markets may react strongly to expectations about the changes in these policies, which could increase volatility, especially if the markets’ expectations for changes in government policies are not borne out.

Changes in market conditions will not have the same impact on all types of securities. Interest rates have been unusually low in recent years in the United States and abroad, but there is a consensus that interest rates will continue to increase during the life of the Fund, which could negatively impact the price of debt securities. Because there is little precedent for this situation, it is difficult to predict the impact of a significant rate increase on various markets. For example, because investors may buy securities or other investments with borrowed money, a significant increase in interest rates may cause a decline in the markets for those investments. Because of the sharp decline in the worldwide price of oil, there is a concern that oil producing nations may withdraw significant assets now held in U.S. Treasuries, which could force a substantial increase in interest rates. Regulators have expressed concern that rate increases may cause investors to sell fixed income securities faster than the market can absorb them, contributing to price volatility. In addition, there is a risk that the prices of goods and services in the United States and many foreign economies may decline over time, known as deflation (the opposite of inflation). Deflation may have an adverse effect on stock prices and creditworthiness and may make defaults on debt more likely. If a country’s economy slips into a deflationary pattern, it could last for a prolonged period and may be difficult to reverse. The precise details and the resulting impact of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union (“EU”), commonly referred to as “Brexit,” are not yet known. The effect on the United Kingdom’s economy will likely depend on the nature of trade relations with the EU and other major economies following its exit, which are matters to be negotiated. The outcomes may cause increased volatility and have a significant adverse impact on world financial markets, other international trade agreements, and the United Kingdom and European economies, as well as the broader global economy for some time. Additionally, a number of countries in Europe have suffered terror attacks, and additional attacks may occur in the future. Ukraine has experienced ongoing military conflict; this conflict may expand and military attacks could occur elsewhere in Europe. Europe has also been struggling with mass migration from the Middle East and Africa. The ultimate effects of these events and other socio-political or geographical issues are not known but could profoundly affect global economies and markets.

The current political climate has intensified concerns about a potential trade war between China and the United States, as each country has recently imposed tariffs on the other country’s products. These actions may trigger a significant reduction in international trade, the oversupply of certain manufactured goods, substantial price reductions of goods and possible failure of individual companies and/or large segments of China’s export industry, which could have a negative impact on the Fund’s performance. U.S. companies that source material and goods from China and those that make large amounts of sales in China would be particularly vulnerable to an escalation of trade tensions. Uncertainty regarding the outcome of the trade tensions and the potential for a trade war could cause the U.S. dollar to decline against safe haven currencies, such as the Japanese yen and the euro. Events such as these and their consequences are difficult to predict and it is unclear whether further tariffs may be imposed or other escalating actions may be taken in the future.

The impact of these developments in the near- and long-term is unknown and could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world.

Legislation and Regulatory Risk—At any time after the date of this prospectus, legislation or additional regulations may be enacted that could negatively affect the assets of the Fund, securities held by the Fund or the issuers of such securities. Changing approaches to regulation may have a negative impact on the entities and/or securities in which the Fund invests. Legislation or regulation may also change the way in which the Fund itself is regulated. Fund shareholders may incur increased costs resulting from such legislation or additional regulation. There can be no assurance that future legislation, regulation or deregulation will not have a material adverse effect on the Fund or will not impair the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objectives.

For example, the Dodd-Frank Act is designed to impose stringent regulation on the over-the-counter derivatives market in an attempt to increase transparency and accountability and provides for, among other things, new clearing, execution, margin, reporting, recordkeeping, business conduct, disclosure, position limit, minimum net capital and registration requirements. Although the CFTC has released final rules under the Dodd-Frank Act, many of the provisions are subject to further final rulemaking, and thus the Dodd-Frank Act’s ultimate impact remains unclear.

 

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The SEC proposed rules governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, which could affect the nature and extent of derivatives use by the Fund. The proposed rules have not yet been adopted and therefore the full impact of such rules is uncertain at this time. It is possible that such rules, if adopted, could limit the implementation of the Fund’s use of derivatives, which could have an adverse effect on the Fund.

Additionally, the Fund is operated by persons who have claimed an exclusion, granted to operators of registered investment companies like the Fund, from registration as a “commodity pool operator” under Rule 4.5 promulgated by the CFTC pursuant to its authority under the Commodity Exchange Act (the “CEA”) and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a “commodity pool operator.” As a result, the Fund is limited in its ability to use commodity futures (which include futures on broad-based securities indexes and interest rate futures) or options on commodity futures, engage in swaps transactions or make certain other investments (whether directly or indirectly through investments in other investment vehicles) for purposes other than bona fide hedging. With respect to transactions other than for bona fide hedging purposes, either: (1) the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the Fund’s positions in such investments may not exceed 5% of the liquidation value of the Fund’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments); or (2) the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 100% of the liquidation value of the Fund’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the Fund may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the futures, options or swaps markets. If the Fund does not continue to claim the exclusion, it would likely become subject to registration and regulation as a commodity pool operator. The Fund may incur additional expenses as a result of the CFTC’s registration and regulatory requirements.

Potential Conflicts of Interest Risk—Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management each provide a wide array of portfolio management and other asset management services to a mix of clients and may engage in ordinary course activities in which their respective interests or those of their clients may compete or conflict with those of the Fund. In certain circumstances, and subject to its fiduciary obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Nuveen Asset Management may have to allocate a limited investment opportunity among its clients, which include closed-end funds, open-end funds and other commingled funds. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management have each adopted policies and procedures designed to address such situations and other potential conflicts of interests.

For additional information about potential conflicts of interest, and the way in which Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management address such conflicts, please see “Subadviser—Nuveen Asset Management Conflict of Interest Policies” in the SAI.

The following risks are not considered to be principal risks of investing in the Fund:

Income Risk—The Fund’s income could decline due to falling market interest rates. This is because, in a falling interest rate environment, the Fund generally will have to invest the proceeds from sales of Fund shares, as well as the proceeds from maturing portfolio securities, in lower-yielding securities.

Deflation Risk—Deflation risk is the risk that prices throughout the economy decline over time, which may have an adverse effect on the market valuation of companies, their assets and revenues. In addition, deflation may have an adverse effect on the creditworthiness of issuers and may make issuer default more likely, which may result in a decline in the value of the Fund’s portfolio.

Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risk—The aftermath of the war in Iraq, instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, possible terrorist attacks in the United States and around the world, continued tensions between North Korea and the United States and the international community generally, growing social and political discord in the United States, the European debt crisis, the response of the international community—through economic sanctions and otherwise—to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and posture vis-a-vis Ukraine, further downgrade of U.S. Government securities, the change in the U.S. president and the new administration and other similar events, may have long-term effects on the U.S. and worldwide financial markets and may cause further economic uncertainties in the United States and worldwide. The Fund does not know and can not predict how long the securities markets may be affected by these events and the effects of these and similar events in the future on the U.S. economy and securities markets. The Fund may be adversely affected by abrogation of international agreements and national laws which have created the market instruments in which the Fund may invest, failure of the designated national and international authorities to enforce compliance with the same laws and agreements, failure of local, national and international organizations to carry out their duties prescribed to them under the relevant agreements, revisions of these laws and agreements which dilute their effectiveness or conflicting interpretation of provisions of the same laws and agreements. The Fund may be adversely affected by uncertainties

 

Risks

 

 

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such as terrorism, international political developments, and changes in government policies, taxation, restrictions on foreign investment and currency repatriation, currency fluctuations and other developments in the laws and regulations of the countries in which it is invested.

Borrowing Risk—In addition to borrowing for leverage (see “Leverage”), the Fund may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, to pay dividends, repurchase its shares, or clear portfolio transactions. Borrowing may exaggerate changes in the NAV of the Fund’s shares and may affect the Fund’s net income. When the Fund borrows money, it must pay interest and other fees, which will reduce the Fund’s returns if such costs exceed the returns on the portfolio securities purchased or retained with such borrowings. Any such borrowings are intended to be temporary. However, under certain market circumstances, such borrowings might be outstanding for longer periods of time.

Cybersecurity Risk—Technology, such as the internet, has become more prevalent in the course of business, and as such, the Fund and its service providers are susceptible to operational and information security risk resulting from cyber incidents. Cyber incidents refer to both intentional attacks and unintentional events including: processing errors, human errors, technical errors including computer glitches and system malfunctions, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, market-wide technical-related disruptions, unauthorized access to digital systems (through “hacking” or malicious software coding), computer viruses, and cyber-attacks which shut down, disable, slow or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes or website access or functionality (including denial of service attacks). Cyber incidents could adversely impact the Fund and cause the Fund to incur financial loss and expense, as well as face exposure to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and additional compliance costs associated with corrective measures. Cyber incidents may cause a Fund or its service providers to lose proprietary information, suffer data corruption, lose operational capacity or fail to comply with applicable privacy and other laws. Among other potentially harmful effects, cyber incidents also may result in theft, unauthorized monitoring and failures in the physical infrastructure or operating systems that support the Fund and its service providers. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. While the Fund’s service providers have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, the Fund cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the Fund.

Certain Affiliations—Certain broker-dealers may be considered to be affiliated persons of the Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management, Nuveen and/or TIAA. Absent an exemption from the SEC or other regulatory relief, the Fund generally is precluded from effecting certain principal transactions with affiliated brokers, and its ability to purchase securities being underwritten by an affiliated broker or a syndicate including an affiliated broker, or to utilize affiliated brokers for agency transactions, is subject to restrictions. The Fund has not applied for and does not currently intend to apply for such relief. This could limit the Fund’s ability to engage in securities transactions and take advantage of market opportunities. In addition, unless and until the underwriting syndicate is broken in connection with the initial public offering of the Common Shares, the Fund will be precluded from effecting principal transactions with brokers who are members of the syndicate.

Unrated Securities Risk—The Fund may purchase securities that are not rated by any rating organization. Nuveen Asset Management may, after assessing such securities’ credit quality, internally assign ratings to certain of those securities in categories similar to those of rating organizations. Some unrated securities may not have an active trading market or may be difficult to value, which means the Fund might have difficulty selling them promptly at an acceptable price. To the extent that the Fund invests in unrated securities, the Fund’s ability to achieve its investment objectives will be more dependent on Nuveen Asset Management’s credit analysis than would be the case when the Fund invests in rated securities.

Risks in Valuation—The Fund utilizes independent pricing services approved by the Board of Trustees to value portfolio instruments at their market value. If the pricing services are unable to provide a market value or if a significant event occurs such that the valuation(s) provided are deemed unreliable, the Fund may value portfolio instrument(s) at their fair value, which is generally the amount an owner might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale. Valuation risks associated with investing in below investment grade debt instruments including, but not limited to: a limited number of market participants, a lack of publicly-available information, resale restrictions, settlement delays, corporate actions and adverse market conditions may make it difficult to value or sell such instruments.

Asset Segregation Risk—Certain portfolio management techniques, such as, among other things, using reverse repurchase agreements, purchasing securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis or entering into swap agreements, futures contracts or other derivative transactions, create leverage or its effect, and may be considered “senior securities’” (as that term is defined under the 1940 Act). To avoid having these instruments considered “senior securities,” the Fund may maintain liquid assets with its custodian in an amount with a value at least equal (on a daily

 

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Risks


market value basis or notional value basis, as applicable) to the aggregate amount of its obligations under these types of leveraging transactions (often referred to as “asset segregation”), enter into offsetting transactions, or otherwise “cover” certain transactions, in accordance with the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and applicable positions of the SEC and its staff. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Asset Segregation” above. In the event that the Fund is unable to maintain sufficient assets, or otherwise “cover,” any open positions, a portion or all of these instruments will be classified as a “senior security” for 1940 Act purposes and be subject to certain limitations on “senior securities” under the 1940 Act. See “Leverage” above. The Fund may be restricted in its use of assets that are maintained for “asset segregation,” or committed as “cover,” for certain other purposes, which could result in the Fund earning a lower return on its portfolio than it might otherwise earn if it did not have to maintain those assets in respect of, or otherwise “cover,” such portfolio positions. To the extent the Fund’s assets are maintained or committed as “cover,” it could limit the Fund’s investment flexibility. Maintaining assets and covering positions will not limit or offset losses on the related leveraging positions.

Counterparty Risk—The Fund will be subject to credit risk with respect to the counterparties to the derivative transactions entered into by the Fund. Changes in the credit quality of the companies that serve as the Fund’s counterparties with respect to derivatives transactions may affect the value of those instruments. Because certain derivative transactions in which the Fund may engage may be traded between counterparties based on contractual relationships, the Fund is subject to the risk that a counterparty will not perform its obligations under the related contracts. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise becomes unable to perform its obligations due to financial difficulties the Fund may sustain losses (including the full amount of its investment), may be unable to liquidate a derivatives position or may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery in bankruptcy or other reorganization proceedings. By entering into derivatives transactions, the Fund assumes the risk that its counterparties could experience such financial hardships. Although the Fund intends to enter into transactions only with counterparties that Nuveen Fund Advisors believes to be creditworthy, there can be no assurance that a counterparty will not default and that the Fund will not sustain a loss on a transaction. In the event of a counterparty’s bankruptcy or insolvency, any collateral posted by the Fund in connection with a derivatives transaction may be subject to the conflicting claims of that counterparty’s creditors, and the Fund may be exposed to the risk of a court treating the Fund as a general unsecured creditor of the counterparty, rather than as the owner of the collateral.

The counterparty risk for cleared derivatives is generally lower than for uncleared OTC derivative transactions. In a cleared derivative transaction, generally, a clearing organization becomes substituted for each counterparty to a cleared derivative contract and each party to a trade looks only to the clearing organization for performance of financial obligations under the derivative contract. In effect, the clearing organization guarantees a party’s performance under the contract. However, there can be no assurance that a clearing organization, or its members, will satisfy its obligations to the Fund, or that the Fund would be able to recover the full amount of assets deposited on its behalf with the clearing organization in the event of the default by the clearing organization or the Fund’s clearing broker. In addition, cleared derivative transactions benefit from daily marking-to-market and settlement, and segregation and minimum capital requirements applicable to intermediaries. Uncleared OTC derivative transactions generally do not benefit from such protections. As a result, for uncleared OTC derivative transactions, there is the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with its terms and conditions because of a dispute over the terms of the contract (whether or not bona fide) or because of a credit or liquidity problem, thus causing the Fund to suffer a loss. This risk is heightened for contracts with longer maturities where events may intervene to prevent settlement, or where the Fund has concentrated its transactions with a single or small group of counterparties.

Risks Related to the Fund’s Clearing Broker and Central Clearing Counterparty—The CEA requires swaps and futures clearing brokers registered as “futures commission merchants” to segregate all funds received from customers with respect to any orders for the purchase or sale of U.S. domestic futures contracts and cleared swaps from the brokers’ proprietary assets. Similarly, the CEA requires each futures commission merchant to hold in separate secure accounts all funds received from customers with respect to any orders for the purchase or sale of foreign futures contracts and cleared swaps and segregate any such funds from the funds received with respect to domestic futures contracts. However, all funds and other property received by a clearing broker from its customers are held by the clearing broker on a commingled basis in an omnibus account and may be invested in certain instruments permitted under applicable regulations. There is a risk that assets deposited by the Fund with any swaps or futures clearing broker as margin for futures contracts or cleared swaps may, in certain circumstances, be used to satisfy losses of other clients of the Fund’s clearing broker. In addition, the assets of the Fund might not be fully protected in the event of the Fund’s clearing broker’s bankruptcy, as the Fund would be limited to recovering only a pro rata share of all available funds segregated on behalf of the clearing broker’s customers for the relevant account class.

Similarly, the CEA requires a clearing organization approved by the CFTC as a derivatives clearing organization to segregate all funds and other property received from a clearing member’s clients in connection with domestic cleared derivative contracts from any funds held at the clearing organization to support the clearing member’s proprietary

 

Risks

 

 

47


trading. Nevertheless, all customer funds held at a clearing organization in connection with any futures contracts are held in a commingled omnibus account and are not identified to the name of the clearing member’s individual customers. All customer funds held at a clearing organization with respect to cleared swaps of customers of a clearing broker are also held in an omnibus account, but CFTC rules require that the clearing broker notify the clearing organization of the amount of the initial margin provided by the clearing broker to the clearing organization that is attributable to each customer. With respect to futures and options contracts, a clearing organization may use assets of a non-defaulting customer held in an omnibus account at the clearing organization to satisfy payment obligations of a defaulting customer of the clearing member to the clearing organization. With respect to cleared swaps, a clearing organization generally cannot do so, but may do so if the clearing member does not provide accurate reporting to the clearing organization as to the attribution of margin among its clients. Also, since clearing brokers generally provide to clearing organizations the net amount of variation margin required for cleared swaps for all of its customers in the aggregate, rather than the gross amount of each customer, the Fund is subject to the risk that a clearing organization will not make variation margin payments owed to the Fund if another customer of the clearing member has suffered a loss and is in default. As a result, in the event of a default or the clearing broker’s other clients or the clearing broker’s failure to extend its own funds in connection with any such default, the Fund may not be able to recover the full amount of assets deposited by the clearing broker on behalf of the Fund with the clearing organization.

Other Investment Companies Risk—The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, including ETFs. Such securities may be leveraged. As a result, the Fund may be indirectly exposed to leverage through an investment in such securities and therefore magnify the Fund’s leverage risk. Utilization of leverage is a speculative investment technique and involves certain risks. An investment in securities of other investment companies that are leveraged may expose the Fund to higher volatility in the market value of such securities and the possibility that the Fund’s long-term returns on such securities (and, indirectly, the long-term returns of the Common Shares) will be diminished. The Fund, as a holder of the securities of other investment companies, will bear its pro rata portion of the other investment companies’ expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to the direct expenses of the Fund’s own operations. As a result, the cost of investing in investment company shares may exceed the costs of investing directly in its underlying investments. Investing in an investment company exposes the Fund to all of the risks of that investment company’s investments. An ETF that is based on a specific index may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities in the index. The value of an ETF based on a specific index is subject to change as the values of its respective component assets fluctuate according to market volatility. ETFs typically rely on a limited pool of authorized participants to create and redeem shares, and an active trading market for ETF shares may not develop or be maintained. The market value of shares of ETFs and closed-end funds may differ from their NAV.

 

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Risks


Management of the Fund

Trustees and Officers

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the Fund’s management, including supervision of the duties performed by Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management. The names and business addresses of the Fund’s trustees and officers and their principal occupations and other affiliations during the past five years are set forth under “Management of the Fund” in the SAI.

Investment Adviser and Subadviser

Investment Adviser. Nuveen Fund Advisors, a registered investment adviser, is responsible for overseeing the Fund’s overall investment strategy and its implementation. Nuveen Fund Advisors also is responsible for the ongoing monitoring of Nuveen Asset Management, overseeing the Fund’s use of leverage, managing the Fund’s business affairs and providing certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services to the Fund. Nuveen Fund Advisors is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606.

Nuveen Fund Advisors is an indirect subsidiary of Nuveen, the investment management arm of 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. As of September 30, 2019, Nuveen managed approximately $1.03 trillion in assets, of which approximately $152.6 billion was managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

Subadviser. Nuveen Asset Management, a registered investment adviser, is the Fund’s subadviser responsible for investing the Fund’s Managed Assets. Nuveen Asset Management is a subsidiary of Nuveen Fund Advisors.

Portfolio Managers. John Miller and Steve Hlavin will serve as the Fund’s portfolio managers.

John Miller serves as the head of Nuveen Municipals for Nuveen Asset Management, responsible for the investment process and performance of the firm’s municipal fixed income group. He is also the lead manager of the High Yield Municipal Bond Strategy, the California High Yield Municipal Bond Strategy, and related institutional portfolios. In addition, he co-manages the All-American Municipal Bond Strategy and the Strategic Municipal Opportunities Strategy and oversees a number of closed-end funds. As the head of Nuveen Municipals, Mr. Miller leads Nuveen Asset Management’s ongoing legacy as one of the largest and most experienced municipal bond managers in the investment industry. Mr. Miller also oversees Nuveen Asset Management’s actively managed investment approach that is firmly rooted in rigorous, bottom-up credit research to help identify attractively valued municipal bond investments.

Mr. Miller’s background features nearly 20 years of experience in the municipal marketplace. Before being named the co-head of Nuveen Municipals in 2011, he was chief investment officer for the firm’s municipal bond team starting in 2007. He was named a managing director and head of portfolio management for Nuveen Asset Management in 2006. Mr. Miller earned a B.A. in economics and political science from Duke University, an M.A. in economics from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. in finance with honors from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.

Steven Hlavin is a member of the High Yield Portfolio Management Team, and serves as a portfolio manager for the Nuveen Short Duration High Yield Municipal Bond Strategy and supports the management of the firm’s other High Yield Municipal Bond portfolios. He oversees a number of state-specific, tax-exempt portfolios including the Kansas Municipal Bond, Louisiana Municipal Bond and Wisconsin Municipal Bond Strategies. Steve is also responsible for the tender option bond/inverse floating rate program used by some of the firm’s closed-end and open-end funds. In addition, he manages two closed-end funds that rely on the use of tender option bonds for leverage and co-manages several ETFs.

Mr. Hlavin began his career in the financial industry in 2003 when he joined Nuveen Asset Management. He earned a B.A. in finance and accounting and an M.B.A. in finance from Miami University.

Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management, and other information is provided in the SAI. The SAI is available free of charge by calling (800) 257-8787 or by visiting Nuveen Investment’s website at www.nuveen.com.

Investment Management and Subadvisory Agreements

Pursuant to an investment management agreement between Nuveen Fund Advisors and the Fund, the Fund will pay Nuveen Fund Advisors an annual management fee, payable monthly in arrears, in a maximum amount equal to 1.25% of the Fund’s average daily Managed Assets. This maximum fee is equal to the sum of a fund-level fee, with

 

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with breakpoints based only on the amount of assets within the Fund, and a complex-level fee, with breakpoints based upon the aggregate amount of all eligible assets of all Nuveen Funds, as described below, according to the following schedule.

Fund-Level Fee

The fund-level fee shall be applied according to the following schedule:

 

Fund-Level Average Daily Managed Assets*    Fund-Level Fee Rate
For the first $125 million    1.0500%
For the next $125 million    1.0375%
For the next $250 million    1.0250%
For the next $500 million    1.0125%
For the next $1 billion    1.0000%
For the next $3 billion    0.9750%
For Managed Assets over $5 billion    0.9625%

Complex-Level Fee

The effective rates of the complex-level fee at various specified complex-wide asset levels are as indicated in the following table:

 

Complex-Level Asset Breakpoint Level*    Effective
Rate At
Breakpoint
Level
$55 billion    0.2000%
$56 billion    0.1996%
$57 billion    0.1989%
$60 billion    0.1961%
$63 billion    0.1931%
$66 billion    0.1900%
$71 billion    0.1851%
$76 billion    0.1806%
$80 billion    0.1773%
$91 billion    0.1691%
$125 billion    0.1599%
$200 billion    0.1505%
$250 billion    0.1469%
$300 billion    0.1445%
*

The complex-level fee is calculated based upon the aggregate daily “eligible assets” of all Nuveen open-end and closed-end funds. Eligible assets do not include assets attributable to investments in other Nuveen funds or assets in excess of a determined amount (originally $2 billion) added to the Nuveen fund complex in connection with Nuveen Fund Advisors’s assumption of the management of the former First American Funds effective January 1, 2011, but do include certain assets of certain Nuveen funds that were reorganized into funds advised by an affiliate of Nuveen Fund Advisors during the 2019 calendar year. Eligible assets include closed-end fund assets managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors that are attributable to certain types of leverage. For these purposes, leverage includes the closed-end funds’ use of preferred stock and borrowings and certain investments in the residual interest certificates (also called inverse floating rate securities) in tender option bond (TOB) trusts, including the portion of assets held by the TOB trust that has been effectively financed by the trust’s issuance of floating rate securities, subject to an agreement by Nuveen Fund Advisors as to certain funds to limit the amount of such assets for determining eligible assets in certain circumstances.

Based on eligible assets as of September 30, 2019 the complex-level fee would be 0.1570% of Managed Assets, and the total annual management to Nuveen Fund Advisors would be 1.2177% of Managed Assets.

In addition to Nuveen Fund Advisors’ management fee, the Fund pays all other costs and expenses of its operations, including compensation of its trustees (other than those affiliated with Nuveen), custodian, transfer agency and dividend disbursing expenses, legal fees, expenses of its independent registered accounting firm, expenses of repurchasing Common Shares, expenses of preparing, printing and distributing shareholder reports, notices, proxy statements and reports to governmental agencies, listing fees and taxes, if any. All fees and expenses are accrued daily and deducted before payment of distributions to shareholders.

 

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Management of the Fund


Separately, pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement between Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management, Nuveen Fund Advisors will pay Nuveen Asset Management a portfolio management fee equal to 50% of the investment management fee paid on the Fund’s average daily Managed Assets.

The basis for the Board of Trustees’ initial approval of the Fund’s investment management agreement and sub-advisory agreement will be provided in the Fund’s initial shareholder report. The basis for subsequent continuations of the Fund’s investment management agreement and sub-advisory agreement will be provided in annual or semiannual reports to shareholders for the periods during which such continuations occur.

 

Management of the Fund

 

 

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Net Asset Value

The NAV of the Fund’s Common Shares is determined by dividing the total value of the Fund’s portfolio investments and other assets, less any liabilities, by the total number of shares outstanding.

On each day that the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open, the Fund’s Common Shares are ordinarily valued as of the close of regular trading the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time). Information that becomes known to the Fund or its agents after the time as of which NAV has been calculated on a particular day will not generally be used to retroactively adjust the price of a security or the NAV determined earlier that day. The Fund reserves the right to change the time as of which its respective NAV is calculated if the Fund closes earlier, or as permitted by the SEC.

The Fund’s NAV is determined as of the close of regular session trading (normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on each day the NYSE is open for business. The Fund’s NAV is calculated by taking the market value of the Fund’s total assets, including interest or dividends accrued but not yet collected, less all liabilities, and dividing by the total number of Common Shares outstanding. The result, rounded to the nearest cent, is the NAV. All valuations are subject to review by the Fund’s Board of Trustees or its delegate.

The Fund utilizes independent pricing services approved by the Board of Trustees to value portfolio instruments at their market value. If the pricing services are unable to provide a market value or if a significant event occurs such that the valuation(s) provided are deemed unreliable, the Fund may value portfolio instrument(s) at their fair value, which is generally the amount that an owner might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale. Independent pricing services typically value non-equity portfolio 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 valuing municipal securities, the pricing services may also consider, among other factors, the yields or prices of municipal securities of comparable quality, type of issue, coupon, maturity and rating and the obligor’s credit characteristics considered relevant by the pricing service or the Board of Trustees’ designee. In pricing certain securities, particularly less liquid and lower quality securities, the pricing services may consider information about a security, its issuer or market activity provided by Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management.

If a price cannot be obtained from a pricing service or other pre-approved source, or if Nuveen Fund Advisors deems such price to be unreliable, or if a significant event occurs after the close of the local market but prior to the time at which the Fund’s net asset value is calculated, a portfolio instrument will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Trustees or persons acting at its direction. Nuveen Fund Advisors 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 day’s price by more than a threshold amount, and recent transactions and/or broker dealer price quotations differ materially from the price in question.

The valuations for fixed-income securities and certain derivative instruments are typically the prices supplied by independent third party pricing services, which may use market prices or broker/dealer quotations or a variety of fair valuation techniques and methodologies. Short-term fixed-income securities that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. The valuations of certain fixed-income securities will generally be based on prices determined as of the earlier closing time of the markets on which they primarily trade, unless a significant event has occurred.

The Board of Trustees has adopted valuation procedures for the Fund and has delegated the day-to-day responsibility for fair value determinations to Nuveen Fund Advisors’ Valuation Committee. 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 instrument’s 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.

 

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Net Asset Value


Distributions

Commencing with the Fund’s first dividend, the Fund intends to pay a regular monthly income dividend to Common Shareholders. The Fund expects to declare its initial Common Share distribution within approximately          days following the completion of this offering, and to pay that distribution on or about                         , 2020, depending on market conditions.

The Fund currently intends to distribute, at least annually, realized capital gains (if any).

The Fund reserves the right to change its distribution policy and the basis for establishing the rate of its monthly distributions at any time upon notice to Common Shareholders, upon a determination by the Board of Trustees that such change is in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders.

 

Distributions

 

 

53


Dividend Payments and Reinvestment Options

All Common Shareholders will have all dividends, including any capital gain dividends, reinvested automatically in additional Common Shares, unless the shareholder elects to receive cash. An election to receive cash may be revoked or reinstated at the option of the shareholder. In the case of record shareholders such as banks, brokers or other nominees that hold common shares for others who are the beneficial owners, Common Shares will be administered on the basis of the number of Common Shares certified from time to time by the record shareholder as representing the total amount registered in such shareholder’s name and held for the account of beneficial owners. Shareholders whose shares are held in the name of a bank, broker or nominee should contact the bank, broker or nominee for details. Such shareholders may not be able to transfer their shares to another bank or broker.

Common Shares received will be issued to you at their NAV on the ex-dividend date; there is no sales or other charge for reinvestment. You may request to have your dividends paid to you by check, sent via electronic funds transfer through Automated Clearing House network. For further information, contact your financial advisor or call Nuveen Investor Services at (833) 688-3368. If you request that your distributions be paid by check but those distributions cannot be delivered because of an incorrect mailing address, or if a distribution check remains uncashed for six months, the undelivered or uncashed distributions and all future distributions will be reinvested in Fund shares at the current net asset value.

Automatically reinvested dividends and distributions are taxed in the same manner as cash dividends and distributions. See “Tax Matters.”

 

54

Dividend Payments and Reinvestment Options


Description of Shares and Debt

Common Shares

The Fund’s Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of Common Shares. The Common Shares being offered have a par value of $0.01 per share and have equal rights to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon liquidation of the Fund. The Fund is currently offering one class of Common Shares: Institutional Class. The Fund may offer additional classes of Common Shares in the future pursuant to exemptive relief from the SEC. An investment in any share class of the Fund represents an investment in the same assets of the Fund. However, the ongoing fees and expenses for each share class may be different. The fees and expenses for the Fund are set forth in “Summary of Fund Expenses” above. Certain share class details are set forth in “Plan of Distribution” below. The Common Shares being offered will, when issued, be fully paid and, subject to matters discussed under “Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws,” non-assessable, and will have no preemptive or conversion rights, except as the Board of Trustees may otherwise determine, or rights to cumulative voting. The Declaration of Trust provides that each whole Common Share shall be entitled to one vote as to any matter on which it is entitled to vote and each fractional Common Share shall be entitled to a proportionate fractional vote. The Fund does not intend to hold annual meetings of shareholders. If the Fund does hold a meeting of shareholders, Common Shares of the Fund entitle their holders to one vote for each Common Share held; however, separate votes are taken by each class of Common Shares on matters affecting an individual class of Common Shares. Each fractional share shall be entitled to a proportionate fractional vote, except as otherwise provided by the Declaration of Trust, Bylaws, or required by applicable law. If the Fund issues Preferred Shares, the Common Shareholders will not be entitled to receive any cash distributions from the Fund unless all accrued dividends on Preferred Shares have been paid, and unless asset coverage (as defined in the 1940 Act) with respect to Preferred Shares would be at least 200% after giving effect to the distributions. The Fund pays monthly dividends, typically on the first business day of the following month.

The Fund will send unaudited reports at least semiannually and audited financial statements annually to all of its Common Shareholders.

The Common Shares are not, and are not expected to be, listed for trading on any national securities exchange nor is there expected to be any secondary trading market in the Common Shares.

The following provides information about the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares as of December 9, 2019:

 

Title of Class    Authorized
Amount
     Amount Held
by the Fund or
for its Account
     Amount
Outstanding(1)

Institutional Class

   Unlimited      0      None.
(1)

Prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement of which this prospectus is a part, Nuveen Fund Advisors will purchase Common Shares from the Fund in an amount satisfying the net worth requirements of Section 14(a) of the 1940 Act and therefore will own 100% of the outstanding Common Shares. Nuveen Fund Advisors may be deemed to control the Fund until such time as it owns less than 25% of the outstanding Common Shares, which is expected to occur once the Fund commences investment operations and its Common Shares are sold to the public.

Preferred Shares

The Fund’s Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of Preferred Shares in one or more classes or series, with rights as determined by the Board of Trustees, by action of the Board of Trustees without the approval of the Common Shareholders. The terms of any Preferred Shares that may be issued by the Fund may be the same as, or different from, the terms described below, subject to applicable law and the Declaration.

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund is not permitted to issue “senior securities” that are Preferred Shares if, immediately after the issuance of Preferred Shares, the asset coverage ratio would be less than 200%. See “Leverage.” Additionally, the Fund will generally not be permitted to purchase any of its Common Shares or declare dividends (except a dividend payable in Common Shares) or other distributions on its Common Shares unless, at the time of such purchase or declaration, the asset coverage ratio with respect to such Preferred Shares, after taking into account such purchase or distribution, is at least 200%.

Distribution Preference. Any Preferred Shares would have complete priority over the Common Shares as to distribution of assets.

Liquidation Preference. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Fund, holders of Preferred Shares would be entitled to receive a preferential liquidating distribution (expected to equal the original purchase price per share plus accumulated and unpaid dividends thereon, whether or not earned or declared) before any distribution of assets is made to Common Shareholders. After payment of the full amount of the liquidating distribution to which they are entitled, holders of Preferred Shares will not be entitled to any further

 

Description of Shares and Debt

 

 

55


participation in any distribution of assets by the Fund. A consolidation or merger of the Fund with or into another entity or a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Fund shall not be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Fund.

Voting Rights. In connection with any issuance of Preferred Shares, the Fund must comply with Section 18(i) of the 1940 Act, which requires, among other things, that Preferred Shares be voting shares and have equal voting rights with Common Shares. Except as otherwise indicated in the SAI and except as otherwise required by applicable law, holders of Preferred Shares would vote together with Common Shareholders as a single class.

In connection with the election of the Fund’s trustees, holders of Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be entitled to elect two of the Fund’s trustees, and the remaining trustees would be elected by Common Shareholders and holders of Preferred Shares, voting together as a single class. In addition, if at any time dividends on the Fund’s outstanding Preferred Shares would be unpaid in an amount equal to two full years’ dividends thereon, the holders of all outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be entitled to elect a majority of the Fund’s trustees until all dividends in arrears have been paid or declared and set apart for payment.

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding Preferred Shares of any class or series, as the case may be, voting as a separate class, would be required to, among other things, (1) take certain actions that would affect the preferences, rights, or powers of such class or series or (2) authorize or issue any class or series ranking prior to the Preferred Shares. Except as may otherwise be required by law, (1) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Fund’s Preferred Shares outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company and (2) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any plan of reorganization (as such term is used in the 1940 Act) adversely affecting such shares; provided however, that such separate class vote would be a majority vote if the action in question has previously been approved, adopted or authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration or the By-laws. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any action not described in the preceding sentence requiring a vote of security holders under Section 13(a) of the 1940 Act including, among other things, changes in the Fund’s investment objectives or changes in the investment restrictions described as fundamental policies under “Investment Restrictions” in the SAI. The class or series vote of holders of Preferred Shares described above would in each case be in addition to any separate vote of the requisite percentage of Common Shares and Preferred Shares necessary to authorize the action in question.

The foregoing voting provisions would not apply with respect to the Fund’s Preferred Shares if, at or prior to the time when a vote was required, such shares would have been (1) redeemed or (2) called for redemption and sufficient funds would have been deposited in trust to effect such redemption.

Redemption, Purchase and Sale of Preferred Shares. The terms of the Preferred Shares may provide that they are redeemable by the Fund at certain times, in whole or in part, at the original purchase price per share plus accumulated dividends, that the Fund may tender for or purchase Preferred Shares and that the Fund may subsequently resell any shares so tendered for or purchased. Any redemption or purchase of Preferred Shares by the Fund would reduce the leverage applicable to Common Shares, while any resale of such shares by the Fund would increase such leverage.

Senior Securities Representing Indebtedness

The Fund’s Declaration of Trust authorizes the Fund, without approval of the Common Shareholders, to borrow money. In this connection, the Fund may issue notes or other evidence of indebtedness (including bank borrowings or commercial paper) and may secure any such debt by mortgaging, pledging or otherwise subjecting as security the Fund’s assets. In connection with such borrowing, the Fund may be required to maintain minimum average balances with the lender or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit. Any such requirements will increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate. Under the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Fund, immediately after issuing any such senior security representing indebtedness, must have an “asset coverage” of at least 300%. See “Leverage.” Certain types of debt may result in the Fund being subject to certain restrictions imposed by guidelines of one or more rating agencies which may issue ratings for commercial paper or notes issued by the Fund. Such restrictions may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act.

The rights of lenders to the Fund to receive interest on and repayment of principal of any such debt will be senior to those of the Common Shareholders, and the terms of any such debt may contain provisions which limit certain activities of the Fund, including the payment of dividends to Common Shareholders in certain circumstances. Any debt will likely be ranked senior or equal to all other existing and future debt of the Fund.

 

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Description of Shares and Debt


Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time, should the Fund have outstanding any “senior securities representing indebtedness,” the Fund may not purchase, redeem or acquire any of its Common Shares or Preferred Shares unless at the time of such purchase, redemption, or acquisition, the asset coverage of such senior securities representing indebtedness pursuant to the 1940 Act (determined after deducting the acquisition price of such Common or Preferred Shares) is at least 300%. Additionally, the Fund will generally not be permitted to declare dividends or other distributions on its Common Shares unless, at the time of such declaration or distribution, the asset coverage applicable to such senior securities representing indebtedness pursuant to the 1940 Act (determined after deducting the dividend or distribution amount) is at least 300%. Further, the 1940 Act (in certain circumstances) grants to the holders of such senior securities representing indebtedness (1) the right to declare a default, and (2) certain voting rights, in the event that specified asset coverage levels on such senior debt securities are not maintained. Specifically, in accordance with Section 18 of the 1940 Act, it shall be deemed an event of default if the asset coverage of such senior debt securities falls below 100% on the last business day of each month for 24 consecutive calendar months. In addition, senior debt security holders will be permitted to elect at least a majority of the Fund’s trustees if the asset coverage of such senior debt securities falls below 100% on the last business day of each month for a 12 calendar month period. These voting rights will continue until such asset coverage equals at least 110% on the last business day of each month for three consecutive calendar months. The provisions described in this paragraph do not apply, however, to bank or other privately arranged debt that is not intended to be publicly distributed.

Inter-Fund Borrowing and Lending. The SEC has granted an exemptive order permitting the Nuveen registered open-end and closed-end funds, including the Fund, to participate in an inter-fund lending facility whereby those funds may directly lend to and borrow money from each other for temporary purposes (e.g., to satisfy redemption requests or when a sale of securities “fails,” resulting in an unanticipated cash shortfall) (the “Inter-Fund Program”). The closed-end Nuveen funds will participate only as lenders, and not as borrowers, in the Inter-Fund Program because such closed-end funds rarely, if ever, need to borrow cash to meet redemptions. The Inter-Fund Program is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, the requirements that (1) no fund may borrow or lend money through the Inter-Fund Program unless it receives a more favorable interest rate than is typically available from a bank or other financial institution for a comparable transaction; (2) no fund may borrow on an unsecured basis through the Inter-Fund Program unless the fund’s outstanding borrowings from all sources immediately after the inter-fund borrowing total 10% or less of its total assets; provided that if the borrowing fund has a secured borrowing outstanding from any other lender, including but not limited to another fund, the inter-fund loan must be secured on at least an equal priority basis with at least an equivalent percentage of collateral to loan value; (3) if a fund’s total outstanding borrowings immediately after an inter-fund borrowing would be greater than 10% of its total assets, the fund may borrow through the inter-fund loan on a secured basis only; (4) no fund may lend money if the loan would cause its aggregate outstanding loans through the Inter-Fund Program to exceed 15% of its net assets at the time of the loan; (5) a fund’s inter-fund loans to any one fund shall not exceed 5% of the lending fund’s net assets; (6) the duration of inter-fund loans will be limited to the time required to receive payment for securities sold, but in no event more than seven days; and (7) each inter-fund loan may be called on one business days’ notice by a lending fund and may be repaid on any day by a borrowing fund. In addition, a Nuveen fund may participate in the Inter-Fund Program only if and to the extent that such participation is consistent with the fund’s investment objective(s) and investment policies. The Board of Trustees of the Nuveen Funds is responsible for overseeing the Inter-Fund Program. The limitations detailed above and the other conditions of the SEC exemptive order permitting the Inter-Fund Program are designed to minimize the risks associated with Inter-Fund Program for both the lending fund and the borrowing fund. However, no borrowing or lending activity is without risk. When a fund borrows money from another fund, there is a risk that the loan could be called on one day’s notice or not renewed, in which case the fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher rate or take other actions to payoff such loan if an inter-fund loan is not available from another fund. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.

Borrowings

Although the Fund does not currently expect to borrow money or issue notes or other indebtedness, the Fund’s Declaration authorizes the Fund, without approval of the Common Shareholders, to borrow money. In this connection, the Fund may issue notes or other evidence of indebtedness (including bank borrowings or commercial paper) and may secure any such debt by mortgaging, pledging or otherwise subjecting as security the Fund’s assets. Under the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Fund, immediately after issuing any such debt, must have an “asset coverage” of at least 300%. With respect to any such debt, asset coverage means the ratio which the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), bears to the aggregate amount of such borrowing represented by senior securities issued by the Fund. Certain types of debt may result in the Fund being subject to certain restrictions imposed by guidelines of one or more rating agencies which may issue ratings for commercial paper or notes issued by the Fund. Such restrictions may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act.

 

Description of Shares and Debt

 

 

57


The rights of lenders to the Fund to receive interest on and repayment of principal of any such debt will be senior to those of the Common Shareholders, and the terms of any such debt may contain provisions which limit certain activities of the Fund, including the payment of dividends to Common Shareholders in certain circumstances. Further, the 1940 Act does (in certain circumstances) grant to the lenders to the Fund certain voting rights in the event of default in the payment of interest on or repayment of principal. Any debt will likely be ranked senior or equal to all other existing and future debt of the Fund.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time, should the Fund incur any Borrowings, the Fund may not purchase, redeem or acquire any of its Common Shares or Preferred Shares unless at the time of such purchase, redemption, or acquisition, the NAV of the Fund’s portfolio (determined after deducting the acquisition price of such Common or Preferred Shares) is at least 300% of the principal amount of such Borrowings.

 

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Description of Shares and Debt


Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws

Shareholder and Trustee Liability. Under Massachusetts law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the Fund’s obligations. However, the Declaration of Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for the Fund’s debts or obligations and requires that notice of such limited liability be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Fund or the trustees. The Declaration of Trust further provides for indemnification out of the Fund’s assets and property for all loss and expense of any shareholder held personally liable for the Fund’s obligations. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the Fund would be unable to meet its obligations. The Fund believes that the likelihood of such circumstances is remote.

The Declaration of Trust provides that the Fund’s obligations are not binding upon the Fund’s trustees individually, but only upon the Fund’s assets and property, and that the trustees shall not be liable for errors of judgment or mistakes of fact or law. Nothing in the Declaration of Trust, however, protects a trustee against any liability to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.

Anti-Takeover Provisions. The Declaration of Trust and By-laws include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or to convert the Fund to open-end status. If Preferred Shares are issued, holders of Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, will be entitled to elect two of the Fund’s trustees. In addition, the Declaration of Trust requires a vote by holders of at least two-thirds of the Common Shares and, if issued, Preferred Shares, voting together as a single class, except as described below, to authorize (1) a conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company, (2) a merger or consolidation of the Fund, or a series or class of the Fund, with any corporation, association, trust or other organization or a reorganization of the Fund, or a series or class of the Fund, (3) a sale, lease or transfer of all or substantially all of the Fund’s assets (other than in the regular course of the Fund’s investment activities), (4) in certain circumstances, a termination of the Fund, or a series or class of the Fund or (5) a removal of trustees by shareholders, and then only for cause, unless, with respect to (1) through (4), such transaction has already been authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration of Trust or the By-laws, in which case the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Fund’s Common Shares and, if issued, Preferred Shares outstanding at the time, voting together as a single class, would be required; provided, however, that where only a particular class or series is affected (or, in the case of removing a trustee, when the trustee has been elected by only one class), only the required vote by the applicable class or series will be required. Approval of shareholders would not be required, however, for any transaction, whether deemed a merger, consolidation, reorganization or otherwise whereby the Fund issues shares in connection with the acquisition of assets (including those subject to liabilities) from any other investment company or similar entity. In the case of the conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company, or in the case of any of the foregoing transactions constituting a plan of reorganization that adversely affects the holders of any outstanding Preferred Shares, the action in question also would require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Preferred Shares outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class, unless such transaction has already been authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration of Trust or the By-laws, in which case the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the Fund’s Preferred Shares outstanding at the time would be required. None of the foregoing provisions may be amended except by the vote of at least two-thirds of the Common Shares and preferred shares voting together as a single class. The votes required to approve the conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company or to approve transactions constituting a plan of reorganization which adversely affects the holders of preferred shares are higher than those required by the 1940 Act. The Board of Trustees believes that the provisions of the Declaration of Trust relating to such higher votes are in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.

The overall effect of the provisions described above is to render more difficult the accomplishment of a merger or the assumption of control by a third party. They provide, however, the advantage of potentially requiring persons seeking control of the Fund to negotiate with its management regarding the price to be paid and facilitating the continuity of the Fund’s investment objectives and policies. The Fund’s Board of Trustees has considered the foregoing anti-takeover provisions and concluded that they are in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders.

Preemptive Rights. The Declaration of Trust provides that Common Shareholders shall have no right to acquire, purchase or subscribe for any shares or securities of the Fund, other than such right, if any, as the Board of Trustees in its discretion may determine. As of the date of this prospectus, no preemptive rights have been granted by the Board of Trustees.

Reference should be made to the Declaration of Trust and By-laws on file with the SEC for the full text of these provisions.

 

Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws

 

 

59


Conversion to Open-End Fund

The Board of Trustees may also from time to time consider submitting to the Fund’s shareholders a proposal to convert the Fund to an open-end investment company. In determining whether to exercise its sole discretion to submit this issue to shareholders, the Board of Trustees would consider all factors then relevant, including the size of the Fund, the extent to which shareholders have adequate liquidity thorough repurchase offers, the extent to which the Fund’s capital structure is leveraged and the possibility of re-leveraging (if any) and general market and economic conditions.

If previously approved by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Trustees, the Declaration of Trust requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares to approve a conversion of the Fund from a closed-end investment company to an open-end investment company. In the event there are Preferred Shares outstanding, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding Common Shares and Preferred Shares, voting as a single class, is required.

In the event of conversion to an open-end fund, any Preferred Shares would need to be redeemed and all or a portion of any borrowings may need to be repaid upon conversion to an open-end investment company. Shareholders of an open-end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares on any business day (except in certain circumstances as authorized by or under the 1940 Act) at their net asset value, less such redemption charge, if any, as might be in effect at the time of redemption, whereas the Fund currently makes only quarterly offers to repurchase its Common Shares (typically 5% per quarter), and shareholders do not have the right to otherwise have shares redeemed. Open-end companies are thus subject to more frequent periodic out-flows that can complicate portfolio management in comparison to the Fund. The Fund would expect to pay all such redemption requests in cash, but would intend to reserve the right to pay redemption requests in a combination of cash or securities. If such partial payment in securities were made, investors may incur brokerage costs in converting such securities to cash. If the Fund were converted to an open-end fund, it is likely that new Common Shares may be sold at NAV plus a sales load. In addition, to the extent the Fund is merged, consolidated or converted into an open-end registered investment company, it may no longer be able to use the same investment strategies. In particular, if the Fund were to operate as an open-end investment company, it would be required to hold a greater amount of liquid assets and would be more limited in the amount of leverage it could employ, which could impact the Fund’s performance. As described above, the Fund, like an open-end company, intends to engage in a continuous offering of its Common Shares.

 

60

Conversion to Open-End Fund


Tax Matters

The following discussion of U.S. federal income tax matters is based on the advice of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, counsel to the Fund.

The discussion below does not represent a detailed description of the U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to special classes of taxpayers including, without limitation, financial institutions, insurance companies, a partnership or other entity treated as a pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, U.S. stockholders whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar, tax-exempt organizations, a controlled foreign corporation or a passive foreign investment company, dealers in securities or currencies, traders in securities or commodities that elect mark-to-market treatment, or persons that will hold Common Stock as a position in a “straddle,” “hedge” or as part of a “constructive sale” for federal income tax purposes.

The discussions below and certain disclosure in the SAI provide general tax information related to an investment in the Common Shares. Because tax laws are complex and often change, you should consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in the Fund. The following tax discussion assumes that you are a U.S. Common Shareholder (as defined below) and that you hold the Common Shares as a capital asset (generally, property held for investment). A U.S. Common Shareholder means a person (other than a partnership) that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source or (iv) a trust if it (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable United States Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.

The Fund intends to elect to be treated and to qualify each year as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Fund must (i) derive at least 90% of its annual gross income from certain kinds of investment income; (ii) meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each quarter, and (iii) distribute in each taxable year at least 90% of its net investment income (including net interest income and net short term capital gain) and net tax-exempt income. As a RIC, the Fund is not expected to be subject to U.S. federal income tax to the extent that it distributes its investment company taxable income and net recognized capital gains. The Fund primarily invests in securities whose income is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. Thus, substantially all of the Fund’s dividends paid to you should qualify as “exempt-interest dividends.” A shareholder treats an exempt-interest dividend as interest on state and local bonds exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. U.S. Federal income tax law imposes an alternative minimum tax with respect to individuals, trusts and estates. Interest on certain municipal obligations, such as certain private activity bonds, is included as an item of tax preference in determining the amount of a taxpayer’s alternative minimum taxable income. To the extent that the Fund receives income from such municipal obligations, a portion of the dividends paid by the Fund, although exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax, will be taxable to shareholders to the extent that their tax liability is determined under the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund will annually provide a report indicating the percentage of the Fund’s income attributable to municipal obligations subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

In addition to exempt-interest dividends, the Fund also may distribute to its shareholders amounts that are treated as long-term capital gain or ordinary income (which may include short-term capital gains). These distributions may be subject to federal, state and local taxation, depending on a shareholder’s situation. Taxable distributions are taxable whether or not such distributions are reinvested in the Fund. Net capital gain distributions (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) are generally taxable at rates applicable to long-term capital gains regardless of how long a Common Shareholder has held his or her Common Shares. Long-term capital gains for noncorporate shareholders are currently taxable at a maximum rate of 20%. The maximum rate applicable to ordinary income is 39.6%. Also, certain individuals, estates and trusts may be subject to an additional 3.8% tax on net investment income, which includes net capital gains. Net investment income does not include exempt-interest dividends. The Fund does not expect that any part of its distributions to shareholders from its investments will qualify for the dividends-received deduction available to corporate shareholders or as “qualified dividend income” to noncorporate shareholders.

As a RIC, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax in any taxable year provided that it meets certain distribution requirements. As described in “Distributions” above, the Fund may retain for investment some (or all) of its net capital gain. If the Fund retains any net capital gain or investment company taxable income, it will be subject to tax at the corporate income tax rate on the amount retained. If the Fund retains any net capital gain, it may report the retained amount as undistributed capital gains as part of its annual reporting to its shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax

 

Tax Matters

 

 

61


purposes, as long-term capital gain, their share of such undistributed amount; (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any; and (iii) will be entitled to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of Common Shares owned by a Common Shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the Common Shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence.

The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) currently requires that a RIC that has two or more classes of stock allocate to each such class proportionate amounts of each type of its income (such as exempt interest, ordinary income and capital gains). Accordingly, if the Fund issues Preferred Shares, it will designate dividends made with respect to Common Shares and Preferred Shares as consisting of particular types of income (e.g., exempt interest, net capital gain and ordinary income) in accordance with the proportionate share of each class in the total dividends paid by the Fund during the year. Dividends and other taxable distributions declared by the Fund in October, November or December to shareholders of record on a specified date in such month and paid during the following January will be treated as having been received by shareholders on December 31 of the year the distributions were declared. Each shareholder will receive an annual statement summarizing the shareholder’s dividend and capital gains distributions (including net capital gains credited to the Common Shareholder but retained by the Fund) after the close of the Fund’s taxable year.

The redemption, sale or exchange of Common Shares normally will result in capital gain or loss to Common Shareholders. Generally a shareholder’s gain or loss will be long-term capital gain or loss if the Common Shares have been held for more than one year. Present law taxes both long-term and short-term capital gains of corporations at the same rates applicable to ordinary income. For non-corporate taxpayers, however, long-term capital gains are currently taxed at a maximum rate of 20%, while short-term capital gains and other ordinary income are currently taxed at ordinary income rates. The maximum rate applicable to ordinary income is 39.6%. An additional 3.8% tax may apply to certain individual, estate or trust shareholders’ taxable distributions and to any capital gains. Any loss on the sale of shares that have been held for six months or less will be disallowed to the extent of any distribution of exempt-interest dividends received with respect to such shares, unless the shares are of a RIC that declares exempt-interest dividends on a daily basis in an amount equal to at least 90% of its net tax-exempt interest and distributes such dividends on a monthly or more frequent basis. If a shareholder sells or otherwise disposes of shares before holding them for more than six months, any loss on the sale or disposition will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any net capital gain distributions received by the shareholder on such share. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be disallowed to the extent those shares of the Fund are replaced by other substantially identical shares of the Fund or other substantially identical stock or securities (including through reinvestment of dividends) within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the date of disposition of the original shares. In that event, the basis of the replacement shares of the Fund will be adjusted to reflect the disallowed loss.

Any interest on indebtedness incurred or continued to purchase or carry the Fund’s shares to which exempt-interest dividends are allocated is not deductible by shareholders. Under certain applicable rules, the purchase or ownership of shares may be considered to have been made with borrowed funds even though such funds are not directly used for the purchase or ownership of the shares. In addition, if you receive Social Security or certain railroad retirement benefits, you may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of such benefits as a result of receiving investment income, including exempt-interest dividends and other distributions paid by the Fund.

If the Fund invests in certain pay-in-kind securities, zero coupon securities, deferred interest securities or, in general, any other securities with original issue discount (or with market discount if the Fund elects to include market discount in income currently), the Fund must accrue income on such investments for each taxable year, which generally will be prior to the receipt of the corresponding cash payments. However, the Fund must distribute to shareholders, at least annually, all or substantially all of its investment company taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid), including such accrued income, to qualify as a RIC and to avoid federal income and excise taxes. Therefore, the Fund may have to dispose of its portfolio securities under disadvantageous circumstances to generate cash, or may have to leverage itself by borrowing the cash, to satisfy these distribution requirements.

The Fund may hold or acquire municipal obligations that are market discount bonds. A market discount bond is a security acquired in the secondary market at a price below its redemption value (or its adjusted issue price if it is also an original issue discount bond). If the Fund invests in a market discount bond, it will be required to treat any gain recognized on the disposition of such market discount bond as ordinary taxable income to the extent of the accrued market discount.

 

62

Tax Matters


The Fund may be required to “backup” withhold U.S. federal income tax at the current rate of 24% of all taxable distributions payable to Common Shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or if the Common Shareholders have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

The Fund’s investment policies permit it to invest a portion of its assets in securities that generate income that is not exempt from U.S. federal or state income tax. The Fund may invest in other securities the U.S. federal income tax treatment of which is uncertain or subject to recharacterization by the IRS. To the extent the tax treatment of such securities or their income differs from the tax treatment expected by the Fund, it could affect the timing or character of income recognized by the Fund, requiring the Fund to purchase or sell securities, or otherwise change its portfolio, in order to comply with the tax rules applicable to RICs under the Code. Common Shareholders may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes on their Fund distributions. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

 

Tax Matters

 

 

63


Plan of Distribution

Nuveen Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Nuveen Fund Advisors (the “Distributor”) , is the principal underwriter and distributor of the Fund’s Common Shares pursuant to a distribution agreement (the “Distribution Agreement”) with the Fund. The Distributor, located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, is a broker-dealer registered with the SEC and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). The Distributor does not participate in the distribution of non-Nuveen managed products.

The Distributor acts as the distributor of Common Shares for the Fund on a best efforts basis pursuant to the terms of the Distribution Agreement. The Distributor is not obligated to sell any specific amount of Common Shares of the Fund.

Common Shares of the Fund will be continuously offered through the Distributor. As discussed below, the Fund may authorize one or more intermediaries (e.g., broker-dealers and other financial firms) to receive orders on its behalf. The Common Shares will be offered at NAV per share calculated each regular business day. Please see “Net Asset Value” above.

The Fund and the Distributor will have the sole right to accept orders to purchase Common Shares and reserve the right to reject any order in whole or in part.

No market currently exists for the Fund’s Common Shares. The Fund will not list its Common Shares for trading on any securities exchange. There is currently no secondary market for the Fund’s Common Shares and the Fund does not anticipate that a secondary market will develop for its Common Shares. Neither Nuveen Fund Advisors nor the Distributor intends to make a market in the Fund’s Common Shares.

The Fund has agreed to indemnify the Distributor and certain of the Distributor’s affiliates against certain liabilities, including certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act, as amended. To the extent consistent with applicable law, the Distributor has agreed to indemnify the Fund and each Trustee against certain liabilities under the 1933 Act and in connection with the services rendered to the Fund.

Share Classes

Institutional Class Common Shares of the Fund are offered in this prospectus. The Fund may offer additional classes of Common Shares in the future pursuant to exemptive relief from the SEC. Institutional Class Common Shares represent an investment in the Fund, and have their own expense structure and arrangements for distribution. As described below, only certain investors may purchase Institutional Class Common Shares.

Institutional Class Common Shares are offered to investors such as pension and profit sharing plans, employee benefit trusts, endowments, foundations, corporations and individuals that can meet the minimum investment amount. Institutional Class Common Shares may also be offered through certain financial firms that charge their customers transaction or other fees with respect to their customers’ investments in the Fund.

Servicing Arrangements

 

The Fund’s Common Shares may in the future be available through broker-dealers, banks, trust companies, insurance companies and other financial firms that have entered into shareholder servicing arrangements with respect to the Fund. A financial firm is one that, in exchange for compensation, sells, among other products, registered investment company shares or provides services for registered investment company shareholders.

The Institutional Class Common Shares are not subject to any servicing arrangements as of the date of this prospectus.

Purchasing Shares

The following section provides basic information about how to purchase Institutional Class Common Shares of the Fund.

The Fund typically does not offer or sell its shares to non-U.S. residents. For purposes of this policy, a U.S. resident is defined as an account with (i) a U.S. address of record and (ii) all account owners residing in the U.S. at the time of sale. Eligible investors may purchase Institutional Class Common Shares in the following ways:

Through your broker-dealer or other financial firm. Your broker-dealer or other financial firm may establish different minimum investment requirements than the Fund and may also independently charge you transaction fees and additional amounts (which may vary) in return for its services, which will reduce your return. Shares you purchase through your broker-dealer or other financial firm will normally be held in your account with that firm.

 

64

Plan of Distribution


Through the Distributor. You should discuss your investment with your financial advisor before you make a purchase to be sure the Fund is appropriate for you. If you do not list a financial advisor and his/her brokerage firm on the Account Application, the Distributor is designated as the broker of record, but solely for purposes of acting as your agent to purchase shares. Investors who wish to invest direct may obtain an Account Application online at nuveen.com or by calling (833) 688-3368. The completed Account Application may be submitted using the following methods:

Overnight Mail:

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

C/O DST Systems, Inc.

430 W. 7th Street

Kansas City, MO 64105

Regular Mail:

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

C/O DST Systems, Inc.

PO Box 219307

Kansas City, MO 64121-9097

For inquiries, please call DST Call Center: (833) 688-3368 (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. CST).

Payment for the purchase of Common Shares may be made by check payable to the Nuveen Fund Advisors’ Interval Funds and sent to the Regular Mail address above.

In order to receive the current day’s NAV, order instructions must be received in good order prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., Eastern time) (“NYSE Close”). Instructions must include the name and signature of an appropriate person designated on the Account Application (“Authorized Person”), account name, account number, name of the Fund and dollar amount. Failure to send the accompanying payment on the same day may result in the cancellation of the order. Payments received without order instructions could result in a processing delay.

An investor may place a purchase order for Common Shares if the purchase amount is to be derived from an advisory account managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors or one of its affiliates, or from an account with a broker-dealer or other financial firm that has established a processing relationship with the Fund on behalf of its customers.

Investment Minimums

Institutional Class Common Shares. The following investment minimums apply for purchases of Institutional Class Common Shares:

 

Initial Investment

  

Subsequent Investments

$1,000,000 per account   

$2,500

The initial investment minimums may be modified for certain financial firms that submit orders on behalf of their customers. The Fund or the Distributor may lower or waive the initial investment minimums for Institutional Class Common Shares or categories of investors at their discretion. The minimum initial investment may also be modified for certain eligible investors. See “Purchase of Institutional Class Common Shares by Eligible Investors” in the SAI for details.

 

   

Additional Investments. An investor may purchase additional Common Shares of the Fund at any time by sending a mailing as outlined above. You may obtain a Subscription Request Form online at nuveen.com or by calling (833) 688-3368. If you invest through a broker-dealer, contact your financial firm for information on purchasing additional Institutional Class Common Shares.

 

   

Other Purchase Information. Purchases of Institutional Class Common Shares will be made in full and fractional shares.

The Fund and the Distributor each reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares of the Fund or to reject any purchase order, in whole or in part, when, in the judgment of management, such suspension or rejection is in the best interests of the Fund.

In the interest of economy and convenience, certificates for shares will not be issued.

 

Plan of Distribution

 

 

65


Sales Charge—Institutional Class Common Shares

Institutional Class Common Shares are not subject to a sales charge.

Signature Validation

When a signature validation is called for, a Medallion signature guarantee or Signature validation program (SVP) stamp may be required. A Medallion signature guarantee is intended to provide signature validation for transactions considered financial in nature, and an SVP stamp is intended to provide signature validation for transactions non-financial in nature. In certain situations, a notarized signature may be used instead of a Medallion signature guarantee or an SVP stamp. A Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp may be obtained from a domestic bank or trust company, broker, dealer, clearing agency, savings association or other financial institution which is participating in a Medallion program or Signature validation program recognized by the Securities Transfer Association. When a Medallion signature guarantee or SVP stamp is required, signature validations from financial institutions which are not participating in one of these programs will not be accepted. Please note that financial institutions participating in a recognized Medallion program may still be ineligible to provide a signature validation for transactions of greater than a specified dollar amount. The Fund may change the signature validation requirements from time to time upon notice to Common Shareholders, which may be given by means of a new or supplemented prospectus. Shareholders should contact the Fund for additional details regarding the Fund’s signature validation requirements.

In addition, corporations, trusts, and other institutional organizations are required to furnish evidence of the authority of the persons designated on the Account Application to effect transactions for the organization.

Acceptance and Timing of Purchase Orders

A purchase order received by the Fund or its designee prior to the NYSE Close, on a day the Fund is open for business, together with payment made in one of the ways described above will be effected at that day’s NAV plus any applicable sales charge. An order received after the NYSE Close will be effected at the NAV determined on the next business day. However, orders received by certain retirement plans and other financial firms on a business day prior to the NYSE Close and communicated to the Fund or its designee prior to such time as agreed upon by the Fund and financial firm will be effected at the NAV determined on the business day the order was received by the financial firm. The Fund is “open for business” on each day the NYSE is open for trading, which excludes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. If the NYSE is closed due to weather or other extenuating circumstances on a day it would typically be open for business, the Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a Business Day and accept purchase orders in accordance with applicable law. The Fund reserves the right to close if the primary trading markets of the Fund’s portfolio instruments are closed and the Fund’s management believes that there is not an adequate market to meet purchase requests. On any business day when the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) recommends that the securities markets close trading early, the Fund may close trading early. Purchase orders will be accepted only on days which the Fund is open for business.

The Fund and the Distributor each reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to accept or reject any order for purchase of Institutional Class Common Shares. The sale of Common Shares may be suspended during any period in which the NYSE is closed other than weekends or holidays, or if permitted by the rules of the SEC, when trading on the NYSE is restricted or during an emergency which makes it impracticable for the Fund to dispose of its securities or to determine fairly the value of its net assets, or during any other period as permitted by the SEC for the protection of investors.

Verification of Identity

To help the federal government combat the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person that opens a new account, and to determine whether such person’s name appears on government lists of known or suspected terrorists and terrorist organizations. As a result, the Fund must obtain the following information for each person that opens a new account:

1. Name;

2. Date of birth (for individuals);

3. Residential or business street address; and

4. Social security number, taxpayer identification number, or other identifying number.

Federal law prohibits the Fund and other financial institutions from opening a new account unless they receive the minimum identifying information listed above.

 

 

66

Plan of Distribution


Individuals may also be asked for a copy of their driver’s license, passport or other identifying document in order to verify their identity. In addition, it may be necessary to verify an individual’s identity by cross-referencing the identification information with a consumer report or other electronic database. Additional information may be required to open accounts for corporations and other entities.

After an account is opened, the Fund may restrict your ability to purchase additional Institutional Class Common Shares until your identity is verified. The Fund also may close your account and redeem your shares or take other appropriate action if it is unable to verify your identity within a reasonable time.

Periodic Repurchase Offers

 

The Fund is a closed-end interval fund and, to provide liquidity and the ability to receive NAV on a disposition of at least a portion of your Common Shares, makes periodic offers to repurchase Common Shares. No shareholder will have the right to require the Fund to repurchase its Common Shares, except as permitted by the Fund’s interval structure. No public market for the Common Shares exists, and none is expected to develop in the future. Consequently, Common Shareholders generally will not be able to liquidate their investment other than as a result of repurchases of their Common Shares by the Fund, and then only on a limited basis.

The Fund has adopted, pursuant to Rule 23c-3 under the 1940 Act, a fundamental policy, which cannot be changed without shareholder approval, requiring the Fund to offer to repurchase at least 5% and up to 25% of its Common Shares at NAV on a regular schedule. Although the policy permits repurchases of between 5% and 25% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares, for each quarterly repurchase offer, the Fund currently expects to offer to repurchase 5% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares at NAV subject to approval of the Board of Trustees. The schedule requires the Fund to make repurchase offers every three months. The Fund expects the first Repurchase Request Deadline to occur no later than six months after the initial effective date of this registration statement.

Repurchase Dates

The Fund will make quarterly repurchase offers every three months. As discussed below, the date on which the repurchase price for Common Shares is determined will occur no later than the 14th day after the Repurchase Request Deadline (or the next business day, if the 14th day is not a business day).

Repurchase Request Deadline

The date by which shareholders wishing to tender Common Shares for repurchase must respond to the repurchase offer typically falls approximately seven days before the Repurchase Pricing Date (defined below). The Fund currently anticipates that the Repurchase Request Deadline will be the same date as the Repurchase Pricing Date. When a repurchase offer commences, the Fund sends, at least 21 days before the Repurchase Request Deadline, written notice to each Common Shareholder setting forth, among other things:

 

   

The percentage of outstanding Common Shares that the Fund is offering to repurchase and how the Fund will purchase Common Shares on a pro rata basis if the offer is oversubscribed.

 

   

The date on which a Common Shareholder’s repurchase request is due.

 

   

The date that will be used to determine the Fund’s NAV applicable to the repurchase offer (the “Repurchase Pricing Date”).

 

   

The date by which the Fund will pay to Common Shareholders the proceeds from their Common Shares accepted for repurchase.

 

   

The NAV of the Common Shares as of a date no more than seven days before the date of the written notice and the means by which shareholders may ascertain the NAV.

 

   

The procedures by which Common Shareholders may tender their Common Shares and the right of shareholders to withdraw or modify their tenders before the Repurchase Request Deadline.

 

   

The circumstances in which the Fund may suspend or postpone the repurchase offer.

This notice may be included in a shareholder report or other Fund document. The Repurchase Request Deadline will be strictly observed. If a Common Shareholder fails to submit a repurchase request in good order by the Repurchase Request Deadline, the shareholder will be unable to liquidate Common Shares until a subsequent repurchase offer, and will have to resubmit a request in the next repurchase offer. Shareholders may withdraw or change a repurchase request with a proper instruction submitted in good form at any point before the Repurchase Request Deadline.

 

 

Plan of Distribution

 

 

67


Determination of Repurchase Price and Payment for Shares

The Repurchase Pricing Date will occur no later than the 14th day after the Repurchase Request Deadline (or the next business day, if the 14th day is not a business day). The Fund expects to distribute payment to Common Shareholders between one and three (3) business days after the Repurchase Pricing Date and will distribute such payment no later than seven (7) calendar days after such date. The Fund currently anticipates that the Repurchase Request Deadline will be the same date as the Repurchase Pricing Date. The Fund’s NAV per share may change materially between the date a repurchase offer is mailed and the Repurchase Request Deadline, and it may also change materially between the Repurchase Request Deadline and Repurchase Pricing Date. The method by which the Fund calculates NAV is discussed below under “Net Asset Value.” During the period an offer to repurchase is open, shareholders may obtain the current NAV by visiting www.nuveen.com or calling the Fund’s transfer agent at (833) 688-3368.

Repurchase Fee

The Fund does not currently expect to charge a repurchase fee. However, the Fund may charge a repurchase fee of up to 2.00% of the repurchase proceeds, which the Fund would retain to help offset non-de minimis estimated costs related to the repurchase incurred by the Fund, directly or indirectly, as a result of repurchasing Common Shares, thus allocating estimated transaction costs to the shareholder whose Common Shares are being repurchased. The Fund may introduce, or modify the amount of, a repurchase fee at any time. The Fund may also waive or reduce the repurchase fee if Nuveen Fund Advisors determines that the repurchase is offset by a corresponding purchase or if for other reasons the Fund will not incur transaction costs or will incur reduced transaction costs.

Your financial adviser or other financial intermediary may charge service fees for handling Common Share repurchases. In such cases, there may be fees imposed by the intermediary on different terms (and subject to different exceptions) than those set forth above. Please consult your financial adviser or other financial intermediary for details.

Suspension or Postponement of Repurchase Offers

The Fund may suspend or postpone a repurchase offer in limited circumstances set forth in Rule 23c-3 under the 1940 Act, as described below, but only with the approval of a majority of the Board of Trustees, including a majority of Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. The Fund may suspend or postpone a repurchase offer only: (1) if making or effecting the repurchase offer would cause the Fund to lose its status as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code; (2) for any period during which the NYSE or any other market in which the securities owned by the Fund are principally traded is closed, other than customary weekend and holiday closings, or during which trading in such market is restricted; (3) for any period during which an emergency exists as a result of which disposal by the Fund of securities owned by it is not reasonably practicable, or during which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund fairly to determine the value of its net assets; or (4) for such other periods as the SEC may by order permit for the protection of shareholders of the Fund.

Oversubscribed Repurchase Offers

There is no minimum number of Common Shares that must be tendered before the Fund will honor repurchase requests. However, the Board of Trustees set for each repurchase offer a maximum percentage of Common Shares that may be repurchased by the Fund, which is currently expected to be 5% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares. In the event a repurchase offer by the Fund is oversubscribed, the Fund may repurchase, but is not required to repurchase, additional Common Shares up to a maximum amount of 2% of the outstanding Common Shares of the Fund. If the Fund determines not to repurchase additional Common Shares beyond the repurchase offer amount, or if shareholders tender an amount of Common Shares greater than that which the Fund is entitled to repurchase, the Fund will repurchase the Common Shares tendered on a pro rata basis.

If any Common Shares that you wish to tender to the Fund are not repurchased because of proration, you will have to wait until the next repurchase offer and resubmit a new repurchase request, and your repurchase request will not be given any priority over other shareholders’ requests. Thus, there is a risk that the Fund may not purchase all of the Common Shares you wish to have repurchased in a given repurchase offer or in any subsequent repurchase offer. In anticipation of the possibility of proration, some shareholders may tender more Common Shares than they wish to have repurchased in a particular quarter, increasing the likelihood of proration.

In the event that repurchase offers by the Fund are oversubscribed for a period of two consecutive years (a consecutive 24-month period), the Fund will not make any new investments (excluding cash and securities rated A or higher with a duration of 13-months or less) and the Fund will reserve all available investable assets to satisfy future tender requests until a non-oversubscribed repurchase offer occurs.

There is no assurance that you will be able to tender your Common Shares when or in the amount that you desire.

 

68

Plan of Distribution


Consequences of Repurchase Offers

From the time the Fund distributes or publishes each repurchase offer notification until the Repurchase Pricing Date for that offer, the Fund must maintain liquid assets at least equal to the percentage of its Common Shares subject to the repurchase offer. For this purpose, “liquid assets” means assets that may be sold or otherwise disposed of in the ordinary course of business, at approximately the price at which the Fund values them, within the period between the Repurchase Request Deadline and the repurchase payment deadline, or which mature by the repurchase payment deadline. The Fund is also permitted to borrow up to the maximum extent permitted under the 1940 Act to meet repurchase requests.

If the Fund borrows to finance repurchases, interest on that borrowing will negatively affect shareholders who do not tender their Common Shares by increasing the Fund’s expenses and reducing any net investment income. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able sell a significant amount of additional Common Shares so as to mitigate these effects.

These and other possible risks associated with the Fund’s repurchase offers are described under “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Repurchase Offers Risk” above. In addition, the repurchase of Common Shares by the Fund will be a taxable event to Common Shareholders, potentially even to those shareholders that do not participate in the repurchase. For a discussion of these tax consequences, see “Tax Matters” above and in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

Plan of Distribution

 

 

69


Distributor, Custodian and Transfer Agent

Nuveen Securities, LLC, an affiliate of Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management, will serve as the Fund’s principal underwriter and distributor. The custodian of the Fund’s assets is State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. State Street performs custodial, fund accounting and portfolio accounting services. The transfer agent of the Fund is DST Systems, Inc., 333 West 11th Street, 5th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 64105.

Legal Opinions and Experts

Certain legal matters will be passed on for the Fund by Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP, Chicago, Illinois. Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP may rely as to certain matters of Massachusetts law on the opinion of Morgan, Lewis & Brockius LLP, Boston, Massachusetts.

Privacy Statement

Nuveen (and its affiliated investment advisors and funds) considers your privacy our utmost concern. In order to provide you with individualized service, we collect certain nonpublic personal information about you from information you provide on applications or other forms (such as your address and social security number), and information about your account transactions with us (such as purchases, sales and account balances). We may also collect such information through your account inquiries by mail, email, telephone or on our Website.

We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you to anyone, except as permitted by law. Specifically, so that we may continue to offer you Nuveen products and services that best meet your investing needs, and to effect transactions that you request or authorize, we may disclose the information we collect, as described above, to companies that perform administrative or marketing services on our behalf, such as transfer agents, or printers and mailers that assist us in the distribution of investor materials. These companies will use this information only for the services for which we hired them, and are not permitted to use or share this information for any other purpose.

If you decide at some point either to close your account(s) or to become an inactive customer, we will continue to adhere to the privacy policies and practices described in this notice.

With regard to our internal security procedures, we restrict access to your personal and account information to those employees who need to know that information to service your account. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your nonpublic personal information.

For questions about our policy, or for additional copies of this notice, please go to www.nuveen.com,or contact Nuveen at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606, or (800) 257-8787.

 

70

Distributor, Custodian and Transfer Agent/Legal Opinions and Experts, Privacy Principles of the Fund


Table of Contents for the Statement of Additional Information

 

Investment Objectives and Policies      2  
Leverage      5  
Investment Restrictions      8  
Portfolio Composition and Other Information      10  
Management of the Fund      25  
Investment Adviser      43  
Subadviser      44  
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures      47  
Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage      48  
Description of Shares and Debt      49  
Purchase of Institutional Class Common Shares by Eligible Investors      51  
Repurchase of Fund Shares      52  
Conversion to Open-End Fund      53  
Tax Matters      54  
Experts      62  
Custodian and Transfer Agent      62  
Additional Information      62  
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm      63  
Financial Statements      64  
Appendix A—Description of S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings      A-1  
Appendix B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures      B-1  

 

Table of Contents for the Statement of Additional Information

 

 

71


Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

 

                     Shares

Common Shares

$10.00 per Share

Prospectus

                    , 2019

 

 

EPR-NHA-0319D


The information in this Statement of Additional Information is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer and sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED DECEMBER 19, 2019

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund (the “Fund”) is a newly organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that continuously offers its shares (the “Common Shares”) and is operated as an “interval fund.” The Fund currently offers one class of Common Shares: Institutional Class Common Shares. The Fund may offer additional classes of Common Shares in the future.

This Statement of Additional Information relating to Common Shares does not constitute a prospectus, but should be read in conjunction with the Fund’s prospectus relating thereto dated                                 , 2019 (the “Prospectus”). In this Statement of Additional Information, holders of Common Shares are referred to as “Common Shareholders.” This Statement of Additional Information does not include all information that a prospective investor should consider before purchasing Common Shares. Investors should obtain and read the Fund’s Prospectus prior to purchasing such shares. A copy of the Fund’s Prospectus, annual and semi-annual reports (when available) and additional information about the Fund may be obtained without charge by calling (800) 257-8787, by writing to the Fund at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606 or from the Fund’s website (http://www.nuveen.com). The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the Fund’s website is not part of the Fund’s Prospectus or this Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). You may also obtain a copy of the Fund’s Prospectus on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website (http://www.sec.gov). Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Statement of Additional Information have the meanings ascribed to them in the Prospectus.

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF THE STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

Investment Objectives and Policies

     2  

Leverage

     5  

Investment Restrictions

     8  

Portfolio Composition and Other Information

     10  

Management of the Fund

     25  

Investment Adviser

     43  

Subadviser

     44  

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

     47  

Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage

     48  

Description of Shares and Debt

     49  

Purchase of Institutional Class Common Shares by Eligible Investors

     51  

Repurchase of Fund Shares

     52  

Conversion to Open-End Fund

     53  

Tax Matters

     54  

Experts

     61  

Custodian and Transfer Agent

     61  

Additional Information

     61  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     62  

Financial Statements

     63  

Appendix A—Description of S&P, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings

     A-1  

Appendix B—Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

     B-1  

This Statement of Additional Information is dated                                 , 2019

 

1


INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES

The Fund’s primary investment objective is attractive total return and its secondary investment objective is to provide a high level of current income exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax.

Fund Strategy

Nuveen Asset Management, LLC, the Fund’s subadviser (“Nuveen Asset Management”) uses a research-driven approach that seeks attractive total return by identifying and capitalizing on opportunities in special situations municipal securities. The Fund invests in below investment grade bonds as well as special situations municipal securities that Nuveen Asset Management believes may offer the potential for attractive total returns, even after taking into account the significant risk (relative to higher quality securities) that these securities typically present. Special situations municipal securities, in particular, may offer illiquidity and complexity premiums, which in turn may create significant investment opportunity for the Fund. Illiquidity and complexity are notably two fundamental characteristics of special situations municipal securities that distinguish them from more traditional municipal investments. The ability to extract illiquidity and complexity premiums from special situations investments requires significant scale and credit research resources. The portfolio team believes its credit and workout expertise and capacity to negotiate security structure improvements over time, especially as it pertains to issuers in distress and/or bankruptcy, is essential to achieving the Fund’s investment objectives. Further, the portfolio team believes that the Fund’s “interval” structure (which as a fundamental policy limits both the amount and frequency of its Repurchase Offers) provides the flexibility to utilize its deep credit expertise to manage and realize the long-term value of special situations municipal securities.

Portfolio Contents

The Fund will invest its assets in a portfolio of municipal securities. Municipal securities include municipal bonds, notes, securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, certificates of participation, variable rate demand obligations, lease obligations, municipal notes, pre-refunded municipal bonds, private activity bonds, securities issued by tender option bond trusts, including inverse floating rate securities, and other forms of municipal bonds and securities, and other related instruments that create exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax.

Municipal securities are debt obligations generally issued by states, cities and local authorities and certain possessions and territories of the United States (such as Puerto Rico and Guam) to finance or refinance public purpose projects such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance and refinance privately owned facilities, such as housing, medical and educational construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects deemed to serve a public purpose. Municipal securities may be issued on a long-term basis to provide long-term financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments and mortgage payments. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of long-term debt. Municipal securities may be issued and purchased in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms including fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds or inverse floating rate securities; or acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships or other investment companies. Inverse floating rate securities are securities that pay interest at rates that vary inversely with changes in prevailing short-term tax exempt interest rates and represent a leveraged investment in an underlying municipal security, which may increase the leverage of the Fund. The market value of a municipal security will generally depend upon its form, maturity, call features and interest rate, as well as the credit quality or credit rating of the issuer, all such factors examined in the context of the municipal securities market and interest rate levels and trends.

 

2


The Fund may invest in special situations municipal securities. Special situations municipal securities are those:

 

   

that are in distressed financial or operating circumstances, in default or in an active workout;

 

   

whose issuers are in bankruptcy; or

 

   

that present uncertainties or complex features that could render them unsuitable for certain investors.

The Fund expects that over time a substantial portion of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in special situations municipal securities, and that such investments are an important component of the Fund’s investment strategy in pursuit of its investment objectives. The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk” in the Prospectus.

The Fund may invest in directly originated securities. Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which it invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the education sector include charter schools, student housing and other education subsectors, including, for example, private schools, parochial schools and vocational and technical schools. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the healthcare sector include issuers in the senior care and housing, hospitals and providers and other healthcare subsectors, including, for example, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. The Fund may invest in municipal-related securities of private issuers in the industrial and infrastructure sectors as well as in municipal-related securities of general nonprofit organizations, human services providers and issuers in the nonstudent and non-senior housing subsectors. In addition, the Fund may invest in municipal-related securities issued by or on behalf of public authorities to finance or refinance privately owned or operated facilities, including in respect of electric energy or gas, sewage, solid waste disposal and other specialized facilities. Other private activity securities, the proceeds of which may be used for, as an example, the construction, equipment or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal-related securities, but current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.

See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information” for additional information on the types of securities in which the Fund may invest.

The Fund also may invest in certain derivative instruments in pursuit of its investment objectives. Such instruments include financial futures contracts, swap contracts (including interest rate and credit default swaps), options on financial futures, options on swap contracts, or other derivative instruments. See “Leverage” and “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Derivatives Risk” in the Prospectus. Nuveen Asset Management may use derivative instruments to attempt to hedge some of the risk of the Fund’s investments or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Derivatives” in the Prospectus.

Investment Policies

As a fundamental policy, which may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its Assets (as defined below) in municipal securities and other related investments, the income from which is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax. As a non-fundamental investment policy subject to change by the Board of Trustees upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders, under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 65% of its Assets in low- to medium-quality municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated BBB/Baa or lower or are unrated but judged by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality. Low- to medium-quality municipal securities include below investment grade securities (or “junk bonds”). Below

 

3


investment grade securities (securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower) are regarded as having predominately speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay principal, which implies higher price volatility and default risk than investment grade instruments of comparable terms and duration.

Under normal circumstances the Fund also will invest subject to the following non-fundamental policies:

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 60% of its Managed Assets (as defined below) in special situations municipal securities;

 

   

The Fund will invest at least 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities that, at the time of investment, are rated investment grade (rated BBB/Baa or higher) or are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by Nuveen Asset Management;

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 80% of its Managed Assets in below investment grade securities (as described below);

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its Managed Assets in municipal securities, the income from which is subject to regular U.S. federal income taxes (“taxable municipal securities”);

 

   

The Fund will invest no more than 10% of its Managed Assets in any one issuer;

 

   

The Fund may invest up to 10% of its Managed Assets in directly originated securities; and

 

   

The Fund will not invest in common equity securities. This policy does not apply to shares of other investment companies or to common equity securities acquired in connection with a workout of an issuer of a debt security as discussed below.

The foregoing policies apply only at the time of any new investment.

“Assets” means net assets of the Fund plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes. “Managed Assets” means the total assets of the Fund, minus the sum of its accrued liabilities (other than Fund liabilities incurred for the express purpose of creating leverage). Total assets for this purpose shall include assets attributable to the Fund’s use of leverage (whether or not those assets are reflected in the Fund’s financial statements for purposes of generally accepted accounting principles), and derivatives will be valued at their market value.

 

Below investment grade securities are generally securities rated BB+/Ba1 or lower at the time of investment. For purposes of the investment limitations in this prospectus, a security’s rating is determined using the lowest rating of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch if all three NRSROs rate the security. If ratings are provided by only two of those NRSROs, the lower rating is used to determine the rating. If only one of those NRSROs provides a rating, that rating is used. If a security is not rated by any NRSRO, the rating determined by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality is used.

Investment rating limitations are considered to apply only at the time of investment and will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an acquisition of securities.

The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in below investment grade municipal securities or securities that are unrated but judged to be of comparable quality by Nuveen Asset Management may vary over time, and may fluctuate significantly over time.

The Fund may invest in “tobacco settlement bonds.” Tobacco settlement bonds are bonds that are secured or payable solely from the collateralization of the proceeds from class action or other litigation against the tobacco industry. Investments in tobacco settlement bonds are subject to risks. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Tobacco Settlement Bond Risk” in the Prospectus.

Nuveen Asset Management may determine that it is in the best interest of shareholders to pursue a workout arrangement with defaulted security issuers which may involve making loans to the issuer or another party, or purchasing a debt, equity or other interest from the issuer or another party, or other related or similar steps involving the investment of additional monies.

 

4


For temporary defensive purposes, during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, or during a Repurchase Offer Period, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality short-term debt securities. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when Nuveen Asset Management believes the instruments in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors, in the event that unanticipated legal or regulatory developments interfere with implementation of the Fund’s principal investment strategies, and in other extraordinary circumstances.

Other Policies

The Fund may enter into certain derivative transactions as a hedging technique to attempt to protect against potential adverse changes in the market value of portfolio instruments. The Fund also may use derivatives to attempt to protect the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Fund, to facilitate the sale of certain portfolio instruments, to manage the Fund’s effective interest rate exposure, to attempt to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Fund’s portfolio and as a temporary substitute for purchasing or selling particular instruments. From time to time, the Fund also may enter into derivative transactions to create investment exposure to the extent such transactions may facilitate implementation of its strategy more efficiently than through outright purchases or sales of portfolio instruments.

For temporary defensive purposes, during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, or during a Repurchase Offer Period, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality short-term debt securities. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when Nuveen Asset Management believes the instruments in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors, in the event that unanticipated legal or regulatory developments interfere with implementation of the Fund’s principal investment strategies, and in other extraordinary circumstances.

Certain investment policies specifically identified in this SAI as such are considered fundamental and may not be changed without shareholder approval. See “Investment Restrictions.” All of the Fund’s other investment policies are not considered to be fundamental by the Fund and can be changed by the Board of Trustees without a vote of the shareholders. However, the Fund’s policy of investing at least 80% of its Assets in municipal securities and other investments, the income from which is exempt from regular U.S. federal income tax, is a fundamental policy. The Fund cannot change its fundamental policies without the approval of the holders of a “majority of the outstanding” Common Shares. When used with respect to particular shares of the Fund, a “majority of the outstanding” shares means (i) 67% or more of the shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the shares are present or represented by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the shares, whichever is less.

LEVERAGE

The Fund anticipates using leverage to seek to achieve its investment objectives. The Fund may use leverage to the extent permitted under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). If current market conditions persist, the Fund intends initially to obtain leverage through either the issuance of preferred shares of beneficial interest (“Preferred Shares”), which have seniority over the Common Shares, or investments in residual interest certificates of tender option bond trusts, also called inverse floating rate securities, that have the economic effect of leverage because the Fund’s investment exposure to the underlying bonds held by the trust have been effectively financed by the trust’s issuance of floating rate certificates, or a combination of both. If current market conditions persist, the Fund anticipates using leverage obtained by issuing Preferred Shares or investing in inverse floating rate securities, or a combination of both, in an aggregate amount equal to approximately 20% of the Fund’s Managed Assets.

The Fund does not intend to issue Preferred Shares until after the proceeds of this offering have been substantially invested in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives.

 

5


The Fund may source leverage through a number of methods including the issuance of Preferred Shares, issuance of debt securities, borrowings, entering into reverse repurchase agreements (effectively a borrowing), and investing in inverse floating rate securities. The Fund may issue “senior securities” as defined under the 1940 Act. “Senior securities” include (i) the issuance of Preferred Shares; (ii) borrowings (including loans from financial institutions); and (iii) the issuance of debt securities. “Senior securities” have seniority over the Common Shares in regard to the income and assets of the Fund.

Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. Selling a portfolio security and agreeing to buy it back under a reverse repurchase agreement is economically equivalent to borrowing. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Reverse Repurchase Agreement Risk” in the Prospectus.

The Fund may use derivatives, such as interest rate swaps with varying terms, in order to hedge duration risk or manage the interest rate expense associated with all or a portion of its leverage. Interest rate swaps are bi-lateral agreements whereby parties agree to exchange future payments, typically based upon the differential of a fixed rate and a variable rate, on a specified notional amount. Interest rate swaps can enable the Fund to effectively convert its variable leverage expense to fixed, or vice-versa. For example, if the Fund issues leverage having a short-term floating rate of interest, the Fund could use interest rate swaps to hedge against a rise in the short-term benchmark interest rates associated with its outstanding leverage. In doing so, the Fund would seek to achieve lower leverage costs, and thereby enhance Common Share distributions, over an extended period, which would be the result if short-term market interest rates on average exceed the fixed interest rate over the term of the swap. To the extent the fixed swap rate is greater than short-term market interest rates on average over the period, overall costs associated with leverage will be greater (and thereby reduce distributions to Common Shareholders) than if the Fund had not entered into the interest rate swap(s). See “Portfolio Composition and Other Information—Derivatives” in the Prospectus.

So long as the net income received from the Fund’s investments purchased with leverage proceeds exceeds the current expense of any leverage, the investment of the proceeds of leverage will generate more net income than if the Fund had not leveraged itself. Under these circumstances, the excess net income will be available to pay higher distributions to Common Shareholders. However, if the net income received from the Fund’s portfolio investments purchased with the proceeds of leverage is less than the current expense of any leverage, the Fund may be required to utilize other Fund assets to make interest and/or dividend payments on its leveraging instruments, which may result in a decline in Common Share NAV and reduced net investment income available for distribution to Common Shareholders.

The Fund may reduce or increase the amount of leverage based upon changes in market conditions and/or composition of the Fund’s holdings. The Fund’s leverage ratio will vary from time to time based upon such changes in the amount of leverage used, variations in the value of the Fund’s holdings and the levels of Common Share subscription and repurchase offer activity related to the Fund’s continuously offered interval fund structure. So long as the net income received from the Fund’s investments purchased with leverage proceeds exceeds the then current expense of any leverage, the investment of the proceeds of leverage will generate more net income than if the Fund had not leveraged itself. Under these circumstances, the excess net income will be available to pay higher distributions to Common Shareholders. However, if the net income received from the Fund’s portfolio investments purchased with the proceeds of leverage is less than the current expense of any leverage, the Fund may be required to utilize other Fund assets to make interest payments on its leveraging instruments which may result in a decline in Common Share NAV and reduced net investment income available for distribution to Common Shareholders.

The Fund pays a management fee to Nuveen Fund Advisors (which in turn pays a portion of such fee to Nuveen Asset Management) based on a percentage of Managed Assets. Managed Assets include the proceeds realized and managed from the Fund’s use of most types of leverage (excluding the leverage exposure attributable to the use of futures, swaps and similar derivatives). Because Managed Assets include the Fund’s net assets as well as assets that are attributable to the Fund’s investment of the proceeds of its leverage, it is

 

6


anticipated that the Fund’s Managed Assets will be greater than its net assets. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will be responsible for using leverage to pursue the Fund’s investment objectives. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will base their decision regarding whether and how much leverage to use for the Fund, and the terms of that leverage, on their assessment of whether such use of leverage is in the best interests of the Fund. However, a decision to employ or increase leverage will have the effect, all other things being equal, of increasing Managed Assets and in turn Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s management fees. Thus, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management may have a conflict of interest in determining whether to use or increase leverage. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will seek to manage that potential conflict by using leverage only when they determine that it would be in the best interests of the Fund and its Common Shareholders, and by periodically reviewing with the Board of Trustees the Fund’s performance and the Fund’s degree of overall use of leverage and the impact of the use of leverage on that performance.

The 1940 Act generally defines a “senior security” as any bond, debenture, note, or similar obligation or instrument constituting a security and evidencing indebtedness, and any stock of a class having priority over any other class as to distribution of assets or payment of dividends; however, the term does not include any promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness issued in consideration of any loan, extension, or renewal thereof, made for temporary purposes and in an amount not exceeding five percent of the value of the Fund’s total assets. A loan shall be presumed to be for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed.

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund is not permitted to issue “senior securities” that are Preferred Shares if, immediately after the issuance of Preferred Shares, the asset coverage ratio with respect to such Preferred Shares would be less than 200%. With respect to any such Preferred Shares, asset coverage means the ratio which the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities, bears to the aggregate amount of senior securities representing indebtedness of the Fund plus the aggregate liquidation preference of such Preferred Shares.

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund is not permitted to issue “senior securities representing indebtedness” if, immediately after the issuance of such senior securities representing indebtedness, the asset coverage ratio with respect to such senior securities would be less than 300%. “Senior securities representing indebtedness” include borrowings (including loans from financial institutions) and debt securities. “Senior securities representing indebtedness” also include other derivative investments or transactions, such as reverse repurchase agreements, to the extent the Fund has not fully covered, segregated or earmarked cash or liquid assets in accordance with the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and applicable positions of the SEC and its staff. With respect to any such senior securities representing debt, asset coverage means the ratio which the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities (as defined in the 1940 Act), bears to the aggregate amount of such borrowing represented by senior securities issued by the Fund.

If the Fund issues senior securities and the asset coverage with respect to such senior securities declines below the required ratios discussed above (as a result of market fluctuations or otherwise), the Fund may sell portfolio securities when it may be disadvantageous to do so.

Certain types of leverage used by the Fund may result in the Fund being subject to certain covenants, asset coverage or other portfolio composition limits by its lenders, debt or preferred securities purchasers, rating agencies that may rate the debt or preferred securities, or reverse repurchase counterparties. Such limitations may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act and may impact whether the Fund is able to maintain its desired amount of leverage. At this time Nuveen Fund Advisors does not believe that any such potential investment limitations will impede it from managing the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with its investment objectives and policies.

Utilization of leverage is a speculative investment technique and involves certain risks to the Common Shareholders, including increased variability of the Fund’s net income, distributions and NAV in relation to market changes. See “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Leverage Risk” in the Prospectus. There is no assurance that the Fund will use leverage or that the Fund’s use of leverage will work as planned or achieve its goals.

 

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INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

Except as described below, the Fund, as a fundamental policy, may not, without the approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Shares and, if issued, Preferred Shares voting together as a single class, and of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Preferred Shares voting as a separate class:

(1) Issue senior securities, as defined in the 1940 Act, except as permitted by the 1940 Act1;

(2) Borrow money, except as permitted by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under the 1940 Act1,2;

(3) Act as underwriter of another issuer’s securities, except to the extent that the Fund may be deemed to be an underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) in connection with the purchase and sale of portfolio securities;

(4) Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one industry; provided, however, that such limitation shall not apply to municipal securities other than those municipal securities backed only by the assets and revenues of non-governmental users3;

(5) Purchase or sell real estate, but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in municipal securities secured by real estate or interests therein or foreclosing upon and selling such real estate;

(6) Purchase or sell physical commodities unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments (but this shall not prevent the Fund from purchasing or selling options, futures contracts or derivative instruments or from investing in securities or other instruments backed by physical commodities); and

(7) Make loans, except as permitted by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under the 1940 Act4.

For the purpose of applying the 25% industry limitation set forth in subparagraph (4) above, such limitation will apply to municipal securities if the payment of principal and interest for such securities is derived principally from a specific project, and in that situation the Fund will consider such municipal securities to be in

 

 

 

1 Section 18(c) of the 1940 Act generally limits a registered closed-end investment company to issuing one class of senior securities representing indebtedness and one class of senior securities representing stock, except that the class of indebtedness or stock may be issued in one or more series, and promissory notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in consideration of any loan, extension, or renewal thereof, made by a bank or other person and privately arranged, and not intended to be publicly distributed, are not deemed a separate class of senior securities.

2 Section 18(a) of the 1940 Act generally prohibits a registered closed-end fund from incurring borrowings if, immediately thereafter, the aggregate amount of its borrowings exceeds 331/3% of its total assets. The Fund has not applied for, and currently does not intend to apply for, such exemptive relief, but reserves the right to do so in the future.

3 For purposes of this restriction, governments and their political subdivisions are not part of any industry.

4 Section 21 of the 1940 Act makes it unlawful for a registered investment company, like the Fund, to lend money or other property if (i) the investment company’s policies set forth in its registration statement do not permit such a loan or (ii) the borrower controls or is under common control with the investment company. The Fund has not applied for, and currently does not intend to apply for, such exemptive relief, but reserves the right to do so in the future.

 

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an industry associated with the project. In addition, the Fund will consider the investments of underlying investment companies when determining compliance with its concentration policy, to the extent the Fund has sufficient information about such investments.

Under the 1940 Act, the Fund may invest only up to 10% of its total assets in the aggregate in shares of other investment companies and only up to 5% of its total assets in any one investment company, provided the investment does not represent more than 3% of the voting stock of the acquired investment company at the time such shares are purchased. As a shareholder in any investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses, and will also remain subject to payment of the Fund’s management, advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested. Holders of Common Shares would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies.

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 Board of Trustees upon 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. The Fund may not:

(1) Purchase securities of open-end or closed-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act or any exemptive relief obtained thereunder; and

(2) Purchase securities of companies for the purpose of exercising control, except to the extent that exercise by the Fund of its rights under loan agreements would be deemed to constitute exercising control.

The Fund may be subject to certain restrictions imposed by guidelines of one or more credit rating agencies that may issue ratings for Preferred Shares, commercial paper or notes, or, if the Fund borrows from a lender, by the lender. These guidelines may impose asset coverage or portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed on the Fund by the 1940 Act. If these restrictions were to apply, it is not anticipated that these guidelines will impede Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management from managing the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the Fund’s investment objectives and policies.

In addition, the Fund has adopted the following fundamental policies with respect to repurchase offers, which may not be changed without the approval of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares and, if issued, Preferred Shares voting together as a single class, and of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Preferred Shares voting as a separate class:

(1) The Fund will make quarterly repurchase offers pursuant to Rule 23c-3 under the 1940 Act, as it may be amended from time to time.

(2) The Fund will repurchase shares that are tendered by a specific date (the “Repurchase Request Deadline”), which will be established by the Board of Trustees (the “Board’) in accordance with Rule 23c-3, as amended from time to time. Rule 23c-3 requires the Repurchase Request Deadline to be no less than 21 and no more than 42 days after the Fund sends notification to shareholders of the repurchase offer.

(3) There will be a maximum fourteen (14) calendar day period (or the next business day if the 14th calendar day is not a business day) between the Repurchase Request Deadline and the date on which the NAV applicable to the repurchase offer is determined (the “Repurchase Pricing Date”).

Under certain limited circumstances, the Fund may postpone or suspend repurchase offers. See “Periodic Repurchase Offers—Suspension or Postponement of Repurchase Offers” in the Prospectus.

 

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PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION AND OTHER INFORMATION

The following information supplements the discussion of the Fund’s investment objectives, policies, and strategies that are described in the Prospectus.

Municipal Securities

General.    The Fund may invest in various municipal securities, including municipal bonds and notes, other securities issued to finance and refinance public projects, and other related securities and derivative instruments creating exposure to municipal bonds, notes and securities that provide for the payment of interest income that is exempt from regular federal income tax. Municipal securities are often issued by state and local governmental entities to finance or refinance public projects such as roads, schools, and water supply systems. Municipal securities may also be issued on behalf of private entities or for private activities, such as housing, medical and educational facility construction, or for privately owned transportation, electric utility and pollution control projects. Municipal securities may be issued on a long term basis to provide permanent financing. The repayment of such debt may be secured generally by a pledge of the full faith and credit taxing power of the issuer, a limited or special tax, or any other revenue source, including project revenues, which may include tolls, fees and other user charges, lease payments and mortgage payments. Municipal securities may also be issued to finance projects on a short-term interim basis, anticipating repayment with the proceeds of the later issuance of long-term debt. The Fund may purchase municipal securities in the form of bonds, notes, leases or certificates of participation; structured as callable or non-callable; with payment forms including fixed coupon, variable rate, zero coupon, capital appreciation bonds, tender option bonds, and residual interest bonds or inverse floating rate securities; or acquired through investments in pooled vehicles, partnerships or other investment companies. Inverse floating rate securities are securities that pay interest at rates that vary inversely with changes in prevailing short-term tax-exempt interest rates and represent a leveraged investment in an underlying municipal security, which could have the economic effect of leverage.

Municipal Leases and Certificates of Participation.    Also included within the general category of municipal securities described in the Prospectus are municipal leases, certificates of participation in such lease obligations or installment purchase contract obligations (hereinafter collectively called “Municipal Lease Obligations”) of municipal authorities or entities. Although a Municipal Lease Obligation does not constitute a general obligation of the municipality for which the municipality’s taxing power is pledged, a Municipal Lease Obligation is ordinarily backed by the municipality’s covenant to budget for, appropriate and make the payments due under the Municipal Lease Obligation. However, certain Municipal Lease Obligations contain “non-appropriation” clauses which provide that the municipality has no obligation to make lease or installment purchase payments in future years unless money is appropriated for such purpose on a yearly basis. In the case of a “non-appropriation” lease, the Fund’s ability to recover under the lease in the event of non-appropriation or default will be limited solely to the repossession of the leased property, without recourse to the general credit of the lessee, and disposition or releasing of the property might prove difficult. In order to reduce this risk, the Fund will only purchase Municipal Lease Obligations where Nuveen Asset Management believes the issuer has a strong incentive to continue making appropriations until maturity.

Pre-Refunded Municipal Securities.    The principal of and interest on pre-refunded municipal securities are no longer paid from the original revenue source for the securities. Instead, the source of such payments is typically an escrow fund consisting of U.S. government securities. The assets in the escrow fund are derived from the proceeds of refunding bonds issued by the same issuer as the pre-refunded municipal securities. Issuers of municipal securities use this advance refunding technique to obtain more favorable terms with respect to securities that are not yet subject to call or redemption by the issuer. For example, advance refunding enables an issuer to refinance debt at lower market interest rates, restructure debt to improve cash flow or eliminate restrictive covenants in the indenture or other governing instrument for the pre-refunded municipal securities. However, except for a change in the revenue source from which principal and interest payments are made, the pre-refunded municipal securities remain outstanding on their original terms until they mature or are redeemed

 

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by the issuer. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the exclusion from gross income for interest on pre-refunded municipal securities effective for such bonds issued after December 31, 2017.

Private Activity Bonds.    Private activity bonds, formerly referred to as industrial development bonds, are issued by or on behalf of public authorities to obtain funds to provide privately operated housing facilities, airport, mass transit or port facilities, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal or hazardous waste treatment or disposal facilities and certain local facilities for water supply, gas or electricity. Other types of private activity bonds, the proceeds of which are used for the construction, equipment, repair or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal securities, although the current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues. Under current law, a significant portion of the private activity bond market is comprised of AMT Bonds. “AMT Bonds” are municipal securities that pay interest that is taxable under the federal alternative minimum tax applicable to noncorporate taxpayers. The Fund’s distributions of its interest income from private activity bonds may subject certain investors to the federal alternative minimum tax.

Special Taxing Districts.    Special taxing districts are organized to plan and finance infrastructure development to induce residential, commercial and industrial growth and redevelopment. The bond financing methods such as tax increment finance, tax assessment, special services district and Mello-Roos bonds, are generally payable solely from taxes or other revenues attributable to the specific projects financed by the bonds without recourse to the credit or taxing power of related or overlapping municipalities. They often are exposed to real estate development-related risks and can have more taxpayer concentration risk than general tax-supported bonds, such as general obligation bonds. Further, the fees, special taxes, or tax allocations and other revenues that are established to secure such financings are generally limited as to the rate or amount that may be levied or assessed and are not subject to increase pursuant to rate covenants or municipal or corporate guarantees. The bonds could default if development failed to progress as anticipated or if larger taxpayers failed to pay the assessments, fees and taxes as provided in the financing plans of the districts.

Special Situations Securities

The Fund may invest in special situations municipal securities. Special situations municipal securities are those:

 

   

that are in distressed financial or operating circumstances, in default or in an active workout;

 

   

whose issuers are in bankruptcy; or

 

   

that present uncertainties or complex features that could render them unsuitable for certain investors.

The Fund expects that over time a substantial portion of the Fund’s portfolio will be invested in special situations municipal securities, and that such investments are an important component of the Fund’s investment strategy in pursuit of its investment objectives. The portion of the Fund’s assets invested in special situations municipal securities may fluctuate significantly over time according to the availability of attractive special situations municipal securities opportunities. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Special Situations Municipal Securities Risk” below.

Directly Originated Securities

The Fund may invest in directly originated securities. Directly originated securities represent obligations structured directly by a single purchaser, or a limited number of institutional purchasers, and the issuer, and are typically not rated by credit rating agencies. The Fund expects that the directly originated securities in which it invests generally will be deemed by Nuveen Asset Management to be of comparable quality to securities rated below investment grade and that such securities will belong to relatively small issues. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the education sector include charter schools, student housing and other education subsectors, including, for example, private schools, parochial schools and vocational and technical schools. Private issuers of municipal-related securities in the healthcare sector include issuers in the senior care and

 

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housing, hospitals and providers and other healthcare subsectors, including, for example, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. The Fund may invest in municipalrelated securities of private issuers in the industrial and infrastructure sectors as well as in municipal-related securities of general nonprofit organizations, human services providers and issuers in the non-student and non-senior housing subsectors. In addition, the Fund may invest in municipal-related securities issued by or on behalf of public authorities to finance or refinance privately owned or operated facilities, including in respect of electric energy or gas, sewage, solid waste disposal and other specialized facilities. Other private activity securities, the proceeds of which may be used for, as an example, the construction, equipment or improvement of privately operated industrial or commercial facilities, may constitute municipal-related securities, but current federal tax laws place substantial limitations on the size of such issues.

Hedging Strategies and Other Uses of Derivatives

The Fund may periodically engage in hedging transactions, and otherwise use various types of derivative instruments, described below, to reduce risk, to effectively gain particular market exposures, to seek to enhance returns, and to reduce transaction costs, among other reasons. The Fund will value derivative instruments at market/fair value for purposes of calculating compliance with the Fund’s 80% investment policy in investments the income from which is exempt from regular federal income tax.

“Hedging” is a term used for various methods of seeking to preserve portfolio capital value by offsetting price changes in one investment through making another investment whose price should tend to move in the opposite direction.

A “derivative” is a financial contract whose value is based on (or “derived” from) a traditional security (such as a stock or a bond), an asset (such as a commodity like gold), or a market index (such as the Lehman Municipal Bond Index). Some forms of derivatives may trade on exchanges, while non-standardized derivatives, which tend to be more specialized and complex, trade in “over-the-counter” or a one-on-one basis. It may be desirable and possible in various market environments to partially hedge the portfolio against fluctuations in market value due to market interest rate or credit quality fluctuations, or instead to gain a desired investment exposure, by entering into various types of derivative transactions, including financial futures and index futures as well as related put and call options on such instruments, structured notes, or interest rate swaps on taxable or tax-exempt securities or indexes (which may be “forward-starting”), credit default swaps, and options on interest rate swaps, among others.

These transactions present certain risks. In particular, the imperfect correlation between price movements in the futures contract and price movements in the securities being hedged creates the possibility that losses on the hedge by a Fund may be greater than gains in the value of the securities in the Fund’s portfolio. In addition, futures and options markets may not be liquid in all circumstances. As a result, in volatile markets, the Fund may not be able to close out the transaction without incurring losses substantially greater than the initial deposit. Finally, the potential deposit requirements in futures contracts create an ongoing greater potential financial risk than do options transactions, where the exposure is limited to the cost of the initial premium. Losses due to hedging transactions will reduce yield. Net gains, if any, from hedging and other portfolio transactions will be distributed as taxable distributions to shareholders. Successful implementation of most hedging strategies will generate taxable income.

The Fund will invest in these instruments only in markets believed by Nuveen Asset Management to be active and sufficiently liquid. Successful implementation of most hedging strategies will generate taxable income.

Swap Transactions.    The Fund may enter into total return, interest rate and credit default swap agreements and interest rate caps, floors and collars. The Fund may also enter into options on the foregoing types of swap agreements (“swap options”).

 

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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 return or spread at a lower cost than obtaining a return or spread through purchases and/or sales of instruments in other markets, as a duration management technique, to attempt to reduce risk arising from the ownership of a particular instrument, or to gain exposure to certain sectors or markets in the most economical way possible.

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. See “—Segregation of Assets” below.

Some, but not all, swaps may be cleared, in which case a central clearing counterparty stands between each buyer and seller and effectively guarantees performance of each contract, to the extent of its available resources for such purpose. Uncleared swaps have no such protection; each party bears the risk that its direct counterparty will default.

Interest Rate Swaps, Caps, Collars and Floors.    Interest rate swaps are bilateral contracts in which each party agrees to make periodic payments to the other party based on different referenced interest rates (e.g., a fixed rate and a floating rate) applied to a specified notional amount. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate floor. The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index rises above a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. Interest rate collars involve selling a cap and purchasing a floor or vice versa to protect the Fund against interest rate movements exceeding given minimum or maximum levels.

Depending on the state of interest rates in general, the Fund’s use of interest rate swaps could enhance or harm the overall performance of Common Shares. To the extent interest rates decline, the value of the interest rate swap could decline, and could result in a decline in the NAV of Common Shares. In addition, if the counterparty to an interest rate swap defaults, the Fund would not be able to use the anticipated net receipts under the swap to offset the interest payments on borrowings or the dividend payments on any outstanding preferred shares. Depending on whether the Fund would be entitled to receive net payments from the counterparty on the swap, which in turn would depend on the general state of short-term interest rates at that point in time, such a default could negatively impact the performance of Common Shares. In addition, at the time an interest rate swap transaction reaches its scheduled termination date, there is a risk that the Fund would not be able to obtain a replacement transaction or that the terms of the replacement would not be as favorable as on the expiring transaction. If this occurs, it could have a negative impact on the performance of Common Shares. The Fund could be required to prepay the principal amount of any borrowings. Such redemption or prepayment would likely result in the Fund seeking to terminate early all or a portion of any swap transaction. Early termination of a swap could result in a termination payment by or to the Fund.

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 equity indices, single stocks, 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 Nuveen Asset Management to assume risk, without the complications of buying the component securities from what may not always be the most liquid of markets.

 

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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 an individual security or 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 would 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 sells or writes credit default swaps, the Fund will segregate the full notional amount of the payment obligation under the credit default swap that must be paid upon the occurrence of a credit event. See “—Segregation of Assets” below.

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 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 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 obligation(s) 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 would 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 would 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 Nuveen Asset Management is incorrect in its forecasts of default risks, market spreads or other applicable factors or events, 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 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 generally may only close out a swap, cap, floor, collar or other two-party contract with its particular counterparty, and generally 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

 

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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 changes in government regulation, could adversely affect the Fund’s ability to terminate existing swap or other agreements or to realize amounts to be received under such agreements.

Futures and Options on Futures.    A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security, index or interest rate (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 (same exchange, underlying financial instrument, and delivery month). 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 the futures broker, known as a futures commission merchant (“FCM”), an amount of cash or securities equal to a varying 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 in the margin account generally is not income producing. However, couponbearing securities, such as Treasury securities, held in margin accounts generally will earn income. 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 FCM’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund. Futures transactions also involve brokerage costs and the Fund may have to segregate additional liquid assets in accordance with applicable SEC requirements. See “—Segregation of Assets” below.

A futures option gives the purchaser of such option the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a long position (call) or short position (put) in a futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of a call option, the purchaser acquires a long position in the futures contract and the writer is assigned the opposite short position. Upon the exercise of a put option, the opposite is true.

The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”) may also limit the extent to which the Fund may invest in futures, options on futures and swaps. See “Tax Matters.”

Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management may use derivative instruments to seek to enhance return, to attempt to hedge some of the risk of the Fund’s investments in municipal securities, to attempt to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Fund’s portfolio or as a substitute for a position in the underlying asset. These types of strategies may generate taxable income.

 

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There is no assurance that these derivative strategies will be available at any time or that Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management will determine to use them for the Fund or, if used, that the strategies will be successful.

Segregation of Assets

As a closed-end investment company regulated with the SEC, the Fund is subject to the federal securities laws, including the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and various interpretive positions of the SEC and its staff. In accordance with these laws, rules and positions, the Fund must maintain liquid assets (often referred to as “asset segregation”), or engage in other SEC staff-approved measures, to “cover” open positions with respect to certain kinds of derivative instruments and financial agreements (such as reverse repurchase agreements). Generally, the Fund will maintain an amount of liquid assets with its custodian in an amount at least equal to the current amount of its obligations, including the value of unpaid past and future payment obligations, under derivative instruments and financial agreements, in accordance with SEC guidance. However, the Fund also may “cover” certain obligations by other means such as through ownership of the underlying security or financial instrument. The Fund also may enter into offsetting transactions with respect to certain obligations consistent with existing guidance from the SEC and its staff so that its combined position, coupled with any liquid assets maintained by its custodian, equals its net outstanding obligation in related derivatives or financial agreements. In the case of financial futures contracts that are not contractually required to cash settle, for example, the Fund must set aside liquid assets equal to such contracts’ full notional value while the positions are open. With respect to financial futures contracts that are contractually required to cash settle, however, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s daily marked-to-market net obligations (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability) under the contracts, if any, rather than such contracts’ full notional value. If the Fund writes credit default swaps, it will segregate the full notional amount of the payment obligation under the credit default swap that must be paid upon the occurrence of a credit event. The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts. With respect to such investments, the Fund will segregate or earmark assets in an amount equal to at least 100% of the face amount of the floating rate securities issued by such trusts.

The Fund reserves the right to modify its policies in the future to comply with any changes in the positions from time to time articulated by the SEC or its staff, such as the SEC’s proposed rules governing the use of derivatives by registered investment companies, regarding asset segregation.

To the extent the Fund uses its assets to cover its obligations as required by the 1940 Act, the rules thereunder, and applicable positions of the SEC and its staff, such assets may not be used for other operational purposes. Nuveen Fund Advisors and/or Nuveen Asset Management will monitor the Fund’s use of derivatives and will take action as necessary for the purpose of complying with the asset segregation policy stated above. Such actions may include the sale of the Fund’s portfolio investments.

High Yield Securities

High yield securities or “junk bonds” that are below investment grade involve a greater degree of risk (in particular, a greater risk of default) than, and special risks in addition to the risks associated with investment grade securities. Under rating agency guidelines, medium- and lower-rated securities and comparable unrated securities will likely have some quality and protective characteristics that are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. Medium- and lower-rated securities may have poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing, may have a current identifiable vulnerability to default or be in default, may be unlikely to have the capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay liquidation preference or principal when due in the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, and/or may be likely to be in default or not current in the payment of interest, dividends, liquidation preference or principal. Such securities are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest or dividends and repay liquidation preference or principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations. Accordingly, it is possible that these types of factors could reduce the value of securities held by the Fund with a commensurate effect on the value of

 

16


the Common Shares. High yield securities involve substantial risk of loss and are susceptible to default or decline in market value due to real or perceived adverse economic conditions, as compared to higher-rated instruments. These securities generally provide higher income than investment grade securities in an effort to compensate investors for their higher risk of default, which is the issuer’s failure to make required interest, dividends, liquidation preference or principal payments on the securities.

The secondary markets for these securities are generally not as liquid as the secondary markets for higher rated securities. The secondary markets for high yield securities are concentrated in relatively few market makers and the participants in the market are mostly institutional investors, including insurance companies, banks, other financial institutions and mutual funds. In addition, the trading volume for high yield securities is generally lower than that for higher-rated securities, and the secondary markets could contract under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. These factors may have an adverse effect on the ability of the Fund to dispose of particular portfolio investments, may adversely affect the Fund’s NAV per share and may limit the ability of the Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing securities and calculating NAV. If the Fund is not able to obtain precise or accurate market quotations for a particular security, it will become more difficult to value the Fund’s portfolio securities, and a greater degree of judgment may be necessary in making such valuations. Less liquid secondary markets may also affect the ability of the Fund to sell securities at their fair value. If the secondary markets for high yield securities contract due to adverse economic conditions or for other reasons, certain liquid securities in the Fund’s portfolio may become illiquid and the proportion of the Fund’s assets invested in illiquid securities may significantly increase.

Prices for high yield securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These laws could adversely affect the Fund’s NAV and investment practices, the secondary market for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value of outstanding high yield securities. For example, federal legislation requiring the divestiture by federally insured savings and loan associations of their investments in high yield bonds and limiting the deductibility of interest by certain corporate issuers of high yield bonds adversely affected the market in the past. See “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Below Investment Grade Risk” in the Prospectus.

Illiquid Securities

The Fund may invest in illiquid securities (i.e., securities that are not readily marketable), including, but not limited to, restricted securities (securities the disposition of which is restricted under the federal securities laws), securities that may be resold only pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”) that are deemed to be illiquid, and certain repurchase agreements.

Restricted securities may be sold only in privately negotiated transactions or in a public offering with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Where registration is required, the Fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the Fund may be permitted to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the Fund might obtain a less favorable price than that which prevailed when it decided to sell. To the extent that the Board of Trustees or its delegatee determines that the price of any illiquid security provided by the pricing service is inappropriate, such security will be priced at a fair value as determined in good faith by the Board or its delegatee.

Inverse Floating Rate Securities and Floating Rate Securities

Inverse Floating Rate Securities.    Inverse floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as “inverse floaters”) are securities whose interest rates bear an inverse relationship to the interest rate on another security or the value of an index. Generally, inverse floating rate securities represent beneficial interests in a special purpose trust for the purpose of holding municipal bonds. The special purpose trust typically sells two classes of beneficial interests or securities: floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as short-term floaters or tender option bonds)

 

17


and inverse floating rate securities (sometimes referred to as inverse floaters or residual interest securities). Both classes of beneficial interests are represented by certificates. The short-term floating rate securities have first priority on the cash flow from the municipal bonds held by the special purpose trust. Typically, a third party, such as a bank, broker-dealer or other financial institution, grants the floating rate security holders the option, at periodic intervals, to tender their securities to the institution and receive the face value thereof. As consideration for providing the option, the financial institution receives periodic fees. The holder of the short-term floater effectively holds a demand obligation that bears interest at the prevailing short-term, tax-exempt rate. However, the institution granting the tender option will not be obligated to accept tendered short-term floaters in the event of certain defaults or a significant downgrade in the credit rating assigned to the bond issuer. For its inverse floating rate investments, the Fund receives the residual cash flow from the special purpose trust. Because the holder of the short-term floater is generally assured liquidity at the face value of the security, the Fund as the holder of the inverse floater assumes the interest rate cash flow risk and the market value risk associated with the municipal security deposited into the special purpose trust. The volatility of the interest cash flow and the residual market value will vary with the degree to which the trust is leveraged. This is expressed in the ratio of the total face value of the short-term floaters in relation to the value of the residual inverse floaters that are issued by the special purpose trust. In addition, all voting rights and decisions to be made with respect to any other rights relating to the municipal bonds held in the special purpose trust are passed through to the Fund, as the holder of the residual inverse floating rate securities. Because increases in the interest rate on the short-term floaters reduce the residual interest paid on inverse floaters, and because fluctuations in the value of the municipal bond deposited in the special purpose trust affect the value of the inverse floater only, and not the value of the short-term floater issued by the trust, inverse floaters’ value is generally more volatile than that of fixed rate bonds. The market price of inverse floating rate securities is generally more volatile than the underlying securities due to the leveraging effect of this ownership structure. These securities generally will underperform the market of fixed rate bonds in a rising interest rate environment (i.e., when bond values are falling), but tend to outperform the market of fixed rate bonds when interest rates decline or remain relatively stable. Although volatile, inverse floaters typically offer the potential exceeding the yields available on fixed rate bonds with comparable credit quality, coupon, call provisions and maturity. Inverse floaters have varying degrees of liquidity based upon, among other things, the liquidity of the underlying securities deposited in a special purpose trust.

The Fund may invest in inverse floating rate securities issued by special purpose trusts that have recourse to the Fund. In Nuveen Fund Advisors’ and Nuveen Asset Management’s discretion, the Fund may enter into a separate shortfall and forbearance agreement with the third party liquidity provider to a special purpose trust. The Fund may enter into such recourse agreements (i) when the liquidity provider requires such an agreement because the level of leverage in the trust exceeds the level that the liquidity provider is willing to support absent such an agreement; and/or (ii) to seek to prevent the liquidity provider from collapsing the trust in the event that the municipal obligation held in the trust has declined in value. Such an agreement would require the Fund to reimburse the third party liquidity provider to such inverse floater, upon termination of the trust issuing the inverse floater, the difference between the liquidation value of the bonds held in the trust and the principal amount due to the holders of floating rate interests. Such agreements may expose the Fund to a risk of loss that exceeds its investment in the inverse floating rate securities. The Fund will segregate or earmark liquid assets with its custodian in accordance with the 1940 Act to cover its obligations with respect to its investments in special purpose trusts. Absent a shortfall and forbearance agreement, the Fund would not be required to make such a reimbursement. If the Fund chooses not to enter into such an agreement, the special purpose trust could be liquidated and the Fund could incur a loss. See also “—Segregation of Assets.”

The Fund may invest in both inverse floating rate securities and floating rate securities (as discussed below) issued by the same special purpose trust.

Investments in inverse floating rate securities have the economic effect of leverage. The use of leverage creates special risks for Common Shareholders. See the Prospectus under “Risks—Portfolio Level Risks—Inverse Floating Rate Securities Risk.”

 

18


Floating Rate Securities.    The Fund may also invest in floating rate securities, as described above, issued by special purpose trusts. Floating rate securities may take the form of short-term floating rate securities or the option period may be substantially longer. Generally, the interest rate earned will be based upon the market rates for municipal securities with maturities or remarketing provisions that are comparable in duration to the periodic interval of the tender option, which may vary from weekly, to monthly, to extended periods of one year or multiple years. Since the option feature has a shorter term than the final maturity or first call date of the underlying bond deposited in the trust, the Fund as the holder of the floating rate security relies upon the terms of the agreement with the financial institution furnishing the option as well as the credit strength of that institution. As further assurance of liquidity, the terms of the trust provide for a liquidation of the municipal security deposited in the trust and the application of the proceeds to pay off the floating rate security. The trusts that are organized to issue both short-term floating rate securities and inverse floaters generally include liquidation triggers to protect the investor in the floating rate security.

Other Investment Companies

The Fund may invest in securities of other open or closed-end investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”)) that invest primarily in municipal securities of the types in which the Fund may invest directly. In addition, the Fund may invest a portion of its Managed Assets in pooled investment vehicles (other than investment companies) that invest primarily in municipal securities of the types in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund generally expects that it may invest in other investment companies and/or other pooled investment vehicles either during periods when it has large amounts of uninvested cash, such as the period shortly after the Fund receives the proceeds of an offering of its Common Shares or borrowing or during periods when there is a shortage of attractive, high-yielding municipal securities available in the market. The Fund may invest in investment companies that are advised by Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management or their respective affiliates to the extent permitted by applicable law and/or pursuant to exemptive relief from the SEC. As a stockholder in an investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses and would remain subject to payment of the Fund’s management, advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested. Common Shareholders would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies. The Fund will consider the investments of underlying investment companies when determining compliance with Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act. Moreover, the Fund will consider the investments of underlying investment companies when determining compliance with its own concentration policy, to the extent the Fund has sufficient information about such investments.

Nuveen Fund Advisors will take expenses into account when evaluating the investment merits of an investment in an investment company relative to available municipal security investments. In addition, the securities of other investment companies may also be leveraged and will therefore be subject to the same leverage risks described herein. As described in the Fund’s Prospectus, the NAV and market value of leveraged shares will be more volatile and the yield to Common Shareholders will tend to fluctuate more than the yield generated by unleveraged shares.

Repurchase Agreements

As temporary investments, the Fund may invest in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is a contractual agreement whereby the seller of securities (U.S. government securities or municipal securities) agrees to repurchase the same security at a specified price on a future date agreed upon by the parties. The agreed-upon repurchase price determines the yield during the Fund’s holding period. Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans collateralized by the underlying security that is the subject of the repurchase contract. Income generated from transactions in repurchase agreements will be taxable. The Fund will only enter into repurchase agreements with registered securities dealers or domestic banks that, in the opinion of Nuveen Asset Management, present minimal credit risk. The risk to the Fund is limited to the ability of the issuer to pay the agreed-upon repurchase price on the delivery date; however, although the value of the underlying collateral at the time the transaction is

 

19


entered into always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price, if the value of the collateral declines there is a risk of loss of both principal and interest. In the event of default, the collateral may be sold but the Fund might incur a loss if the value of the collateral declines, and might incur disposition costs or experience delays in connection with liquidating the collateral. In addition, if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization upon the collateral by the Fund may be delayed or limited. Nuveen Asset Management will monitor the value of the collateral at the time the transaction is entered into and at all times subsequent during the term of the repurchase agreement in an effort to determine that such value always equals or exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price. In the event the value of the collateral declines below the repurchase price, Nuveen Asset Management will demand additional collateral from the issuer to increase the value of the collateral to at least that of the repurchase price, including interest.

Short-Term Investments

Short-Term Taxable Fixed Income Securities

For temporary defensive purposes or to keep cash on hand fully invested, the Fund may invest up to 100% of its net assets in cash equivalents and short- term taxable fixed-income securities, although the Fund intends to invest in taxable short-term investments only in the event that suitable tax-exempt short- term investments are not available at reasonable prices and yields. Short-term taxable fixed income investments are defined to include, without limitation, the following:

(1) U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest that 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 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. Consequently, the value of such securities may fluctuate.

(2) Certificates of Deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or a savings and loan association. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. The issuer of a certificate of deposit agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current Federal Deposit Insurance Company 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) Repurchase agreements, which involve purchases of debt securities. At the time the Fund purchases securities pursuant to a repurchase agreement, it simultaneously agrees to resell and redeliver such securities to the seller, who also simultaneously agrees to buy back the securities 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 obligations of the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities; certificates of deposit; or bankers’ acceptances in which the Fund may invest. 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

 

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underlying collateral. If the value of the collateral declines after the agreement is entered into, 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. Nuveen Asset Management monitors the value of the collateral at the time the action is entered into and at all times during the term of the repurchase agreement. Nuveen Asset Management does 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.

(4) Commercial paper, which consists of 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 such notes. However, they are redeemable by the Fund at any time. Nuveen Asset Management will consider the financial condition of the corporation (e.g., earning power, cash flow, and other liquidity measures) and will continuously monitor the corporation’s ability to meet all of its financial obligations, because the Fund’s liquidity might be impaired if the corporation were unable to pay principal and interest on demand. Investments in commercial paper will be limited to commercial paper rated in the highest categories by a major rating agency and which mature within one year of the date of purchase or carry a variable or floating rate of interest.

 

*

These securities are not backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

Short-Term Tax-Exempt Municipal Securities

Short-term tax-exempt municipal securities are securities that are exempt from regular federal income tax and mature within three years or less from the date of issuance. Short-term tax-exempt municipal income securities are defined to include, without limitation, the following:

Bond Anticipation Notes (“BANs”) are usually general obligations of state and local governmental issuers which are sold to obtain interim financing for projects that will eventually be funded through the sale of long-term debt obligations or bonds. The ability of an issuer to meet its obligations on its BANs is primarily dependent on the issuer’s access to the long-term municipal bond market and the likelihood that the proceeds of such bond sales will be used to pay the principal and interest on the BANs.

Tax Anticipation Notes (“TANs”) are issued by state and local governments to finance the current operations of such governments. Repayment is generally to be derived from specific future tax revenues. TANs are usually general obligations of the issuer. A weakness in an issuer’s capacity to raise taxes due to, among other things, a decline in its tax base or a rise in delinquencies, could adversely affect the issuer’s ability to meet its obligations on outstanding TANs.

Revenue Anticipation Notes (“RANs”) are issued by governments or governmental bodies with the expectation that future revenues from a designated source will be used to repay the notes. In general, they also constitute general obligations of the issuer. A decline in the receipt of projected revenues, such as anticipated revenues from another level of government, could adversely affect an issuer’s ability to meet its obligations on outstanding RANs. In addition, the possibility that the revenues would, when received, be used to meet other obligations could affect the ability of the issuer to pay the principal and interest on RANs.

Construction Loan Notes are issued to provide construction financing for specific projects. Frequently, these notes are redeemed with funds obtained from the Federal Housing Administration.

Bank Notes are notes issued by local government bodies and agencies, such as those described above to commercial banks as evidence of borrowings. The purposes for which the notes are issued are varied but they are frequently issued to meet short-term working capital or capital-project needs. These notes may have risks similar to the risks associated with TANs and RANs.

 

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Tax-Exempt Commercial Paper (“Municipal Paper”) represents very short-term unsecured, negotiable promissory notes issued by states, municipalities and their agencies. Payment of principal and interest on issues of municipal paper may be made from various sources, to the extent the funds are available therefrom. Maturities of municipal paper generally will be shorter than the maturities of TANs, BANs or RANs. There is a limited secondary market for issues of Municipal Paper.

Certain municipal securities may carry variable or floating rates of interest whereby the rate of interest is not fixed but varies with changes in specified market rates or indices, such as a bank prime rate or a tax-exempt money market index.

While the various types of notes described above as a group represent the major portion of the short-term tax-exempt note market, other types of notes are available in the marketplace and the Fund may invest in such other types of notes to the extent permitted under its investment objectives, policies and limitations. Such notes may be issued for different purposes and may be secured differently from those mentioned above.

Auction Rate Securities

Municipal securities also include auction rate municipal securities and auction rate preferred securities issued by closed-end investment companies that invest primarily in municipal securities (collectively, “auction rate securities”). In recent market environments, auctions have failed, which adversely affects the liquidity and price of auction rate securities, and are unlikely to resume. Provided that the auction mechanism is successful, auction rate securities usually permit the holder to sell the securities in an auction at par value at specified intervals. The dividend is reset by “Dutch” auction in which bids are made by broker-dealers and other institutions for a certain amount of securities at a specified minimum yield. The dividend rate set by the auction is the lowest interest or dividend rate that covers all securities offered for sale. While this process is designed to permit auction rate securities to be traded at par value, there is a risk that an auction will fail due to insufficient demand for the securities. Moreover, between auctions, there may be no secondary market for these securities, and sales conducted on a secondary market may not be on terms favorable to the seller. Auction rate securities may be called by the issuer. Thus, with respect to liquidity and price stability, auction rate securities may differ substantially from cash equivalents, notwithstanding the frequency of auctions and the credit quality of the security. The Fund’s investments in auction rate securities of closed-end funds are subject to the limitations prescribed by the 1940 Act. The Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any management and other fees paid by such closed-end funds in addition to the advisory fees payable directly by the Fund.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions

The Fund may buy and sell municipal securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, making payment or taking delivery at a later date, normally within 15-45 days of the trade date. On such transactions the payment obligation and the interest rate are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the commitment. Beginning on the date the Fund enters into a commitment to purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, the Fund is required under rules of the SEC to maintain in a separate account liquid assets, consisting of cash, cash equivalents or liquid securities having a market value, at all times, of at least equal to the amount of the commitment. Income generated by any such assets which provide taxable income for federal income tax purposes is includable in the taxable income of the Fund and, to the extent distributed, will be taxable distributions to shareholders. The Fund may enter into contracts to purchase municipal securities on a forward basis (i.e., where settlement will occur more than 60 days from the date of the transaction) only to the extent that the Fund specifically collateralizes such obligations with a security that is expected to be called or mature within sixty days before or after the settlement date of the forward transaction. The commitment to purchase securities on a when-issued, delayed delivery or forward basis may involve an element of risk because no interest accrues on the bonds prior to settlement and at the time of delivery the market value may be less than their cost.

 

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Zero Coupon Bonds

A zero coupon bond is a bond that typically does not pay interest either for the entire life of the obligation or for an initial period after the issuance of the obligation. When held to its maturity, the holder receives the par value of the zero coupon bond, which generates a return equal to the difference between the purchase price and its maturity value. A zero coupon bond is normally issued and traded at a deep discount from face value. This original issue discount (“OID”) approximates the total amount of interest the security will accrue and compound prior to its maturity and reflects the payment deferral and credit risk associated with the instrument. Because zero coupon securities and other OID instruments do not pay cash interest at regular intervals, the instruments’ ongoing accruals require ongoing judgments concerning the collectability of deferred payments and the value of any associated collateral. As a result, these securities may be subject to greater value fluctuations and less liquidity in the event of adverse market conditions than comparably rated securities that pay cash on a current basis. Because zero coupon bonds, and OID instruments generally, allow an issuer to avoid or delay the need to generate cash to meet current interest payments, they may involve greater payment deferral and credit risk than coupon loans and bonds that pay interest currently or in cash. The Fund generally will be required to distribute dividends to shareholders representing the income of these instruments as it accrues, even though the Fund will not receive all of the income on a current basis or in cash. Thus, the Fund may have to sell other investments, including when it may not be advisable to do so, and use the cash proceeds to make income distributions to its shareholders. For accounting purposes, these cash distributions to shareholders will not be treated as a return of capital.

Further, Nuveen Fund Advisors collects management fees on the value of a zero coupon bond or OID instrument attributable to the ongoing non-cash accrual of interest over the life of the bond or other instrument. As a result, Nuveen Fund Advisors receives non-refundable cash payments based on such non-cash accruals while the Fund and Common Shareholders incur the risk that such non-cash accruals ultimately may not be realized.

Structured Notes

The Fund may utilize structured notes and similar instruments for investment purposes and also for hedging purposes. Structured notes are privately negotiated debt obligations where the principal and/ or interest is determined by reference to the performance of a benchmark asset, market or interest rate (an “embedded index”), such as selected securities, an index of securities or specified interest rates, or the differential performance of two assets or markets. The terms of such structured instruments normally provide that their principal and/or interest payments are to be adjusted upwards or downwards (but not ordinarily below zero) to reflect changes in the embedded index while the structured instruments are outstanding. As a result, the interest and/or principal payments that may be made on a structured product may vary widely, depending upon a variety of factors, including the volatility of the embedded index and the effect of changes in the embedded index on principal and/or interest payments. The rate of return on structured notes may be determined by applying a multiplier to the performance or differential performance of the referenced index or indices or other assets. Application of a multiplier involves leverage that will serve to magnify the potential for gain and the risk of loss. These types of investments may generate taxable income.

Portfolio Trading and Turnover

Portfolio trading may be undertaken to accomplish the investment objectives of the Fund in relation to actual and anticipated movements in interest rates. In addition, a security may be sold and another of comparable quality purchased at approximately the same time to take advantage of what Nuveen Asset Management believes to be a temporary price disparity between the two securities. Temporary price disparities between two comparable securities may result from supply and demand imbalances where, for example, a temporary oversupply of certain securities may cause a temporarily low price for such securities, as compared with other securities of like quality and characteristics.

 

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A security also may be sold when Nuveen Asset Management anticipates a change in the price of such security, Nuveen Asset Management believes the price of a security has reached or is near a realistic maximum, or there are other securities that Nuveen Asset Management believes are more attractive given the Fund’s investment objectives. The Fund also may engage to a limited extent in short-term trading consistent with its investment objectives. Securities may be sold in anticipation of a market decline or purchased in anticipation of a market rise and later sold, but the Fund will not engage in trading solely to recognize a gain. Subject to the foregoing, the Fund will attempt to achieve its investment objectives by prudent selection of securities with a view to holding them for investment. While there can be no assurance thereof, the Fund anticipates that its annual portfolio turnover rate generally will not exceed 60% under normal circumstances. However, the rate of turnover will not be a limiting factor when the Fund deems it desirable to sell or purchase securities. Therefore, depending on market conditions, the annual portfolio turnover rate of the Fund may exceed 60% in particular years. A higher portfolio turnover rate results in correspondingly greater brokerage commissions and other transactional expenses that are borne by the Fund. High portfolio turnover may result in the realization of net short-term capital gains by the Fund which, when distributed to shareholders, will be taxable as ordinary income.

 

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MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

TRUSTEES AND OFFICERS

The management of the Fund, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund under the investment management agreement with Nuveen Fund Advisors (the “Investment Management Agreement”), is the responsibility of the Board of Trustees of the Fund. The number of trustees of the Fund is ten, one of whom is an “interested person” (as the term “interested person” is defined in the 1940 Act) and nine of whom are not interested persons (referred to herein as “independent trustees”). None of the independent trustees has ever been a director, trustee or employee of, or consultant to, Nuveen, Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management, or their affiliates. Currently the Board of Trustees consists of William C. Hunter, Judith M. Stockdale, Carole E. Stone, Margaret L. Wolff, John K. Nelson, Terence J. Toth, Robert L. Young, Margo L. Cook, Jack B. Evans and Albin F. Moschner. If the Fund issues Preferred Shares, two of the Fund’s trustees would be elected by the holders of such Preferred Shares, voting separately as a class. The remaining trustees of the Fund would be elected by holders of common shares and Preferred Shares, voting together as a class. In the event that the Fund fails to pay dividends on outstanding Preferred Shares for two years, holders of Preferred Shares would be entitled to elect a majority of trustees of the Fund. The officers of the Fund serve annual terms and are elected on an annual basis. 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 trustee oversees and other directorships they hold are set forth below. Except as noted in the table below, as of November 30, 2019 the trustees of the Fund are directors or trustees, as the case may be, of 73 Nuveen-sponsored open-end mutual funds (the “Nuveen Mutual Funds”); and 73 Nuveen-sponsored closed-end funds and 13 Nuveen-sponsored exchange-traded funds (collectively with the Nuveen Mutual Funds and the Nuveen-sponsored closed-end funds, the “Nuveen Funds”).

 

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Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  Position(s)
Held with
Fund
  Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex
 

Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years

  Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen By
Trustee
 

Other Directorships Held by Trustee During Past Five Years

Independent Trustees:

Terence J. Toth

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1959)

  Chairman
of the
Board
and
Trustee
  Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 2008
  Formerly, Co-Founding Partner, Promus Capital (2008-2017); Director of Quality Control Corporation (since 2012); formerly, Director of Fulcrum IT Services LLC (2010-2019); 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).   159   None

Jack B. Evans

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1948)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 1999
 

Chairman (since 2019), formerly, President (1996-2019), The Hall-

Perrine Foundation, a private philanthropic corporation (since 1996); Director, Public Member, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (since 2015); 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; formerly, Director, The Gazette Company.

  159   Director and Chairman, United Fire Group, a publicly held company; formerly, Director, Alliant Energy.

 

26


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  Position(s)
Held with
Fund
  Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex
 

Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years

  Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen By
Trustee
 

Other
Directorships
Held by
Trustee
During Past
Five Years

William C. Hunter

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1948)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 2003
  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 (2003-2006), School of Business at the University of Connecticut; previously, Senior Vice President and Director of Research (1995-2003) at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.   159   Director of Wellmark, Inc. (since 2009); former Director (2004-2018) of Xerox Corporation.

Albin F. Moschner

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1952)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception

Length of
Service—
Since 2016

  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 (1991-1996) and Chief Executive Officer (1995-1996) of Zenith Electronics Corporation.   159   Formerly Chairman (2019) and Director (2012-2019), USA Technologies, Inc., a provider of solutions and services to facilitate electronic payment transactions; formerly, Director, Wintrust Financial Corporation (1996-2016).

 

27


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  Position(s)
Held with
Fund
  Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex
 

Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years

  Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen By
Trustee
 

Other
Directorships
Held by
Trustee
During Past
Five Years

John K. Nelson

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1962)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 2013
  Member of Board of Directors of Core12 LLC (since 2008), a private firm which develops branding, marketing and communications strategies for clients; formerly, Director of The Curran Center for Catholic American Studies (2009-2018) and The President’s Council, Fordham University (2010-2018); 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 Markets—the Americas (2006-2007), CEO of Wholesale Banking—North America and Global Head of Foreign Exchange and Futures Markets (2001-2006), and Regional Commercial Treasurer and Senior Vice President Trading—North America (1996- 2001); formerly, Trustee at St. Edmund Preparatory School in New York City.   159   None

Judith M. Stockdale

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1947)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 1997
  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).   159   None

 

28


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  Position(s)
Held with
Fund
  Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex
 

Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years

  Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen By
Trustee
 

Other
Directorships
Held by
Trustee
During Past
Five Years

Carole E. Stone

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1947)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 2007
  Former Director, Chicago Board Options Exchange (2006-2017) and C2 Options Exchange, Incorporated (2009-2017); formerly, Commissioner, New York State Commission on Public Authority Reform (2005-2010).   159   Director, Cboe Global Markets, Inc., formerly, CBOE Holdings, Inc. (since 2010).

Margaret L. Wolff

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1955)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
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.   159   Formerly Member of the Board of Directors (2013-2017) 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.).

 

29


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  Position(s)
Held with
Fund
  Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex
 

Principal Occupation(s)
During Past Five Years

  Number of
Portfolios
in Fund
Complex
Overseen By
Trustee
 

Other
Directorships
Held by
Trustee
During Past
Five Years

Robert L. Young*

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1963)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception
Length of
Service—
Since 2017
  Formerly, Chief Operating Officer and Director, J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (2010-2016); formerly, President and Principal Executive Officer (2013-2016), and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (2005-2010), of J.P. Morgan Funds; formerly, Director and various officer positions for J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (formerly, JPMorgan Funds Management, Inc. and formerly, One Group Administrative Services) and JPMorgan Distribution Services, Inc. (formerly, One Group Dealer Services, Inc.) (1999-2017).   157   None

Interested Trustee:

Margo L. Cook**

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1964)

  Trustee   Term—Since
Inception

Length of
Service—
Since 2016

  President (since 2017), formerly, Co-President (2016-2017), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Executive Vice President (since 2017) of Nuveen, LLC; President (since 2017), formerly, Co-President (2016-2017), formerly, Senior Executive Vice President (2015-2016), and formerly, Executive Vice President (2011-2015) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; President, Global Products and Solutions (since 2017), and Co-Chief Executive Officer (since 2015), formerly, Co-President, and formerly, Executive Vice President (2013-2015), of Nuveen Securities, LLC; President (since 2017), Nuveen Alternative Investments, LLC; Chartered Financial Analyst.   159   None

 

*

Effective July 1, 2017, Mr. Young was appointed as a director or trustee, as the case may be, of each of the Nuveen Funds except Nuveen Diversified Dividend and Income Fund and Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund.

**

Ms. Cook is an “interested person” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act, by reason of her positions with Nuveen, LLC and certain of its subsidiaries.

 

30


OFFICERS OF THE FUND:

 

Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
Held with
Fund

  

Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex

  

Principal Occupations Including
Other Directorships During
Past Five Years

Cedric H. Antosiewicz

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1962)

   Chief Administrative Officer   

Term—Until

August 2020— Length of Service—Since 2007

   Senior Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Managing Director (2004-2017) of Nuveen Securities LLC; Senior Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Managing Director (2014-2017) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC.

Nathaniel T. Jones

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1979)

   Vice President and Treasurer    Term—Until August 2020— Length of Service—Since 2016    Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2016-2017), formerly, Vice President (2011-2016) of Nuveen; Managing Director (since 2015) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Chartered Financial Analyst.

Walter M. Kelly

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1970)

  

Vice President and Chief Compliance

Officer

   Term—Until August 2020— Length of Service—Since 2003    Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2008-2017) of Nuveen.

David J. Lamb

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1963)

   Vice President    Term—Until August 2020— Length of Service—Since 2015    Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President of Nuveen (2006-2017), Vice President prior to 2006.

Tina M. Lazar

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1961)

   Vice President   

Term—Until

August 2020— Length of Service— Since 2002

   Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2014-2017) of Nuveen Securities, LLC.

Brian J. Lockhart

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1974)

   Vice President   

Term—Until August 2020—

Length of Service—Since 2019

   Managing Director (since 2019) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Vice President (2010-2017) of Nuveen; Head of Investment Oversight (since September 2017), formerly, Team Leader of Manager Oversight (2015-2017); Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Financial Risk Manager.

Jacques M. Longerstaey

8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28262

(1963)

   Vice President   

Term—Until August 2020—

Length of Service—Since 2019

   Senior Managing Director, Chief Risk Officer, Nuveen, LLC (since May 2019); Senior Managing Director (since May 2019) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; formerly, Chief Investment and Model Risk Officer, Wealth & Investment Management Division, Wells Fargo Bank (NA) (from 2013-2019).

 

31


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
Held with
Fund

  

Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex

  

Principal Occupations Including
Other Directorships During
Past Five Years

Kevin J. McCarthy

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1966)

   Vice President and Assistant Secretary   

Term—Until

August 2020—

Length of Service—

Since 2007

   Senior Managing Director (since 2017) and Secretary and General Counsel (since 2016) of Nuveen Investments, Inc., formerly, Executive Vice President (2016-2017) and Managing Director and Assistant Secretary (2008-2016); Senior Managing Director (since 2017) and Assistant Secretary (since 2008) of Nuveen Securities, LLC, formerly Executive Vice President (2016-2017) and Managing Director (2008-2016); Senior Managing Director (since 2017), Secretary (since 2016) and Co-General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, formerly, Executive Vice President (2016-2017), Managing Director, (2008-2016) and Assistant Secretary (2007-2016); Senior Managing Director (since 2017), Secretary (since 2016) and Associate General Counsel (since 2011) of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC, formerly Executive Vice President (2016-2017) and Managing Director and Assistant Secretary (2011-2016); Senior Managing Director (since 2017) and Secretary (since 2016) of Nuveen Investments Advisers, LLC, formerly Executive Vice President (2016-2017); Vice President (since 2007) and Secretary (since 2016), formerly, Assistant Secretary, of NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC, Symphony Asset Management LLC, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC and Winslow Capital Management, LLC (since 2010); Senior Managing Director (since 2017) and Secretary (since 2016) of Nuveen Alternative Investments, LLC.

Jon Scott Meissner

8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd.

Charlotte, NC 28262

(1973)

   Vice President and Assistant Secretary   

Term—Until

August 2020

Length of

Service—

Since 2019

   Managing Director of Mutual Fund Tax and Financial Reporting groups at Nuveen (since 2017); Managing Director (since 2019) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Senior Director of Teachers Advisors, LLC and TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC (since 2016); Senior Director (since 2015) Mutual Fund Taxation to the TIAA-CREF Funds, the TIAA-CREF Life Funds, the TIAA Separate Account VA-1 and the CREF Accounts; has held various positions with TIAA since 2004.

 

32


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
Held with
Fund

  

Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex

  

Principal Occupations Including
Other Directorships During
Past Five Years

William T. Meyers

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1966)

   Vice President   

Term—Until

August 2020

Length of Service—

Since 2018

   Senior Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Managing Director (2016-2017), of Nuveen Securities, LLC and Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Senior Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Managing Director (2016-2017), Senior Vice President (2010-2016) of Nuveen, has held various positions with Nuveen since 1991.

Michael A. Perry

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1967)

   Vice President   

Term—Until

August 2020—

Length of Service—

Since 2017

   Executive Vice President (since 2017), previously, Managing Director (2016-2017), of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Co-Chief Executive Officer (since April 2019), formerly, Executive Vice President (2017-2019), Managing Director (2015-2017) of Nuveen Securities; Executive Vice President (since 2017) of Nuveen Alternative Investments, LLC; formerly, Managing Director (2010-2015) of UBS Securities, LLC.

Christopher M. Rohrbacher

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1971)

   Vice President and Assistant Secretary    Term—Until August 2020 Length of Service— Since 2008    Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2016-2017), Co-General Counsel (since 2019) and Assistant Secretary (since 2016) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director (since 2017) of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Managing Director (since 2017), formerly, Senior Vice President (2012-2017) and Associate General Counsel (since 2016), formerly, Assistant General Counsel (2008-2016) of Nuveen.

William A. Siffermann

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1975)

   Vice President    Term—Until August 2020—Length of Service—Since 2017    Managing Director (since 2017), formerly Senior Vice President (2016-2017) and Vice President (2011-2016) of Nuveen.

E. Scott Wickerham

TIAA

730 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10017

(1973)

   Vice President and Controller   

Term—Until August 2020—

Since 2019

   Senior Managing Director, Head of Fund Administration at Nuveen, LLC (since 2019), formerly, Managing Director; Senior Managing Director (since 2019), of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer (since 2017) to the TIAA-CREF Funds, the TIAA-CREF Life Funds, the TIAA Separate Account VA-1 and the Treasurer (since 2017) to the CREF Accounts; Senior Director, TIAA-CREF Fund Administration (2014-2015); has held various positions with TIAA since 2006.

 

33


Name, Business Address

and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
Held with
Fund

  

Term of Office
and Length of
Time Served with
Funds in the Fund
Complex

  

Principal Occupations Including
Other Directorships During
Past Five Years

Mark L. Winget

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1968)

   Vice President and Assistant Secretary    Term—Until August 2020 Length of Service—Since 2008    Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Securities, LLC (since 2008); Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (since 2019); Vice President (since 2010) and Associate General Counsel (since 2016), formerly, Assistant General Counsel (2008-2016) of Nuveen.

Gifford R. Zimmerman

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(1956)

   Vice President and Secretary    Term—Until August 2020 Length of Service— Since 1988    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 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 Advisers, 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.

Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight

The Board of Directors or the Board of Trustees (as the case may be, each is referred to hereafter as the “Board”) oversees the operations and management of the Nuveen Funds (the “Funds”), including the duties performed for the Funds by its investment 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 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 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 candidate’s particular background, skills and experience, among other things, but also whether such background, skills and experience enhance the Board’s 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 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 trustees 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 Board’s knowledge and expertise with respect to the many aspects of fund operations that are complex-wide in nature. The unitary structure also enhances the Board’s influence and oversight over the investment advisor and other service providers.

 

34


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 Board’s 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 Terence J. Toth 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 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 the Fund’s operations. The Board has established six standing committees: the Executive Committee, the Dividend Committee, the Closed-End Funds Committee, the Audit Committee, the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee. The Board also may 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. Terence J. Toth, Chair, Albin F. Moschner and Margo L. Cook serve as the current members of the Executive Committee of the Board.

The Audit Committee assists the Board in the oversight and monitoring of the accounting and reporting policies, processes and practices of the Funds, and the audits of the financial statements of the Funds; the quality and integrity of the financial statements of the Funds; the Funds’ compliance with legal and regulatory requirements relating to the Funds’ financial statements; the independent auditors’ qualifications, performance and independence; and the pricing procedures of the Funds and the internal valuation group of Nuveen. 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 Funds’ portfolios. Subject to the Board’s general supervision of such actions, the Audit Committee addresses any valuation issues, oversees the Funds’ pricing procedures and actions taken by Nuveen’s internal valuation group which provides regular reports to the committee, reviews any issues relating to the valuation of the Funds’ securities brought to its attention and considers the risks to the Funds in assessing the possible resolutions to these matters. The Audit Committee may also consider any financial risk exposures for the 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 Funds and the internal audit group at Nuveen. 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 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 Carole E. Stone, Chair, Jack B. Evans, William C. Hunter, John K. Nelson and Terence J. Toth, each of whom is an independent trustee of the Funds.

 

35


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 Board’s governance over the Funds’ business.

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 be 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 William Siffermann, Managing Director of Fund Board Relations, Nuveen, LLC, 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 candidate’s 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 internal and external sub-advisors and service providers) and, if qualifying as an independent trustee candidate, independence from the Advisor, sub-advisors, underwriters or 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 Funds. Accordingly, the members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Terence J. Toth, Chair, Jack B. Evans, William C. Hunter, Albin F. Moschner, John K. Nelson, Judith M. Stockdale, Carole E. Stone, Margaret L. Wolff and Robert L. Young.

The Dividend Committee is authorized to declare distributions on the 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, Albin F. Moschner, Margaret L. Wolff and Robert L. Young.

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 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 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 Funds arise from time to time; evaluates or considers any

 

36


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 committee’s attention or in reviewing a particular policy, procedure, investment technique or strategy, the Compliance Committee evaluates the risks to the Funds in adopting a particular approach or resolution compared to the anticipated benefits to the 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 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 Funds’ and other service providers’ compliance programs as well as any recommendations for modifications thereto. The Compliance Committee also receives reports from the investment services group of Nuveen 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 John K. Nelson, Chair, Albin F. Moschner, Judith M. Stockdale, Margaret L. Wolff and Robert L. Young.

The Closed-End Funds Committee is responsible for assisting the Board in the oversight and monitoring of the Nuveen Funds that are registered as closed-end management investment companies (“Closed-End Funds”). The committee may review and evaluate matters related to the formation and the initial presentation to the Board of any new Closed-End Fund and may review and evaluate any matters relating to any existing Closed-End Fund.

The committee operates under a written charter adopted and approved by the Board. The members of the Closed-End Funds Committee are Jack B. Evans, Chair, Albin F. Moschner, Carole E. Stone, Terence J. Toth and Robert L. Young.

Board Diversification and Trustee Qualifications. Listed below for each current Board member are the experiences, qualifications, attributes and skills that led to the conclusion, as of the date of this document, that each current trustee should serve as a trustee of the Funds.

Margo L. Cook

Ms. Cook is President of Nuveen Investments, Inc. (“Nuveen Investments”) since April 2017, prior to which she had been Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President of Nuveen Investments from 2016-2017, 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 and Executive Vice President since 2017 of Nuveen, LLC. She is President since August 2017, formerly Co-President (October 2016-August 2017), formerly Senior Executive Vice President (2015-2016) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC and President, Global Products and Solutions since July 2017 and Co-Chief Executive Officer since 2015 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 Management’s institutional business. Prior to that, she spent over 20 years within BNY Mellon’s asset management business; including as

 

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Chief Investment Officer for Institutional Asset Management and Head of Institutional Fixed Income. Ms. Cook earned her bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Rhode Island, her Executive MBA from Columbia University, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. She serves on The University of Rhode Island Foundation Board of Trustees and is Chair of the All Stars Project of Chicago Board.

Jack B. Evans

Mr. Evans has served as President from 1996-2019 and is currently Chairman of the Hall-Perrine Foundation, a private philanthropic corporation. 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 as well as 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 United Fire Group, sits on the Board of The American Board of Orthopedic Surgery as a Public Member Director and is a Life Trustee of Coe College and the Iowa College Foundation. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Coe College and an M.B.A. from the University of Iowa.

William C. Hunter

Dr. Hunter became Dean Emeritus of the Henry B. Tippie College of Business at the University of lowa in 2012, after having served as Dean of the College since July 2006. He had been Dean and Distinguished Professor of Finance at the University of Connecticut School of Business from 2003 to 2006. From 1995 to 2003, he was the Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. He has held faculty positions at Emory University, Atlanta University, the University of Georgia and Northwestern University. He has consulted with numerous foreign central banks and official agencies in Europe, Asia, Central America and South America. He has been a Director of Wellmark, Inc. since 2009. He is a past Director (2005-2015) and a past President of Beta Gamma Sigma, Inc., The International Business Honor Society, and a past Director (2004-2018) of the Xerox Corporation.

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 as 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. Mr. Moschner was formerly Chairman (2019) and a member of the Board of Directors (2012-2019) 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 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.

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

 

38


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 bank’s representative on various committees of the Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, and the Bank of England. At Fordham University, he previously served as a director of The Curran Center for Catholic American Studies, and The President’s 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 (2012-2014) and was formerly a member of the Hyde Park Angels, and 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.

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 2013 and rejoined the board of the Land Trust Alliance in 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 Council of the National Zoological Park, the Governor’s Science Advisory Council (Illinois) and the Nancy Ryerson Ranney Leadership Grants Program. She has been a member of 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 Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (formerly, CBOE Holdings, Inc.), having previously served on the Boards of the Chicago Board Options Exchange 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, the Nuveen Funds’ Independent Chairman, was a Co-Founding Partner of Promus Capital (2008-2017). From 2008 to 2013, he was a Director, Legal & General Investment 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 Boards of Quality Control Corporation since 2012 and Catalyst Schools of Chicago since 2008. He is on the Mather Foundation Board since 2012 and is Chair of its Investment Committee and previously served as a Director of LogicMark LLC (2012-2016) and of Fulcrum IT Service LLC (2010-2019). 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.

 

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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. 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 2013 to 2017, she was 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.). 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.

Robert L. Young

Mr. Young has more than 30 years of experience in the investment management industry. From 1997 to 2017, he held various positions with J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (“J.P. Morgan Investment”) and its affiliates (collectively, “J.P. Morgan”). Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of J.P. Morgan Investment (from 2010 to 2016) and as President and Principal Executive Officer of the J.P. Morgan Funds (from 2013 to 2016). As Chief Operating Officer of J.P. Morgan Investment, Mr. Young led service, administration and business platform support activities for J.P. Morgan’s domestic retail mutual fund and institutional commingled and separate account businesses, and co-led these activities for J.P. Morgan’s global retail and institutional investment management businesses. As President of the J.P. Morgan Funds, Mr. Young interacted with various service providers to these funds, facilitated the relationship between such funds and their boards, and was directly involved in establishing board agendas, addressing regulatory matters, and establishing policies and procedures. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Young, a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA), was a Senior Manager (Audit) with Deloitte & Touche LLP (formerly, Touche Ross LLP), where he was employed from 1985 to 1996. During his tenure there, he actively participated in creating, and ultimately led, the firm’s midwestern mutual fund practice. Mr. Young holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Dayton and, from 2008 to 2011, he served on the Investment Committee of its Board of Trustees.

Independent Chairman

The trustees have elected Terence J. Toth as the independent Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Specific responsibilities of the Chairman include (a) presiding at all meetings of the Board of Trustees and of the shareholders; (b) seeing that all orders and resolutions of the trustees are carried into effect; and (c) maintaining records of and, whenever necessary, certifying all proceedings of the trustees and the shareholders.

 

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Share Ownership

The following table sets forth the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by each trustee as of November 30, 2019:

 

     Dollar Range
of Equity
Securities in
the Fund
     Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities in
All  Registered
Investment Companies
Overseen by Trustees in
Nuveen Family Investment

Companies
 

Margo L. Cook

     None        Over $100,000  

Jack B. Evans

     None        Over $100,000  

William C. Hunter

     None        Over $100,000  

Albin F. Moschner

     None        Over $100,000  

John K. Nelson

     None        Over $100,000  

Judith M. Stockdale

     None        Over $100,000  

Carole E. Stone

     None        Over $100,000  

Terence J. Toth

     None        Over $100,000  

Margaret L. Wolff

     None        Over $100,000  

Robert L. Young

     None        Over $100,000  

As of November 30, 2019 no trustee who is not an interested person of the Fund or any of his or her immediate family members owns beneficially or of record, any security issued by Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management, Nuveen or any person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management or Nuveen.

As of November 30, 2019, the officers and trustees of the Fund, in the aggregate, own none of the Fund’s equity securities.

Compensation

The following table shows, for each independent Trustee, (1) the estimated aggregate compensation to be paid by the Fund projected during the Fund’s fiscal year after commencement of operation, (2) the amount of total compensation paid by the Fund that has been deferred and (3) the total compensation paid to each trustee by the Nuveen Funds during the calendar year ended December 31, 2018. The Fund does not have a retirement or pension plan. The officers and trustees affiliated with Nuveen serve without any compensation from the Fund. The Fund has a deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) that permits any trustee who is not an “interested person” of the Fund to elect to defer receipt of all or a portion of his or her compensation as a trustee. The deferred compensation of a participating trustee is credited to a book reserve account of the Fund when the compensation would otherwise have been paid to the trustee. The value of the trustee’s 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 trustee’s deferral account, the trustee may elect to receive distributions in a lump sum or over a period of five years. The Fund will not be liable for any other fund’s obligations to make distributions under the Plan.

 

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     Aggregate
Compensation from Fund(1)
     Amount of Total
Compensation
That Has
Been Deferred(2)
     Total Compensation from
Fund and Fund Complex(3)
 

Jack B. Evans

   $ 66             $ 336,797  

William C. Hunter

     75               357,875  

Albin F. Moschner

     59               323,375  

John K. Nelson

     76               366,875  

Judith M. Stockdale

     63               322,350  

Carole E. Stone

     72               303,864  

Terence J. Toth

     80               354,650  

Margaret L. Wolff

     59               309,919  

Robert L. Young(4)

     65               268,650  

 

(1)  

Proposed on the estimated aggregate compensation to be earned on the independent trustees for the period ending March 31, 2020, representing the Fund’s first fiscal year, for services to the Fund.

(2) 

Pursuant to a deferred compensation agreement with certain of the Nuveen Funds, deferred amounts are treated as though an equivalent dollar amount has been invested in shares of one or more eligible Nuveen funds. Total deferred fees for the Fund (including the return from the assumed investment in the eligible Nuveen Funds) payable are stated above.

(3) 

Based on the compensation paid (including any amounts deferred) for the calendar year ended December 31, 2018 for services to the Nuveen open-end and closed-end funds. Because the funds in the Nuveen fund complex have different fiscal year ends, the amounts shown in this column are presented on a calendar year basis.

(4) 

Mr. Young joined the Board effective July 1, 2017. He was appointed as a director or trustee, as the case may be, of each of the Nuveen Funds except Nuveen Diversified Dividend and Income Fund and Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund.

Effective January 1, 2019, each Independent trustee receives a $190,000 annual retainer, increased from $185,000 as of January 1, 2018, plus: (a) a fee of $6,500 per day, which was increased from $6,000 per day as of January 1, 2018, 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 meetings of the Board 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 $2,500 per meeting for attendance in person or by telephone at Closed-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; and (g) 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. In addition to the payments described above, the Chairman of the Board

 

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receives $90,000, increased from $80,000 as of January 1, 2018, and the chairpersons of the Audit Committee, the Dividend Committee, the Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee, the Closed-End Funds Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee receive $15,000, each increased from $12,500 as of January 1, 2018, as annual 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 Fund does not have retirement or pension plans. Certain Nuveen funds (the “Participating Funds”) participate in a deferred compensation plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”) that permits an 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 Independent trustee is credited to a book reserve account of the Participating Fund when the compensation would otherwise have been paid to such Independent Trustee. The value of an Independent trustee’s 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 an Independent trustee’s deferral account, the Independent trustee may elect to receive distributions in a lump sum or over a period of five years. The Participating Fund will not be liable for any other fund’s obligations to make distributions under the Deferred Compensation Plan.

The Fund has no employees. The officers of the Fund and the trustees of the Fund who are not Independent trustees serve without any compensation from the Fund.

INVESTMENT ADVISER

Nuveen Fund Advisors will be responsible for determining the Fund’s overall investment strategy and its implementation, including the Fund’s use of leverage and ongoing monitoring of Nuveen Asset Management. Nuveen Fund Advisors also is responsible for managing the Fund’s business affairs and providing certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. For additional information regarding the management services performed by Nuveen Fund Advisors and further information about the investment management agreement between the Fund and Nuveen Fund Advisors, see “Management of the Fund” in the Prospectus.

Nuveen Fund Advisors is an indirect subsidiary of 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. As of September 30, 2019, Nuveen managed approximately $1.03 trillion in assets, of which approximately $152.6 billion was managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement, the Fund has agreed to pay an annual management fee for the overall advisory and administrative services and general office facilities provided by Nuveen Fund Advisors. The Fund’s management fee is separated into two components—a complex-level component, based on the aggregate amount of all Nuveen Fund assets managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors, and a specific fund-level component, based only on the amount of assets within the Fund. This pricing structure enables Nuveen Fund shareholders to benefit from growth in the assets within each individual fund as well as from growth in the amount of complex-wide assets managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

 

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Unless earlier terminated as described below, the Fund’s Investment Management Agreement with Nuveen Fund Advisors will remain in effect until August 1, 2021. The Investment Management Agreement continues in effect from year to year so long as such continuation is approved at least annually by (1) the Board of Trustees or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund and (2) a majority of the trustees who are not interested persons of any party to the Investment Management Agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Investment Management Agreement may be terminated at any time, without penalty, by either the Fund or Nuveen Fund Advisors upon 60 days’ written notice, and is automatically terminated in the event of its assignment as defined in the 1940 Act.

Prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement of which this SAI is a part, Nuveen Fund Advisors will purchase Common Shares from the Fund in an amount satisfying the net worth requirements of Section 14(a) of the 1940 Act and will then own 100% of the outstanding Common Shares. Nuveen Fund Advisors may be deemed to control the Fund until such time as it owns less than 25% of the outstanding Common Shares, which is expected to occur once the Fund commences investment operations and its Common Shares are sold to the public.

SUBADVISER

Nuveen Asset Management, a registered investment adviser, is the Fund’s sub-adviser responsible for investing the Fund’s Managed Assets and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nuveen Fund Advisors. John Miller and Steven Hlavin will serve as the Fund’s portfolio managers and are responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

John Miller serves as the head of Nuveen Municipals for Nuveen Asset Management, responsible for the investment process and performance of the firm’s municipal fixed income group. He is also the lead manager of the High Yield Municipal Bond Strategy, the California High Yield Municipal Bond Strategy, and related institutional portfolios. In addition, he co-manages the All-American Municipal Bond Strategy and the Strategic Municipal Opportunities Strategy and oversees a number of closed-end funds. As the head of Nuveen Municipals, Mr. Miller leads Nuveen Asset Management’s ongoing legacy as one of the largest and most experienced municipal bond managers in the investment industry. Mr. Miller also oversees Nuveen Asset Management’s actively managed investment approach that is firmly rooted in rigorous, bottom-up credit research to help identify attractively valued municipal bond investments.

Mr. Miller’s background features nearly 20 years of experience in the municipal marketplace. Before being named the co-head of Nuveen Municipals in 2011, he was chief investment officer for the firm’s municipal bond team starting in 2007. He was named a managing director and head of portfolio management for Nuveen Asset Management in 2006. Mr. Miller earned a B.A. in economics and political science from Duke University, an M.A. in economics from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. in finance with honors from the University of Chicago. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.

Steven Hlavin is a member of the High Yield Portfolio Management Team, and serves as a portfolio manager for the Nuveen Short Duration High Yield Municipal Bond Strategy and supports the management of the firm’s other High Yield Municipal Bond portfolios. He oversees a number of state-specific, tax-exempt portfolios including the Kansas Municipal Bond, Louisiana Municipal Bond and Wisconsin Municipal Bond Strategies. Steve is also responsible for the tender option bond/inverse floating rate program used by some of the firm’s closed-end and open-end funds. In addition, he manages two closed-end funds that rely on the use of tender option bonds for leverage and co-manages several ETFs.

Mr. Hlavin began his career in the financial industry in 2003 when he joined Nuveen Asset Management. He earned a B.A. in finance and accounting and an M.B.A. in finance from Miami University.

 

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In addition to serving as a portfolio manager to the Fund, Mr. Miller is also primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the following accounts. Information is provided as of October 31, 2019 unless otherwise indicated:

 

Type of Account Managed

   Number of Accounts (Total)      Assets (Total)  

Registered Investment Company

     11      $ 39.73 billion  

Other Pooled Vehicles

     11      $ 470 million  

Other Accounts

     13      $ 67 million  

Type of Account Managed

   Number of Accounts
with Performance-based  Fees
     Assets (Accounts with
Performance-based  Fees)
 

Registered Investment Company

          $ 0  

Other Pooled Vehicles

          $ 0  

Other Accounts

          $ 0  

In addition to serving as a portfolio manager to the Fund, Mr. Hlavin is also primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the following accounts. Information is provided as of October 31, 2019 unless otherwise indicated:

 

Type of Account Managed

   Number of Accounts (Total)      Assets (Total)  

Registered Investment Company

     11      $ 16.66 billion  

Other Pooled Vehicles

     1      $ 151 million  

Other Accounts

          $ 0  

Type of Account Managed

   Number of Accounts
with Performance-based  Fees
     Assets (Accounts with
Performance-based  Fees)
 

Registered Investment Company

          $ 0  

Other Pooled Vehicles

          $ 0  

Other Accounts

          $ 0  

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

Because the Fund has not commenced operations, the portfolio managers did not own any securities of the Fund as of the date of this SAI.

 

Portfolio Manager

   Dollar Range
of Securities
Beneficially Owned
 

John Miller

     none  

Steven Hlavin

     none  

Separately, pursuant to an investment sub-advisory agreement between Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management, Nuveen Fund Advisors will pay Nuveen Asset Management a portfolio management fee equal to 50% of the investment management fee paid on the Fund’s average daily Managed Assets.

Nuveen Asset Management Portfolio Manager Compensation

Portfolio managers are compensated through a combination of base salary and variable components consisting of (i) a cash bonus; (ii) a long-term performance award; and (iii) participation in a profits interest plan.

 

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Base salary. A portfolio manager’s base salary is determined based upon an analysis of the portfolio manager’s general performance, experience and market levels of base pay for such position.

Cash bonus. A portfolio manager is eligible to receive an annual cash bonus that is based on three variables: risk-adjusted investment performance relative to benchmark generally measured over the most recent three and five year periods (unless the portfolio manager’s tenure is shorter), ranking versus Morningstar peer funds generally measured over the most recent three and five year periods (unless the portfolio manager’s tenure is shorter), and management and peer reviews.

Long-term performance award. A portfolio manager is eligible to receive a long-term performance award that vests after three years. The amount of the award when granted is based on the same factors used in determining the cash bonus. The value of the award at the completion of the three-year vesting period is adjusted based on the risk-adjusted investment performance of Fund(s) managed by the portfolio manager during the vesting period and the performance of the TIAA organization as a whole.

Profits interest plan. Portfolio managers are eligible to receive profits interests in Nuveen Asset Management and its affiliate, Teachers Advisors, LLC, which vest over time and entitle their holders to a percentage of the firms’ annual profits. Profits interests are allocated to each portfolio manager based on such person’s overall contribution to the firms.

There are generally no differences between the methods used to determine compensation with respect to the Funds and the Other Accounts shown in the table below.

Nuveen Asset Management Conflict of Interest Policies

Actual or apparent conflicts of interest may arise when a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to more than one account. More specifically, portfolio managers who manage multiple accounts are presented a number of potential conflicts, including, among others, those discussed below.

The management of multiple accounts may result in a portfolio manager devoting unequal time and attention to the management of each account. Nuveen Asset Management seeks to manage such competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by having portfolio managers focus on a particular investment discipline. Most accounts managed by a portfolio manager in a particular investment strategy are managed using the same investment models.

If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity which may be suitable for more than one account, an account may not be able to take full advantage of that opportunity due to an allocation of filled purchase or sale orders across all eligible accounts. To deal with these situations, Nuveen Asset Management has adopted procedures for allocating limited opportunities across multiple accounts.

With respect to many of its clients’ accounts, Nuveen Asset Management determines which broker to use to execute transaction orders, consistent with its duty to seek best execution of the transaction. However, with respect to certain other accounts, Nuveen Asset Management may be limited by the client with respect to the selection of brokers or may be instructed to direct trades through a particular broker. In these cases, Nuveen Asset Management may place separate, non-simultaneous, transactions for a Fund and other accounts which may temporarily affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment of the Fund or the other accounts.

Some clients are subject to different regulations. As a consequence of this difference in regulatory requirements, some clients may not be permitted to engage in all the investment techniques or transactions or to engage in these transactions to the same extent as the other accounts managed by a portfolio manager. Finally, the appearance of a conflict of interest may arise where Nuveen Asset Management has an incentive, such as a performance-based management fee, which relates to the management of some accounts, with respect to which a portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities.

 

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Conflicts of interest may also arise when the sub-adviser invests one or more of its client accounts in different or multiple parts of the same issuer’s capital structure, including investments in public versus private securities, debt versus equity, or senior versus junior/subordinated debt, or otherwise where there are different or inconsistent rights or benefits. Decisions or actions such as investing, trading, proxy voting, exercising, waiving or amending rights or covenants, workout activity, or serving on a board, committee or other involvement in governance may result in conflicts of interest between clients holding different securities or investments. Generally, individual portfolio managers will seek to act in a manner that they believe serves the best interest of the accounts they manage. In cases where a portfolio manager or team faces a conflict among its client accounts, it will seek to act in a manner that it believes best reflects its overall fiduciary duty, which may result in relative advantages or disadvantages for particular accounts.

Nuveen Asset Management has adopted certain compliance procedures which are designed to address these types of conflicts common among investment managers. However, there is no guarantee that such procedures will detect each and every situation in which a conflict arises.

Management Fees Waived

Nuveen Fund Advisors has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses through January        , 2021, so that the total annual operating expenses of the Fund (excluding any distribution and/or service fees that may be applicable to a particular class of shares, issuance and dividend costs of Preferred Shares that may be issued by the Fund, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities, litigation expenses and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 1.50% of the average daily Managed Assets of any class of Fund shares. This expense limitation may be terminated or modified prior to that date only with the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Code of Ethics

The Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen, Nuveen Asset Management and other related entities have adopted codes of ethics under Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that prohibit certain of their personnel, including the Fund’s portfolio manager, from engaging in personal investments that compete or interfere with, or attempt to take advantage of a client’s, including the Fund’s, anticipated or actual portfolio transactions, and are designed to assure that the interests of clients, including Fund shareholders, are placed before the interests of personnel in connection with personal investment transactions. Personnel subject to a code of ethics may invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund, but only so long as such investments are made in accordance with a code’s requirements. Text-only versions of the codes of ethics of the Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management can be viewed online or downloaded from the EDGAR Database on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s internet web site at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, copies of those codes of ethics may be obtained, after paying the appropriate duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Nuveen Fund Advisors has delegated to Nuveen Asset Management the full responsibility for proxy voting on securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and related duties in accordance with the Nuveen Asset Management’s policies and procedures. Nuveen Fund Advisors periodically monitors Nuveen Asset Management’s voting to ensure that it is carrying out its duties. Nuveen Asset Management’s proxy voting policies and procedures are attached to this filing as Appendix B.

Voted Proxies. Information regarding how the Fund voted proxies (for periods subsequent to the Fund commencing operations) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ending June 30 (or any lesser period of time ending June 30 if the Fund has not been operating for that long) of each year is available starting August 31 of that year without charge, upon request, by calling toll free (800) 257-8787 or by

 

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accessing the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. This reference to the website does not incorporate the contents of the website in the Prospectus or the SAI.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS AND BROKERAGE

Subject to the supervision of the Board of Trustees, Nuveen Asset Management is primarily responsible for the Fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the Fund’s portfolio transactions. Commissions are negotiated with broker/dealers on all transactions.

Pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement and the Subadvisory Agreement, each of Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management is authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”)) to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which Nuveen Fund Advisors or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable, determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. Investment research services include information and analysis on particular companies and industries as well as market or economic trends and portfolio strategy, market quotations for portfolio evaluations, analytical software and similar products and services. If a research service also assists Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management in a non-research capacity (such as bookkeeping or other administrative functions), then only the percentage or component that provides assistance to Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management in the investment decision making process may be paid in commission dollars. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable, and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the Fund’s costs, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management do not believe that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces the expenses of Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management by brokers that effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable, in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management manages may be used by Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable, in servicing the Fund. Not all of these research services are used by Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management in managing any particular account, including the Fund.

 

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The Fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers,” as defined in the 1940 Act. The Board of Trustees has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate.

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the Fund as well as for one or more of Nuveen Fund Advisors’ or Nuveen Asset Management’s other clients. Investment decisions for the Fund and for Nuveen Fund Advisors’ or Nuveen Asset Management’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the Fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the Fund and for other portfolios managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, as applicable, occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

Although the Fund does not have any restrictions on portfolio turnover, it is not the Fund’s policy to engage in transactions with the objective of seeking profits from short-term trading. Although the Fund cannot predict its annual portfolio turnover rate, it is generally not expected to exceed 60% under normal circumstances. The portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of sales or purchases of portfolio securities by the average monthly value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. For purposes of this calculation, portfolio securities exclude all securities having a maturity when purchased of one year or less. A high rate of portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater transaction costs than a lower rate, which costs are borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

DESCRIPTION OF SHARES AND DEBT

Common Shares

The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of Common Shares. The Common Shares being offered have a par value of $0.01 per share and have equal rights to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets upon liquidation of the Fund. The Common Shares being offered will, when issued, be fully paid and, subject to matters discussed under “Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws” in the Prospectus, non-assessable, and will have no preemptive or conversion rights, except as the Board of Trustees may otherwise determine, or rights to cumulative voting. The Fund is currently offering one class of Common Shares: Institutional Class Common Shares, and may offer additional classes in the future. An investment in any share class of the Fund represents an investment in the same assets of the Fund. However, the ongoing fees and expenses for each share class may be different. The fees and expenses for the Fund are set forth in “Summary of Fund Expenses” in the Prospectus. Certain share class details are set forth in the “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus. The Declaration of Trust provides that each whole Common Share shall be entitled to one vote as to any matter on which it is entitled to vote and each fractional Common Share shall be entitled to a proportionate fractional vote. If the Fund issues Preferred Shares, the Common Shareholders will not be entitled to receive any cash distributions from the Fund unless all accrued dividends on Preferred Shares have been paid, and unless asset coverage (as defined in the 1940 Act) with respect to Preferred Shares would be at least 200% after giving effect to the distributions. See “—Preferred Shares” below.

 

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Preferred Shares

The Declaration of Trust authorizes the issuance of an unlimited number of Preferred Shares in one or more classes or series, with rights as determined by the Board of Trustees, by action of the Board of Trustees without the approval of the Common Shareholders. The terms of any Preferred Shares that may be issued by the Fund may be the same as, or different from, the terms described below, subject to applicable law and the Declaration of Trust.

Distribution Preference. Any Preferred Shares would have complete priority over the Common Shares as to distribution of assets.

Liquidation Preference. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Fund, holders of Preferred Shares would be entitled to receive a preferential liquidating distribution (expected to equal the original purchase price per share plus accumulated and unpaid dividends thereon, whether or not earned or declared) before any distribution of assets is made to Common Shareholders. After payment of the full amount of the liquidating distribution to which they are entitled, holders of Preferred Shares will not be entitled to any further participation in any distribution of assets by the Fund. A consolidation or merger of the Fund with or into any Massachusetts business trust or corporation or a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of the Fund shall not be deemed to be a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Fund.

Voting Rights. In connection with any issuance of Preferred Shares, the Fund must comply with Section 18(i) of the 1940 Act, which requires, among other things, that Preferred Shares be voting shares and have equal voting rights with Common Shares. Except as otherwise indicated in this SAI and except as otherwise required by applicable law, holders of Preferred Shares would vote together with Common Shareholders as a single class.

In connection with the election of the Fund’s trustees, holders of Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be entitled to elect two of the Fund’s trustees, and the remaining trustees would be elected by Common Shareholders and holders of Preferred Shares, voting together as a single class. In addition, if at any time dividends on the Fund’s outstanding Preferred Shares would be unpaid in an amount equal to two full years’ dividends thereon, the holders of all outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be entitled to elect a majority of the Fund’s trustees until all dividends in arrears have been paid or declared and set apart for payment.

The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding Preferred Shares of any class or series, as the case may be, voting as a separate class, would be required to, among other things, (1) take certain actions that would affect the preferences, rights, or powers of such class or series or (2) authorize or issue any class or series ranking prior to the Preferred Shares. Except as may otherwise be required by law, (1) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Fund’s Preferred Shares outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any conversion of the Fund from a closed-end to an open-end investment company and (2) the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any plan of reorganization (as such term is used in the 1940 Act) adversely affecting such shares; provided however, that such separate class vote would be a majority vote if the action in question has previously been approved, adopted or authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration of Trust or the By-laws. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Preferred Shares, voting as a separate class, would be required to approve any action not described in the preceding sentence requiring a vote of security holders under Section 13(a) of the 1940 Act including, among other things, changes in the Fund’s investment objectives or changes in the investment restrictions described as fundamental policies under “Investment Restrictions” in this SAI. The class or series vote of holders of Preferred Shares described above would in each case be in addition to any separate vote of the requisite percentage of Common Shares and Preferred Shares necessary to authorize the action in question.

 

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The foregoing voting provisions would not apply with respect to the Fund’s Preferred Shares if, at or prior to the time when a vote was required, such shares would have been (1) redeemed or (2) called for redemption and sufficient funds would have been deposited in trust to effect such redemption.

Redemption, Purchase and Sale of Preferred Shares. The terms of the Preferred Shares may provide that they are redeemable by the Fund at certain times, in whole or in part, at the original purchase price per share plus accumulated dividends, that the Fund may tender for or purchase Preferred Shares and that the Fund may subsequently resell any shares so tendered for or purchased. Any redemption or purchase of Preferred Shares by the Fund would reduce the leverage applicable to Common Shares, while any resale of such shares by the Fund would increase such leverage.

In the event of any issuance of Preferred Shares, the Fund likely would apply for ratings from an NRSRO. In such event, as long as Preferred Shares are outstanding, the composition of the Fund’s portfolio would reflect guidelines established by such NRSRO. Based on previous guidelines established by such NRSROs for the securities of other issuers, the Fund anticipates that the guidelines may impose asset coverage or portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed on the Fund by the 1940 Act. However, at this time, no assurance can be given as to the nature or extent of the guidelines that may be imposed in connection with obtaining a rating of any Preferred Shares.

For more information, see “Description of Shares and Debt—Preferred Shares” in the Prospectus.

Senior Securities Representing Indebtedness

The Fund’s Declaration of Trust authorizes the Fund, without approval of the Common Shareholders, to borrow money. In this connection, the Fund may issue notes or other evidence of indebtedness (including bank borrowings or commercial paper) and may secure any such debt by mortgaging, pledging or otherwise subjecting as security the Fund’s assets. In connection with such borrowing, the Fund may be required to maintain minimum average balances with the lender or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit. Any such requirements will increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate. Under the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Fund, immediately after issuing any such senior securities representing indebtedness, must have an “asset coverage” of at least 300%. See “Leverage” in the Prospectus. Certain types of debt may result in the Fund being subject to certain restrictions imposed by guidelines of one or more rating agencies which may issue ratings for commercial paper or notes issued by the Fund. Such restrictions may be more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act. For more information, see “Description of Shares and Debt—Senior Securities Representing Indebtedness” in the Prospectus.

PURCHASE OF INSTITUTIONAL CLASS COMMON SHARES BY ELIGIBLE INVESTORS

Institutional Class Common Shares are available for purchase by eligible investors. The minimum initial investment for Institutional Class Common Shares is $1,000,000 per account, except that the minimum investment amount may be modified for eligible investors, including certain financial firms that submit orders on behalf of their customers, members of the Board of Trustees of the Fund and certain employees of Nuveen, LLC, its affiliates and extended family members of such individuals.

Institutional Class Common Shares are available for purchase at a modified minimum investment amount by clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. Such clients may include individuals, corporations, endowments and foundations. The minimum initial investment for such clients is $1,000,000, but this minimum will be lowered to $250,000 for clients of financial intermediaries that have accounts holding Institutional Class Common Shares with an aggregate value of at least $1,000,000. The Distributor may also lower the minimum to $250,000 for clients of financial intermediaries anticipated to reach this Institutional Class Common Shares holdings level.

 

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Institutional Class Common Shares are also available for purchase by family offices and their clients. A family office is a company that provides certain financial and other services to a high net worth family or families. The minimum initial investment for family offices and their clients is $1,000,000, but this minimum will be lowered to $250,000 for clients of family offices that have accounts holding Institutional Class Common Shares with an aggregate value of at least $1,000,000. The Distributor may also lower the minimum to $250,000 for clients of family offices anticipated to reach this Institutional Class Common Shares holdings level.

Institutional Class Common Shares also are available for purchase, with no minimum initial investment, by the following categories of investors:

 

   

bank or broker-affiliated trust departments investing funds over which they exercise exclusive discretionary investment authority and that are held in a fiduciary, agency, advisory, custodial or similar capacity;

 

   

advisory accounts of Nuveen Fund Advisors and its affiliates, including other Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”) Mutual and Closed-End Funds whose investment policies permit investments in other investment companies;

 

   

investors purchasing through a brokerage platform of a financial intermediary that has an agreement with the Distributor to offer such shares solely when acting as an agent for such investors. Investors transacting through a financial intermediary’s brokerage platform may be required to pay a commission directly to the intermediary;

 

   

any registered investment company that is not affiliated with the Nuveen funds and which invests in securities of other investment companies;

 

   

any plan organized under section 529 under the Code (i.e., a 529 plan);

 

   

current and former trustees/directors of any Nuveen fund, and their immediate family members (“immediate family members” are defined as spouses or domestic partners, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, parents-in-law, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, siblings, a sibling’s spouse and a spouse’s siblings);

 

   

officers of Nuveen and its affiliates, and their immediate family members;

 

   

full-time and retired employees of Nuveen and its affiliates, and their immediate family members, including any corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or other business organization that is wholly owned by one or more of such persons; and

 

   

any person who, for at least the last 90 days, has been an officer, director or employee of any financial intermediary, and their immediate family members.

Holders of Institutional Class Common Shares may purchase additional Institutional Class Common Shares using dividends and capital gain distributions on their shares.

REPURCHASE OF FUND SHARES

In order to provide some liquidity to shareholders, the Fund makes quarterly offers to repurchase between 5% and 25% of its outstanding Common Shares at net asset value. Although the policy permits repurchases of between 5% and 25% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares, for each quarterly repurchase offer, the Fund currently expects to offer to repurchase 5% of the Fund’s outstanding Common Shares at NAV, subject to approval of the Board. Notices of each quarterly repurchase offer are sent to shareholders at least 21 days before the “Repurchase Request Deadline” (i.e., the date by which shareholders can tender their Common Shares in response to a repurchase offer). The Fund determines the NAV applicable to repurchases no later than the 14 days after the Repurchase Request Deadline (or the next business day, if the 14th day is not a

 

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business day) (the “Repurchase Pricing Date”). The Fund expects to distribute payment to shareholders between one and three business days after the Repurchase Pricing Date and will distribute such payment no later than 7 calendar days after such date. The Fund’s Common Shares are not listed on any securities exchange, and the Fund anticipates that no secondary market will develop for its Common Shares. Investors should consider Common Shares of the Fund to be an illiquid investment. Accordingly, you may not be able to sell Common Shares when and/or in the amount that you desire. Thus, Common Shares are appropriate only as a long-term investment. In addition, the Fund’s repurchase offers may subject the Fund and shareholders to special risks.

The section entitled “Periodic Repurchase Offers” in the Prospectus discusses the type and timing of notice for repurchase offers, the effects of oversubscribed repurchase offers, the determination of the repurchase price, payment by the Fund for Common Shares tendered in a repurchase offer, the effect of repurchase policies on the liquidity of the Fund, the consequences of repurchase offers and other details regarding the repurchase offers, including associated risks. The Fund’s fundamental policies with respect to repurchase offers are discussed in “Investment Restrictions” in this Statement of Additional Information.

See “Risks—Fund Level Risks—Repurchase Offers Risk” in the Prospectus for a description of the risks associated with the Fund’s repurchase offers. In addition, the repurchase of Common Shares by the Fund will be a taxable event to shareholders. For a discussion of these tax consequences, see “Taxation” below.

In addition to the Fund’s policy to make periodic repurchase offers as described above, the Board may consider additional repurchases of its Common Shares on the open market or in private transactions, the making of a tender offer for such shares, or the conversion of the Fund to an open-end investment company (described below). The Fund cannot assure you that its Board will decide to take or propose any of these actions.

Subject to its investment limitations, the Fund may borrow to finance the repurchase of shares or to make a tender offer. Interest on any borrowings to finance share repurchase transactions or the accumulation of cash by the Fund in anticipation of share repurchases or tenders will reduce the Fund’s net income and gains. Any share repurchase, tender offer or borrowing that might be approved by the Board would have to comply with the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder and other applicable law.

The Fund does not currently intend to charge a repurchase fee. However, the Fund may charge a repurchase fee of up to 2.00% of the repurchase proceeds, which the Fund would retain to help offset non-de minimis estimated costs related to the repurchase incurred by the Fund, directly or indirectly, as a result of repurchasing Common Shares, thus allocating estimated transaction costs to the shareholder whose Common Shares are being repurchased. The Fund may introduce, or modify the amount of, a repurchase fee at any time. The Fund may also waive or reduce the repurchase fee if Nuveen Fund Advisors determines that the repurchase is offset by a corresponding purchase or if for other reasons the Fund will not incur transaction costs or will incur reduced transaction costs.

CONVERSION TO OPEN-END FUND

Conversion to an open-end company would require the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Common Shares and Preferred Shares, if issued in the future, outstanding at the time, voting together as a single class, and of the holders of at least two-thirds of the Preferred Shares, if issued in the future, outstanding at the time, voting as a separate class, provided, however, that such separate class vote shall be a majority vote if the action in question has previously been approved, adopted or authorized by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the total number of trustees fixed in accordance with the Declaration of Trust or By-laws. See “Certain Provisions in the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws” in the Prospectus for a discussion of voting requirements applicable to conversion of the Fund to an open-end company. If the Fund converted to an open-end company, it would likely have to significantly reduce any leverage it is then employing, which may require a repositioning of its investment portfolio, which may in turn generate substantial transaction costs, which would be borne by Common Shareholders, and may adversely affect Fund performance and Fund distributions. Shareholders of an

 

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open-end investment company may require the company to redeem their shares on any business day (except in certain circumstances as authorized by or under the 1940 Act) at their NAV, less such redemption charge, if any, as might be in effect at the time of redemption The Fund currently expects that any such redemptions would be made in cash. The Fund may charge sales or redemption fees upon conversion to an open-end fund. In order to avoid maintaining large cash positions or liquidating favorable investments to meet redemptions, open-end companies typically engage in a continuous offering of their shares. Open-end companies are thus subject to periodic asset in-flows and out-flows that can complicate portfolio management. The Board of Trustees of the Fund may at any time propose conversion of the Fund to an open-end company depending upon its judgment as to the advisability of such action in light of circumstances then prevailing.

In addition, a purchase by the Fund of its Common Shares would decrease the Fund’s total assets which would likely have the effect of increasing the Fund’s expense ratio. Any purchase by the Fund of its Common Shares at a time when Preferred Shares are outstanding will increase the leverage applicable to the outstanding Common Shares then remaining.

TAX MATTERS

Set forth below is a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax issues concerning the Fund and the purchase, ownership and disposition of the Common Shares. Because tax laws are complex and often change, you should consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of an investment in the Fund. This discussion does not purport to be complete or to deal with all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to Common Shareholders in light of their particular circumstances. Unless otherwise noted, this discussion assumes you are a U.S. Common Shareholder (as defined below) and that you hold your shares as a capital asset (generally, for investment). A U.S. Common Shareholder means a person (other than a partnership) that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or any other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source or (iv) a trust if it (1) is subject to the primary supervision of a court within the United States and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (2) has a valid election in effect under applicable United States Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person.

This discussion is based upon present provisions of the Code, the regulations promulgated thereunder, and judicial and administrative ruling authorities, all of which are subject to change, which change may be retroactive. We have not sought and will not seek any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) regarding any matters discussed herein. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to those set forth below. Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisers with regard to the U.S. federal tax consequences of the purchase, ownership, or disposition of Common Shares, as well as the tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local, foreign, or other taxing jurisdiction.

The discussion below does not represent a detailed description of the U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to special classes of taxpayers including, without limitation, financial institutions, insurance companies, taxpayers subject to the alternative minimum tax, a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, U.S. Common Shareholders whose “functional currency” is not the U.S. dollar, tax-exempt organizations, a controlled foreign corporation or a passive foreign investment company, dealers in securities or currencies, traders in securities or commodities that elect mark-to-market treatment, persons with “applicable financial statements” within the meaning of Section 451(b) of the Code, or persons that will hold Common Shares as a position in a “straddle,” “hedge” or as part of a “constructive sale” for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

If a partnership (or any other entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds Common Shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Partnerships that hold Common Shares and partners in such a

 

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partnership should consult their tax advisors about the U.S. federal income tax considerations of the purchase, ownership and disposition of Common Shares.

The Fund intends to elect to be treated and to qualify each year as a RIC under the Code. To qualify as a RIC, the Fund must, among other things, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of its gross income from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies or other income derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income derived from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership. A “qualified publicly traded partnership” is a publicly traded partnership that meets certain requirements with respect to the nature of its income. To qualify as a RIC, the Fund must also satisfy certain requirements with respect to the diversification of its assets. The Fund must, at the close of each quarter of the taxable year, diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. government securities, the securities of other regulated investment companies and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund’s 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 its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of a single issuer, of two or more issuers which the Fund controls and are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships. Finally, to qualify for treatment as a RIC, the Fund must distribute at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest, income from the interests in certain qualified publicly traded partnerships, and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses) each taxable year. If the Fund failed to meet the asset diversification test described above with respect to any quarter, the Fund would nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the requirements for such quarter if the Fund cured such failure within 6 months and either (i) such failure was de minimis or (ii) (a) such failure was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect and (b) the Fund reported the failure under Treasury regulations to be adopted and paid an excise tax.

As a RIC, the Fund generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its investment company taxable income (as that term is defined in the Code, but without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) and net capital gain (the excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss), if any, that it distributes to shareholders. If the Fund retains any net capital gain or investment company taxable income, it will be subject to tax at the corporate income tax rate on the amount retained. If the Fund retains any net capital gain, it may report the retained amount as undistributed capital gains as part of its annual reporting to its shareholders who, if subject to U.S. federal income tax on long-term capital gains, (i) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gain, their share of such undistributed amount; (ii) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the tax paid by the Fund on such undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any; and (iii) will be entitled to claim refunds to the extent the credit exceeds such liabilities. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the tax basis of Common Shares owned by a Common Shareholder of the Fund will be increased by an amount equal to the difference between the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s gross income and the tax deemed paid by the Common Shareholder under clause (ii) of the preceding sentence. The Fund intends to distribute to its Common Shareholders at least annually that portion of its investment company taxable income necessary to maintain its qualification as a RIC, as well as net capital gains (except for net capital gains credited to them but retained by the Fund).

Amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax. To prevent imposition of the excise tax, the Fund must distribute during each calendar year an amount equal to the sum of (1) at least 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses) for the calendar year, (2) at least 98.2% of its capital gains in excess of its capital losses (adjusted for certain ordinary losses) for the one-year period ending October 31 of the calendar year, and (3) any ordinary income and capital gains for previous years that were not distributed during those

 

55


years. To prevent application of the excise tax, the Fund intends to make its distributions in accordance with the calendar year distribution requirement (including deemed distributions of amounts on which the Fund pays federal income tax). A distribution will be treated as paid on December 31 of the current calendar year if it is declared by the Fund in October, November or December with a record date in such a month and paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year. Such distributions will be taxable to shareholders in the calendar year in which the distributions are declared, rather than the calendar year in which the distributions are received.

If the Fund failed to qualify as a RIC or failed to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement in any taxable year, and was unable to cure such failure, the Fund would be taxed as an ordinary corporation on its taxable income (even if such income were distributed to its shareholders) and all distributions out of earnings and profits would be taxed to shareholders as ordinary dividends. Such distributions generally would be eligible (i) to be treated as “qualified dividend income” (as defined below) in the case of individual and other noncorporate shareholders and (ii) for the dividends received deduction (“DRD”) in the case of corporate shareholders. In addition, in order to requalify for taxation as a RIC, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest, and make certain distributions. In addition, the Fund could be required to recognize unrealized gains, pay substantial taxes and interest and make substantial distributions before requalifying as a RIC. The Board of Trustees 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 Common Shareholders.

Distributions

The Fund intends to qualify each year to pay exempt-interest dividends by satisfying the requirement that at the close of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year at least 50% of the Fund’s total asset consist of municipal securities which are exempt from U.S. federal income tax.

Distributions from the Fund will constitute exempt-interest dividends to the extent of the Fund’s tax-exempt interest income (net of allocable expenses and amortized bond premium). Exempt-interest dividends distributed to shareholders of the Fund are excluded from gross income for federal income tax purposes. However, shareholders required to file a federal income tax return will be required to report the receipt of exempt-interest dividends on their returns. Moreover, while exempt-interest dividends are excluded from gross income for federal income tax purposes, they may be subject to alternative minimum tax (AMT) in certain circumstances for noncorporate taxpayers and may have other collateral tax consequences as discussed below.

The Fund may elect to retain rather than distribute all or a portion of any net capital gains (which is the excess of long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss) otherwise allocable to Common Shareholders and pay U.S. federal income tax on the retained gain. As provided under U.S. federal tax law, Common Shareholders of record as of the end of the Fund’s taxable year will include their allocable share of the retained gain in their income for the year as a long-term capital gain, and will be entitled to a U.S. federal income tax credit for the tax deemed paid on their behalf by the Fund. Distributions of the Fund’s net capital gain (“capital gain distributions”), if any, are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gain, regardless of their holding period in the Common Shares. Distributions of the Fund’s net realized short-term capital gains will be taxable as ordinary income. The maximum long-term capital gain tax rate applicable to individuals is 20%.

If, for any calendar year, the Fund’s total distributions exceed the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated as a tax-free return of capital to each shareholder (up to the amount of the shareholder’s basis in his or her Common Shares) and thereafter as gain from the sale of Common Shares (assuming the Common Shares are held as a capital asset). The amount treated as a tax-free return of capital will reduce the shareholder’s adjusted basis in his or her Common Shares (but not below zero), thereby increasing the potential gain or reducing the potential loss on the subsequent sale or other disposition of the Common Shares. Because the income of the Fund primarily is derived from investments earning interest rather than dividend income, the Fund does not anticipate that any part of its distributions will qualify for qualified dividend treatment or the DRD.

 

56


An additional tax at a rate of 3.8% applies to some or all of the net investment income of certain non-corporate taxpayers. For this purpose, “net investment income” includes interest, dividends (including dividends paid with respect to Common Shares), annuities, royalties, rent, net gain attributable to the disposition of property not held in a trade or business (including net gain from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of Common Shares) and certain other income, but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such income or net gain. Net investment income does not include exempt-interest dividends. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors regarding the taxation of net investment income.

The interest on private activity bonds in most instances is not federally tax-exempt to a person who is a “substantial user” of a facility financed by such bonds or a “related person” of such “substantial user.” As a result, the Fund may not be an appropriate investment for a shareholder who is considered either a “substantial user” or a “related person” within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code. In general, a “substantial user” of a facility includes a “nonexempt person who regularly uses a part of such facility in his trade or business.” Related persons” are in general defined to include persons among whom there exists a relationship, either by family or business, which would result in a disallowance of losses in transactions among them under various provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (or if they are members of the same controlled group of corporations under the Internal Revenue Code), including a partnership and each of its partners (and certain members of their families), an S corporation and each of its shareholders (and certain members of their families) and various combinations of these and other relationships. The foregoing is not a complete description of all of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code covering the definitions of “substantial user” and “related person.”

Federal income tax law imposes an alternative minimum tax with respect to individuals, trusts, and estates. Interest on certain municipal securities, such as bonds issued to make loans for housing purposes or to private entities (but not to certain tax-exempt organizations such as universities and non-profit hospitals), is included as an item of tax preference in determining the amount of a taxpayer’s alternative minimum taxable income. To the extent that the Fund receives income from such municipal securities, a portion of the dividends paid by the Fund, although otherwise exempt from federal income tax, will be taxable to shareholders whose tax liabilities are determined under the federal alternative minimum tax. The Fund will annually provide a report indicating the percentage of the Fund’s income attributable to municipal securities and the portion thereof the interest on which is a tax preference item.

The exemption from U.S. federal income tax for exempt-interest dividends generally does not result in exemption for such dividends under the income or other tax laws of any state or local taxing authority. In some states, however, the portion of any exempt-interest dividends derived from interest received by the Fund on its holdings of that state’s securities and those of its political subdivisions and instrumentalities is exempt from the state’s income tax. The Fund will report annually to its shareholders the percentage of interest income earned by the Fund during the preceding year on tax-exempt obligations indicating, on a state-by-state basis, the source of such income. Shareholders of the Fund are advised to consult their own tax advisors about state and local tax matters.

Tax-exempt income, including exempt-interest dividends paid by the Fund, is taken into account in calculating the amount of social security and railroad retirement benefits that may be subject to federal income tax.

The IRS currently requires that a RIC that has two or more classes of stock allocate to each such class proportionate amounts of each type of its income (such as ordinary income, capital gains, dividends qualifying for the dividends received deduction, qualified dividend income, interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends) based upon the percentage of total dividends paid out of current or accumulated earnings and profits to each class for the tax year. Accordingly, if the Fund issues Preferred Shares, it intends to allocate capital gain dividends, if any, between its Common Shares and Preferred Shares in proportion to the total dividends paid out of current or accumulated earnings and profits to each class with respect to such tax year. Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits, if any, however, will not be

 

57


allocated proportionately among the Common Shares and Preferred Shares. Since the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits in the event of the issuance of Preferred Shares will first be used to pay dividends on the Preferred Shares, distributions in excess of such earnings and profits, if any, will be made disproportionately to Common Shareholders.

Sale, Exchange or Liquidation of Fund Shares

The sale, exchange or repurchase of Fund shares may give rise to a gain or loss. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares treated as a sale or exchange for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than 12 months. Otherwise, such gain or loss on the taxable disposition of Fund shares will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares held for six months or less (i) 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 and (ii) generally will be disallowed to the extent of any exempt-interest dividends received by the shareholder with respect to the shares. All or a portion of any loss realized upon a taxable disposition of Fund shares will be disallowed under the Code’s “wash sale” rule if other 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.

A repurchase by the Fund of a shareholder’s shares pursuant to a repurchase offer (as described in the Prospectus) generally will be treated as a sale or exchange of the shares by a shareholder provided that either (i) the shareholder tenders, and the Fund repurchases, all of such shareholder’s shares, thereby reducing the shareholder’s percentage ownership of the Fund, whether directly or by attribution under Section 318 of the Code, to 0%, (ii) the shareholder meets numerical safe harbors under the Code with respect to percentage voting interest and reduction in ownership of the Fund following completion of the repurchase offer, or (iii) the repurchase offer otherwise results in a “meaningful reduction” of the shareholder’s ownership percentage interest in the Fund, which determination depends on a particular shareholder’s facts and circumstances.

If a tendering shareholder’s proportionate ownership of the Fund (determined after applying the ownership attribution rules under Section 318 of the Code) is not reduced to the extent required under the tests described above, such shareholder will be deemed to receive a distribution from the Fund under Section 301 of the Code with respect to the shares held (or deemed held under Section 318 of the Code) by the shareholder after the repurchase offer (a “Section 301 distribution”). The amount of this distribution will equal the price paid by the Fund to such shareholder for the shares sold, and will be taxable as a dividend, i.e., as ordinary income, to the extent of the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits allocable to such distribution, with the excess treated as a return of capital reducing the shareholder’s tax basis in the shares held after the repurchase offer, and thereafter as capital gain. Any Fund shares held by a shareholder after a repurchase offer will be subject to basis adjustments in accordance with the provisions of the Code.

Provided that no tendering shareholder is treated as receiving a Section 301 distribution as a result of selling shares pursuant to a particular repurchase offer, shareholders who do not sell shares pursuant to that repurchase offer will not realize constructive distributions on their shares as a result of other shareholders selling shares in the repurchase offer. In the event that any tendering shareholder is deemed to receive a Section 301 distribution, it is possible that shareholders whose proportionate ownership of the Fund increases as a result of that repurchase offer, including shareholders who do not tender any shares, will be deemed to receive a constructive distribution under Section 305(c) of the Code in an amount equal to the increase in their percentage ownership of the Fund as a result of the repurchase offer. Such constructive distribution will be treated as a dividend to the extent of current or accumulated earnings and profits allocable to it.

Use of the Fund’s cash to repurchase shares may adversely affect the Fund’s ability to satisfy the distribution requirements for treatment as a regulated investment company described above. The Fund may also recognize income in connection with the sale of portfolio securities to fund share purchases, in which case the Fund would take any such income into account in determining whether such distribution requirements have been satisfied.

 

58


The foregoing discussion does not address the tax treatment of tendering shareholders who do not hold their shares as a capital asset. Such shareholders should consult their own tax advisors on the specific tax consequences to them of participating or not participating in the repurchase offer.

Nature of Fund’s Investments

Gain recognized on the disposition of a debt obligation purchased by a fund at a market discount (generally, at a price less than its principal amount) will be treated as ordinary income to the extent of the portion of the market discount that accrued during the period of time the fund held the debt obligation unless the fund made a current inclusion election to accrue market discount into income as it accrues. If a fund purchases a debt obligation (such as a zero coupon security or pay-in-kind security) that was originally issued at a discount, the fund generally is required to include in gross income each year the portion of the original issue discount that accrues during such year. Therefore, a fund’s investment in such securities may cause the fund to recognize income and make distributions to shareholders before it receives any cash payments on the securities. To generate cash to satisfy those distribution requirements, a fund may have to sell portfolio securities that it otherwise might have continued to hold or to use cash flows from other sources such as the sale of fund shares.

Tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as whether and to what extent a fund should recognize market discount on a debt obligation, when a fund may cease to accrue interest, original issue discount or market discount, when and to what extent a fund may take deductions for bad debts or worthless securities and how a fund should allocate payments received on obligations in default between principal and income. These and other related issues will be addressed by a fund in order to ensure that it distributes sufficient income to preserve its status as a regulated investment company.

Backup Withholding

The Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from all taxable distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. The withholding percentage is currently 24%. Corporate shareholders and certain other shareholders specified in the Code generally are exempt from such backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld may be credited against the shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability provided the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

Foreign Shareholders

U.S. taxation of a shareholder who is not a U.S. Common Shareholder (“foreign shareholder”) depends on whether the income of the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the shareholder. If a partnership (including an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds Fund shares, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A partner in a partnership holding Fund shares should consult its tax advisors with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of Fund shares.

Income not Effectively Connected

If the income from the Fund is not “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the foreign shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will be subject to a U.S. tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate), which tax is generally withheld from such distributions. Distributions which are reported by the Fund as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends” are currently exempt from the 30% withholding tax. Interest-related dividends and short-term capital gain dividends generally represent distributions of interest or short-term capital gains that would not have been subject to U.S. withholding tax at the source if they had been received directly by a foreign person and satisfy certain other requirements.

 

59


Distributions of capital gain dividends (including any amounts retained by the Fund which are reported as undistributed capital gains) and gains recognized on the sale or other disposition of our common stock will not be subject to U.S. tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate) unless the foreign shareholder is a nonresident alien individual and is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% U.S. tax. In the case of a foreign shareholder who is a nonresident alien individual, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. income tax from distributions of net capital gain unless the foreign shareholder certifies his or her non-U.S. status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption. See “Tax Matters—Backup Withholding.”

Income Effectively Connected

If the income from the Fund is “effectively connected” with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a foreign shareholder, then distributions of investment company taxable income and capital gain dividends, any amounts retained by the Fund which are reported as undistributed capital gains and any gains realized upon the sale or exchange of shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. income tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents and domestic corporations. Foreign corporate shareholders also may be subject to the branch profits tax imposed by the Code.

The tax consequences to a foreign shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described herein. Foreign shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

FATCA Reporting and Withholding Requirements

Under legislation known as “FATCA” (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the Fund will be required to withhold 30% on income dividends made by the Fund to shareholders that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements. After, December 31, 2018, FATCA withholding also would have applied to certain capital gain dispositions, return of capital distributions and the proceeds arising from the sale of Fund shares; however, based on proposed regulations issued by the IRS, which can be relied upon currently, such withholding is no longer required unless final regulations provide otherwise (which is not expected). In general, no such withholding will be required with respect to a U.S. person or foreign individual that timely provides the certifications required by the Fund or its agent on a valid IRS Form W-9, W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E, respectively. Shareholders potentially subject to withholding include foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), such as foreign investment funds, and non-financial foreign entities (“NFFEs”). To avoid withholding under FATCA, an FFI generally must enter into an information sharing agreement with the IRS in which it agrees to report certain identifying information (including name, address, and taxpayer identification number) with respect to its U.S. account holders (which, in the case of an entity shareholder, may include its direct and indirect U.S. owners), and an NFFE generally must identify itself and may be required to provide other required information to the Fund or other withholding agent regarding its U.S. owners, if any. Such foreign shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by regulations and other guidance. A non-U.S. entity that invests in the Fund will need to provide the Fund with documentation properly certifying the entity’s status under FATCA in order to avoid FATCA withholding. A foreign shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. to implement FATCA may be subject to different requirements provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement. Foreign shareholders are encouraged to consult with their tax advisers regarding the possible implications of these requirements on their investment in Fund shares.

 

60


Other Tax Considerations

Fund shareholders may be subject to state, local and foreign taxes on their Fund distributions. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

The foregoing discussion is a summary only and is not intended as a substitute for careful tax planning. Purchasers of Common Shares should consult their own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of investing in such Common Shares, including under state, local and other tax laws. Finally, the foregoing discussion is based on applicable provisions of the Code, regulations, judicial authority and administrative interpretations in effect on the date hereof. Changes in applicable authority could materially affect the conclusions discussed above, and such changes often occur.

EXPERTS

The Financial Statements of the Fund are audited by                                 , an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon appearing elsewhere herein, and will be included in reliance upon such report given upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.                                  provides assistance on accounting, tax and related matters to the Fund. The principal business address of                                  is                                  Chicago, Illinois 60601.

CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT

The custodian of the assets of the Fund is State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111. State Street performs custodial, fund accounting and portfolio accounting services. The transfer agent of the Fund is DST Systems, Inc., 333 West 11th Street, 5th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 64105.                                                                                  .

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

A Registration Statement on Form N-2, including amendments thereto, relating to the shares of the Fund offered hereby, has been filed by the Fund with the SEC in Washington, D.C. The Fund’s Prospectus and this SAI do not contain all of the information set forth in the Registration Statement, including any exhibits and schedules thereto. For further information with respect to the Fund and the shares offered hereby, reference is made to the Fund’s Registration Statement. Statements contained in the Fund’s Prospectus and this SAI as to the contents of any contract or other document referred to are not necessarily complete and in each instance reference is made to the copy of such contract or other document filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. Copies of the Registration Statement may be inspected without charge at the SEC’s principal office in Washington, D.C., and copies of all or any part thereof may be obtained from the SEC upon the payment of certain fees prescribed by the SEC or on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

[To be filed by amendment.]

 

62


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

[To be filed by amendment.]

 

 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

 

63


Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

Statement of Operations

[To be filed by amendment.]

 

 

 

See accompanying Notes to Financial Statements.

 

64


APPENDIX A

Ratings of Investments

Standard & Poor’s Corporation—A brief description of the applicable Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of The McGraw-Hill Companies (“Standard & Poor’s” or “S&P”), rating symbols and their meanings (as published by S&P) follows:

A Standard & Poor’s issue credit rating is a forward-looking opinion about the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to a specific financial obligation, a specific class of financial obligations, or a specific financial program (including ratings on medium-term note programs and commercial paper programs). It takes into consideration the creditworthiness of guarantors, insurers, or other forms of credit enhancement on the obligation and takes into account the currency in which the obligation is denominated. The opinion reflects Standard & Poor’s view of the obligor’s capacity and willingness to meet its financial commitments as they come due, and may assess terms, such as collateral security and subordination, which could affect ultimate payment in the event of default.

Issue credit ratings can be either long-term or short-term. Short-term ratings are generally assigned to those obligations considered short-term in the relevant market. In the U.S., for example, that means obligations with an original maturity of no more than 365 days—including commercial paper. Short-term ratings are also used to indicate the creditworthiness of an obligor with respect to put features on long-term obligations. Medium-term notes are assigned long-term ratings.

LONG-TERM ISSUE CREDIT RATINGS

Issue credit ratings are based in varying degrees, on S&P’s analysis of the following considerations:

1. Likelihood of payment—capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation;

2. Nature of and provisions of the obligation; and

3. Protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

Issue ratings are an assessment of default risk, but may incorporate an assessment of relative seniority or ultimate recovery in the event of default. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation applies when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.)

AAA

An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is extremely strong.

AA

An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is very strong.

A

An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher-rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

 

A-1


BBB

An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

BB, B, CCC, CC, and C

Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

BB

An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B

An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CCC

An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment, and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CC

An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘CC’ rating is used when a default has not yet occurred, but Standard & Poor’s expects default to be a virtual certainty, regardless of the anticipated time to default.

C

An obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment, and the obligation is expected to have lower relative seniority or lower ultimate recovery compared to obligations that are rated higher.

D

An obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made within five business days in the absence of a stated grace period or within the earlier of the stated grace period or 30 calendar days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer

N.R.

This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

 

A-2


Plus (+) or minus (-). The ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus or minus sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

SHORT-TERM ISSUE CREDIT RATINGS

A-1

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-1’ is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on these obligations is extremely strong.

A-2

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-2’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

A-3

A short-term obligation rated ‘A-3’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B

A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as vulnerable and has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitments; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitments.

C

A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

D

A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in default or in breach of an imputed promise. For non-hybrid capital instruments, the ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made within any stated grace period. However, any stated grace period longer than five business days will be treated as five business days. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action and where default on an obligation is a virtual certainty, for example due to automatic stay provisions. An obligation’s rating is lowered to ‘D’ if it is subject to a distressed exchange offer.

MUNICIPAL SHORT-TERM NOTE RATINGS DEFINITIONS

A Standard & Poor’s U.S. municipal note rating reflects Standard & Poor’s opinion about the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to the notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes with an original maturity of more than three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating.

In determining which type of rating, if any, to assign, Standard & Poor’s analysis will review the following considerations:

1. Amortization schedule—the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and

2. Source of payment—the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.

 

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Note rating symbols are as follows:

SP-1

Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.

SP-2

Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

SP-3

Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.— A brief description of the applicable Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) rating symbols and their meanings (as published by Moody’s) follows:

LONG-TERM OBLIGATION RATINGS

Moody’s long-term ratings are assigned to issuers or obligations with an original maturity of one year or more and reflect both on the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments and the expected financial loss suffered in the event of default.

Aaa

Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, subject to the lowest level of credit risk.

Aa

Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

A

Obligations rated A are judged to be upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Baa

Obligations rated Baa are judged to be medium-grade and subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered medium grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Ba

Obligations rated Ba are judged to be speculative and are subject to substantial credit risk.

B

Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa

Obligations rated Caa are judged to be speculative, of poor standing, and are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca

Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C

Obligations rated C are the lowest rated and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

 

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Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers 1,2, and 3 to each generic rating classification from Aaa through Caa. The modifier 1 indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier 2 indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier 3 indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

SHORT-TERM OBLIGATION RATINGS

Moody’s short-term ratings are assigned to obligations with an original maturity of thirteen months or less and reflect the likelihood of a default on contractually promised payments. Moody’s employs the following designations to indicate the relative repayment ability of rated issuers:

P-1

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-2

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-3

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

NP

Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

U.S. MUNICIPAL SHORT-TERM OBLIGATION RATINGS

The Municipal Investment Grade (MIG) scale is used to rate U.S. municipal bond anticipation notes of up to three years’ maturity. Municipal notes rated on the MIG scale may be secured by either pledged revenues or proceeds of a take-out financing received prior to note maturity. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation, and the issuer’s long-term rating is only one consideration in assigning the MIG rating. MIG ratings are divided into three levels—MIG 1 through MIG 3—while speculative grade short-term obligations are designated SG.

MIG1

This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG2

This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

MIG3

This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

SG

This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

 

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Fitch Ratings, Inc.— A brief description of the applicable Fitch Ratings, Inc. (“Fitch”) ratings symbols and meanings (as published by Fitch) follows:

Rated entities in a number of sectors, including financial and non-financial corporations, sovereigns and insurance companies, are generally assigned Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs). IDRs opine on an entity’s relative vulnerability to default on financial obligations. The “threshold” default risk addressed by the IDR is generally that of the financial obligations whose non-payment would best reflect the uncured failure of that entity. As such, IDRs also address relative vulnerability to bankruptcy, administrative receivership or similar concepts, although the agency recognizes that issuers may also make pre-emptive and therefore voluntary use of such mechanisms.

In aggregate, IDRs provide an ordinal ranking of issuers based on the agency’s view of their relative vulnerability to default, rather than a prediction of a specific percentage likelihood of default. For historical information on the default experience of Fitch-rated issuers, please consult the transition and default performance studies available from the Fitch Ratings website.

LONG-TERM CREDIT RATINGS

AAA

Highest credit quality. ‘AAA’ ratings denote the lowest expectation of default risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

AA

Very high credit quality. ‘AA’ ratings denote expectations of a very low default risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

A

High credit quality. ‘A’ ratings denote expectations of low default risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to adverse business or economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

BBB

Good credit quality. ‘BBB’ ratings indicate that expectations of default risk are currently low. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse business or economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity.

BB

Speculative. ‘BB’ ratings indicate an elevated vulnerability to default risk, particularly in the event of adverse changes in business or economic conditions over time; however, business or financial flexibility exists which supports the servicing of financial commitments.

B

Highly speculative. ‘B’ ratings indicate that material default risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is vulnerable to deterioration in the business and economic environment.

CCC

Substantial credit risk. Default is a real possibility.

 

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CC

Very high levels of credit risk. Default of some kind appears probable.

C

Exceptionally high levels of credit risk. Default is imminent or inevitable, or the issuer is in standstill. Conditions that are indicative of a ‘C’ category rating for an issuer include:

a. the issuer has entered into a grace or cure period following non-payment of a material financial obligation;

b. the issuer has entered into a temporary negotiated waiver or standstill agreement following a payment default on a material financial obligation; or

c. Fitch Ratings otherwise believes a condition of ‘RD’ or ‘D’ to be imminent or inevitable, including through the formal announcement of a distressed debt exchange.

RD

Restricted default. ‘RD’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has experienced an uncured payment default on a bond, loan or other material financial obligation but which has not entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, and which has not otherwise ceased business. This would include:

a. the selective payment default on a specific class or currency of debt;

b. the uncured expiry of any applicable grace period, cure period or default forbearance period following a payment default on a bank loan, capital markets security or other material financial obligation;

c. the extension of multiple waivers or forbearance periods upon a payment default on one or more material financial obligations, either in series or in parallel; or

d. execution of a distressed debt exchange on one or more material financial obligations.

D

Default. ‘D’ ratings indicate an issuer that in Fitch Ratings’ opinion has entered into bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other formal winding-up procedure, or which has otherwise ceased business. Default ratings are not assigned prospectively to entities or their obligations; within this context, nonpayment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will generally not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period, unless a default is otherwise driven by bankruptcy or other similar circumstance, or by a distressed debt exchange.

“Imminent” default typically refers to the occasion where a payment default has been intimated by the issuer, and is all but inevitable. This may, for example, be where an issuer has missed a scheduled payment, but (as is typical) has a grace period during which it may cure the payment default. Another alternative would be where an issuer has formally announced a distressed debt exchange, but the date of the exchange still lies several days or weeks in the immediate future.

In all cases, the assignment of a default rating reflects the agency’s opinion as to the most appropriate rating category consistent with the rest of its universe of ratings, and may differ from the definition of default under the terms of an issuer’s financial obligations or local commercial practice.

Note: The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the ‘AAA’ Long-Term IDR category, or to Long-Term IDR categories below ‘B’.

 

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Specific limitations relevant to the issuer credit rating scale include:

 

   

The ratings do not predict a specific percentage of default likelihood over any given time period.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the market value of any issuer’s securities or stock, or the likelihood that this value may change.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the liquidity of the issuer’s securities or stock.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the possible loss severity on an obligation should an issuer default.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the suitability of an issuer as counterparty to trade credit.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on any quality related to an issuer’s business, operational or financial profile other than the agency’s opinion on its relative vulnerability to default.

Ratings assigned by Fitch Ratings articulate an opinion on discrete and specific areas of risk. The above list is not exhaustive, and is provided for the reader’s convenience.

SHORT-TERM OBLIGATION RATINGS

A short-term issuer or obligation rating is based in all cases on the short-term vulnerability to default of the rated entity or security stream and relates to the capacity to meet financial obligations in accordance with the documentation governing the relevant obligation. Short-Term Ratings are assigned to obligations whose initial maturity is viewed as “short term” based on market convention. Typically, this means up to 13 months for corporate, sovereign, and structured obligations, and up to 36 months for obligations in U.S. public finance markets.

F1

Highest short-term credit quality. Indicates the strongest intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

F2

Good short-term credit quality. Good intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments.

F3

Fair short-term credit quality. The intrinsic capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate.

B

Speculative short-term credit quality. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus heightened vulnerability to near-term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.

C

High short-term default risk. Default is a real possibility.

RD

Restricted default. Indicates an entity that has defaulted on one or more of its financial commitments, although it continues to meet other financial obligations. Applicable to entity ratings only.

D

Default. Indicates a broad-based default event for an entity, or the default of a short-term obligation.

 

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Specific limitations relevant to the Short-Term Ratings scale include:

 

   

The ratings do not predict a specific percentage of default likelihood over any given time period.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the market value of any issuer’s securities or stock, or the likelihood that this value may change.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the liquidity of the issuer’s securities or stock.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on the possible loss severity on an obligation should an obligation default.

 

   

The ratings do not opine on any quality related to an issuer or transaction’s profile other than the agency’s opinion on the relative vulnerability to default of the rated issuer or obligation.

Ratings assigned by Fitch Ratings articulate an opinion on discrete and specific areas of risk. The above list is not exhaustive, and is provided for the reader’s convenience.

RATING WATCHES AND RATING OUTLOOKS

Rating Watch

Rating Watches indicate that there is a heightened probability of a rating change and the likely direction of such a change. These are designated as “Positive”, indicating a potential upgrade, “Negative”, for a potential downgrade, or “Evolving”, if ratings may be raised, lowered or affirmed. However, ratings that are not on Rating Watch can be raised or lowered without being placed on Rating Watch first, if circumstances warrant such an action.

A Rating Watch is typically event-driven and, as such, it is generally resolved over a relatively short period. The event driving the Watch may be either anticipated or have already occurred, but in both cases, the exact rating implications remain undetermined. The Watch period is typically used to gather further information and/or subject the information to further analysis. Additionally, a Watch may be used where the rating implications are already clear, but where a triggering event (e.g. shareholder or regulatory approval) exists. The Watch will typically extend to cover the period until the triggering event is resolved or its outcome is predictable with a high enough degree of certainty to permit resolution of the Watch.

Rating Watches can be employed by all analytical groups and are applied to the ratings of individual entities and/or individual instruments. At the lowest categories of speculative grade (‘CCC’, ‘CC’ and ‘C’) the high volatility of credit profiles may imply that almost all ratings should carry a Watch. Watches are nonetheless only applied selectively in these categories, where a committee decides that particular events or threats are best communicated by the addition of the Watch designation.

Rating Outlook

Rating Outlooks indicate the direction a rating is likely to move over a one- to two-year period. They reflect financial or other trends that have not yet reached the level that would trigger a rating action, but which may do so if such trends continue. The majority of Outlooks are generally Stable, which is consistent with the historical migration experience of ratings over a one- to two-year period. Positive or Negative rating Outlooks do not imply that a rating change is inevitable and, similarly, ratings with Stable Outlooks can be raised or lowered without a prior revision to the Outlook, if circumstances warrant such an action. Occasionally, where the fundamental trend has strong, conflicting elements of both positive and negative, the Rating Outlook may be described as Evolving.

Outlooks are currently applied on the long-term scale to issuer ratings in corporate finance (including sovereigns, industrials, utilities, financial institutions and insurance companies) and public finance outside the U.S.; to issue ratings in public finance in the U.S.; to certain issues in project finance; to Insurer Financial Strength Ratings; to issuer and/or issue ratings in a number of National Rating scales; and to the ratings of structured finance transactions. Outlooks are not applied to ratings assigned on the short-term scale and are applied selectively to ratings in the ‘CCC’, ‘CC’ and ‘C’ categories. Defaulted ratings typically do not carry an Outlook.

 

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Deciding When to Assign Rating Watch or Outlook

Timing is informative but not critical to the choice of a Watch rather than an Outlook. A discrete event that is largely clear and the terms of which are defined, but which will not happen for more than six months—such as a lengthy regulatory approval process—would nonetheless likely see ratings placed on Watch rather than a revision to the Outlook. An Outlook revision may, however, be deemed more appropriate where a series of potential event risks has been identified, none of which individually warrants a Watch but which cumulatively indicate heightened probability of a rating change over the following one to two years.

A revision to the Outlook may also be appropriate where a specific event has been identified, but where the conditions and implications of that event are largely unclear and subject to high execution risk over an extended period—for example a proposed, but politically controversial, privatization.

STANDARD RATING ACTIONS

Affirmed*

The rating has been reviewed and no change has been deemed necessary.

Confirmed

Action taken in response to an external request or change in terms. Rating has been reviewed in either context, and no rating change has been deemed necessary.

Downgrade*

The rating has been lowered in the scale.

Matured*/Paid-In-Full

a. ‘Matured’—This action is used when an issue has reached the end of its repayment term and rating coverage is discontinued. Denoted as ‘NR’.

b. ‘Paid-In-Full’—This action indicates that the issue has been paid in full. As the issue no longer exists, it is therefore no longer rated. Denoted as ‘PIF’.

New Rating*

Rating has been assigned to a previously unrated issue primarily used in cases of shelf issues such as MTNs or similar programs.

Prerefunded*

Assigned to long-term US Public Finance issues after Fitch assesses refunding escrow.

Publish*

Initial public announcement of rating on the agency’s website, although not necessarily the first rating assigned. This action denotes when a previously private rating is published.

Upgrade*

The rating has been raised in the scale.

Withdrawn*

The rating has been withdrawn and the issue or issuer is no longer rated by Fitch Ratings. Indicated in rating databases with the symbol ‘WD’.

 

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Rating Modifier Actions

Modifiers include Rating Outlook, Rating Watch, and Recovery Rating.

Rating Watch Maintained*

The issue or issuer has been reviewed and remains on active Rating Watch status.

Rating Watch On*

The issue or issuer has been placed on active Rating Watch status.

Rating Watch Revision*

Rating Watch status has changed.

Support Floor Rating Revision

Applicable only to Support ratings related to Financial Institutions, which are amended only with this action.

Under Review*

Applicable to ratings that may undergo a change in scale not related to changes in fundamental credit quality. Final action will be “Revision Rating”

Revision Outlook*

The Rating Outlook status has changed independent of a full review of the underlying rating.

 

*

A rating action must be recorded for each rating in a required cycle to be considered compliant with Fitch policy concerning aging of ratings. Not all Ratings or Data Actions, or changes in rating modifiers, will meet this requirement. Actions that meet this requirement are noted with an “ * “ in the above definitions.

 

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APPENDIX B

Nuveen Asset Management, LLC

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

Effective Date: January 1, 2011, as last amended October 24, 2018

 

 

 

I.     General Principles

A.    Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“NAM”) is an investment sub-adviser for certain of the Nuveen Funds (the “Funds”) and investment adviser for institutional and other separately managed accounts (collectively, with the Funds, “Accounts”). As such, Accounts may confer upon NAM complete discretion to vote proxies.1

B.    When NAM has proxy voting authority, it is NAM’s duty to vote proxies in the best interests of its clients (which may involve affirmatively deciding that voting the proxies may not be in the best interests of certain clients on certain matters). In voting proxies, NAM also seeks to enhance total investment return for its clients.

C.    If NAM contracts with another investment adviser to act as a sub-adviser for an Account, NAM may delegate proxy voting responsibility to the sub-adviser. Where NAM has delegated proxy voting responsibility, the sub-adviser will be responsible for developing and adhering to its own proxy voting policies, subject to oversight by NAM.

D.    NAM’s Proxy Voting Committee (“PVC”) provides oversight of NAM’s proxy voting policies and procedures, including (1) providing an administrative framework to facilitate and monitor the exercise of such proxy voting and to fulfill the obligations of reporting and recordkeeping under the federal securities laws; and (2) approving the proxy voting policies and procedures.

II.    Policies

The PVC after reviewing and concluding that such policies are reasonably designed to vote proxies in the best interests of clients, has approved and adopted the proxy voting policies (“Policies”) of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”), a leading national provider of proxy voting administrative and research services.i As a result, such Policies set forth NAM’s positions on recurring proxy issues and criteria for addressing non-recurring issues. These Policies are reviewed periodically by ISS, and therefore are subject to change. Even though it has adopted the Policies as drafted by ISS, NAM maintains the fiduciary responsibility for all proxy voting decisions.

III.    Procedures

A.    Supervision of Proxy Voting. Day-to-day administration of proxy voting may be provided internally or by a third-party service provider, depending on client type, subject to the ultimate oversight of the PVC. The PVC shall supervise the relationships with NAM’s proxy voting services, ISS. ISS apprises Nuveen Global Operations (“NGO”) of shareholder meeting dates, and casts the actual proxy votes. ISS also provides research

 

 

1 

NAM does not vote proxies where a client withholds proxy voting authority, and in certain non-discretionary and model programs NAM votes proxies in accordance with its Policies in effect from time to time. Clients may opt to vote proxies themselves, or to have proxies voted by an independent third party or other named fiduciary or agent, at the client’s cost.

 

i 

ISS has separate polices for Taft Hartley plans and it is NAM’s policy to apply the Taft Hartley polices to accounts that are Taft Hartley plans and have requested the application of such policies.

 

B-1


on proxy proposals and voting recommendations. ISS serves as NAM’s proxy voting record keepers and generate reports on how proxies were voted. NGO periodically reviews communications from ISS to determine whether ISS voted the correct amount of proxies, whether the votes were cast in a timely manner, and whether the vote was in accordance with the Policies or NAM’s specific instructions

B.     General Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest.

 

  1.

NAM believe that most conflicts of interest faced by NAM in voting proxies can be avoided by voting in accordance with the Policies. Examples of such conflicts of interest are as follows:2

 

  a.

The issuer or proxy proponent (e.g., a special interest group) is TIAA-CREF, the ultimate principal owner of NAM, or any of its affiliates.

 

  b.

The issuer is an entity in which an executive officer of NAM or a spouse or domestic partner of any such executive officer is or was (within the past three years of the proxy vote) an executive officer or director.

 

  c.

The issuer is a registered or unregistered fund or other client for which NAM or another affiliated adviser has a material relationship as investment adviser or sub-adviser (e.g., Nuveen Funds and TIAA Funds) or an institutional separate account.

 

  d.

Any other circumstances that NAM is aware of where NAM’s duty to serve its clients’ interests, typically referred to as its “duty of loyalty,” could be materially compromised.

 

  2.

To further minimize this risk, Compliance will review ISS’ conflict avoidance policy at least annually to ensure that it adequately addresses both the actual and perceived conflicts of interest ISS may face.

 

  3.

In the event that ISS faces a material conflict of interest with respect to a specific vote, the PVC shall direct ISS how to vote. The PVC shall receive voting direction from appropriate investment personnel. Before doing so, the PVC will consult with Legal to confirm that NAM faces no material conflicts of its own with respect to the specific proxy vote.

 

  4.

Where ISS is determined to have a conflict of interest, or NAM determines to override the Policies and is determined to have a conflict, the PVC will recommend to NAM’s Compliance Committee or designee a course of action designed to address the conflict. Such actions could include, but are not limited to:

 

  a.

Obtaining instructions from the affected client(s) on how to vote the proxy;

 

  b.

Disclosing the conflict to the affected client(s) and seeking their consent to permit NAM to vote the proxy;

 

  c.

Voting in proportion to the other shareholders;

 

  e.

Recusing the individual with the actual or potential conflict of interest from all discussion or consideration of the matter, if the material conflict is due to such person’s actual or potential conflict of interest; or

 

  f.

Following the recommendation of a different independent third party.

 

 

2 

A conflict of interest shall not be considered material for the purposes of these Policies and Procedures with respect to a specific vote or circumstance if the matter to be voted on relates to a restructuring of the terms of existing securities or the issuance of new securities or a similar matter arising out of the holding of securities, other than common equity, in the context of a bankruptcy or threatened bankruptcy of the issuer.

 

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  5.

In addition to all of the above-mentioned and other conflicts, the Head of Equity Research, NGO and any member of the PVC must notify NAM’s Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) of any direct, indirect or perceived improper influence exerted by any employee, officer or director of TIAA or its subsidiaries with regard to how NAM should vote proxies. NAM Compliance will investigate any such allegations and will report the findings to the PVC and, if deemed appropriate, to NAM’s Compliance Committee. If it is determined that improper influence was attempted, appropriate action shall be taken. Such appropriate action may include disciplinary action, notification of the appropriate senior managers, or notification of the appropriate regulatory authorities. In all cases, NAM will not consider any improper influence in determining how to vote proxies, and will vote in the best interests of clients.

C.     Proxy Vote Override. From time to time, a portfolio manager of an account (a “Portfolio Manager”) may initiate action to override the Policies’ recommendation for a particular vote. Any such override by a NAM Portfolio Manager (but not a sub-adviser Portfolio Manager) shall be reviewed by NAM’s Legal Department for material conflicts. If the Legal Department determines that no material conflicts exist, the approval of one member of the PVC shall authorize the override. If a material conflict exists, the conflict and, ultimately, the override recommendation will be rejected and will revert to the original Policies recommendation or will be addressed pursuant to the procedures described above under “Conflicts of Interest.”

In addition, the PVC may determine from time to time that a particular recommendation in the Policies should be overridden based on a determination that the recommendation is inappropriate and not in the best interests of shareholders. Any such determination shall be reflected in the minutes of a meeting of the PVC at which such decision is made.

D.    Securities Lending.

 

  1.

In order to generate incremental revenue, some clients may participate in a securities lending program. If a client has elected to participate in the lending program then it will not have the right to vote the proxies of any securities that are on loan as of the shareholder meeting record date. A client, or a Portfolio Manager, may place restrictions on loaning securities and/or recall a security on loan at any time. Such actions must be affected prior to the record date for a meeting if the purpose for the restriction or recall is to secure the vote.

 

  2.

Portfolio Managers and/or analysts who become aware of upcoming proxy issues relating to any securities in portfolios they manage, or issuers they follow, will consider the desirability of recalling the affected securities that are on loan or restricting the affected securities prior to the record date for the matter. If the proxy issue is determined to be material, and the determination is made prior to the shareholder meeting record date the Portfolio Manager(s) will contact the Securities Lending Agent to recall securities on loan or restrict the loaning of any security held in any portfolio they manage, if they determine that it is in the best interest of shareholders to do so.

E.    Proxy Voting Records. As required by Rule 204-2 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, NAM shall make and retain five types of records relating to proxy voting; (1) NAM’s Policies; (2) proxy statements received for securities in client accounts; (3) records of proxy votes cast by NAM on behalf of clients accounts; (4) records of written requests from clients about how NAM voted their proxies, and written responses from NAM to either a written or oral request by clients; and (5) any documents prepared by the adviser that were material to making a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for the decision. NAM relies on ISS to make and retain on NAM’s behalf certain records pertaining to Rule 204-2.

 

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F.    Fund of Funds Provision. In instances where NAM provides investment advice to a fund of funds that acquires shares of affiliated funds or three percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of an unaffiliated fund, the acquiring fund shall vote the shares in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the acquired fund. If compliance with this procedure results in a vote of any shares in a manner different than the Policies’ recommendation, such vote will not require compliance with the Proxy Vote Override procedures set forth above.

G.    Legacy Securities. To the extent that NAM receives proxies for securities that are transferred into an account’s portfolio that were not recommended or selected by it and are sold or expected to be sold promptly in an orderly manner (“legacy securities”), NAM will generally refrain from voting such proxies. In such circumstances, since legacy securities are expected to be sold promptly, voting proxies on such securities would not further NAM’s interest in maximizing the value of client investments. NAM may agree to an account’s special request to vote a legacy security proxy, and would vote such proxy in accordance with the Policies.

H.    Terminated Accounts. Proxies received after the termination date of an account generally will not be voted. An exception will be made if the record date is for a period in which an account was under NAM’s discretionary management or if a separately managed account (“SMA”) custodian failed to remove the account’s holdings from its aggregated voting list.

I.    Non-votes. NGO shall be responsible for obtaining reasonable assurance from ISS that it voted proxies on NAM’s behalf, and that any special instructions from NAM about a given proxy or proxies are submitted to ISS in a timely manner. It should not be considered a breach of this responsibility if NGO or NAM does not receive a proxy from ISS or a custodian with adequate time to analyze and direct to vote or vote a proxy by the required voting deadline.

NAM may determine not to vote proxies associated with the securities of any issuer if as a result of voting such proxies, subsequent purchases or sales of such securities would be blocked. However, NAM may decide, on an individual security basis that it is in the best interests of its clients to vote the proxy associated with such a security, taking into account the loss of liquidity. In addition, NAM may determine not to vote proxies where the voting would in NAM’s judgment result in some other financial, legal, regulatory disability or burden to the client (such as imputing control with respect to the issuer) or to NAM or its affiliates.

NAM may determine not to vote securities held by SMAs where voting would require the transfer of the security to another custodian designated by the issuer. Such transfer is generally outside the scope of NAM’s authority and may result in significant operational limitations on NAM’s ability to conduct transactions relating to the securities during the period of transfer. From time to time, situations may arise (operational or otherwise) that prevent NAM from voting proxies after reasonable attempts have been made.

J.    Review and Reports.

 

  1.

The PVC shall maintain a review schedule. The schedule shall include reviews of the Policies and the policies of any Sub-adviser engaged by NAM, the proxy voting record, account maintenance, and other reviews as deemed appropriate by the PVC. The PVC shall review the schedule at least annually.

 

  2.

The PVC will report to NAM’s Compliance Committee with respect to all identified conflicts and how they were addressed. These reports will include all accounts, including those that are sub-advised. NAM also shall provide the Funds that it sub-advises with information necessary for preparing Form N-PX.

 

B-4


K.     Vote Disclosure to Clients. NAM’s institutional and SMA clients can contact their relationship manager for more information on NAM’s Policies and the proxy voting record for their account. The information available includes name of issuer, ticker/CUSIP, shareholder meeting date, description of item and NAM’s vote.

IV.    Responsible Parties

PVC

NGO

NAM Compliance

Legal Department

 

B-5


Nuveen Municipal High Yield & Special Situations Fund

Common Shares

 

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

 

                                 , 2019


PART C—OTHER INFORMATION

Item 25: Financial Statements and Exhibits

 

1.

Financial Statements:

Registrant has not conducted any business as of the date of this filing, other than in connection with its organization. Financial statements indicating that the Registrant has met the net worth requirements of Section 14(a) of the 1940 Act will be filed with a Pre-effective Amendment to the Registration Statement on Form N-2.

 

2.

Exhibits:

 

  a      Declaration of Trust dated May 22, 2019. (1)
  b.      By-laws of Registrant. (1)
  c.      None.
  d.      None.
  e.     

None.

  f.      None.
  g.1      Investment Management Agreement dated                         , 2019. *
  g.2      Sub-Advisory Agreement dated                         , 2019. *
  h.      Form of Distribution Agreement. *
  i.      Nuveen Open-End and Closed-End Funds Deferred Compensation Plan for Independent Directors and Trustees.
  j.1      Amended and Restated Master Custodian Agreement between Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company dated July 15, 2015 (the “Custodian Agreement”). *
  j.2      Appendix A to Custodian Agreement dated November 16, 2018. *
  k      Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between Registrant and DST Systems, Inc. (the “Transfer Agency Agreement”). *
  l.1      Opinion and Consent of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, LLP. *
  l.2      Opinion and Consent of                         . *
  m.      Not Applicable.
  n.      Consent of                         . *
  o.      None.
  p.      Subscription Agreement of Nuveen Fund Advisors dated                         , 2019. *
  q.      None.
  r.1      Code of Ethics and Reporting Requirements of Nuveen (including affiliated entities) and the Nuveen Funds, as amended August 26, 2019.
  r.2      Code of Ethics for the Independent Trustees of the Nuveen Funds.
  s.      Powers of Attorney.

 

(1)

Filed on May 23, 2019 with Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-2 (File No. 333-231722) and incorporated herein by reference.

 

*

To be provided by amendment.


Item 26: Marketing Arrangements

Reference is made to the Form of Distribution Agreement filed as Exhibit h.1 to this Registration Statement.

See Paragraph              of the Specimen Dealer Letter Agreement filed as Exhibit h.2 to this Registration Statement.

See Sections              and              of the Specimen Nuveen Master Selected Dealer Agreement filed as Exhibit h.3 to this Registration Statement.

See the Introductory Paragraph and Sections             ,              and              of the                                  Master Selected Dealers Agreement filed as Exhibit h.4 to this Registration Statement.

Item 27: Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

 

Securities and Exchange Commission fees    $          *  
Printing and engraving expenses    $          *  
Legal Fees    $          *  
Audit    $          *  
Miscellaneous expenses    $ *  
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ *  
  

 

 

 

 

*

To be provided by amendment.

Item 28: Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant

Not applicable.

Item 29: Number of Holders of Securities

At November 30, 2019:

 

Title of Class

   Number of Record Holders  
Common Shares, $0.01 par value      0  

Item 30: Indemnification

Section 4 of Article XII of the Registrant’s Declaration of Trust provides as follows:

Subject to the exceptions and limitations contained in this Section 4, every person who is, or has been, a Trustee, officer, employee or agent 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:

(a) against any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders by reason of a final adjudication by the court or other body before which the proceeding was brought that he engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office;


(b) with respect to any matter as to which he shall have been finally adjudicated not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action was in the best interests of the Trust; or

(c) in the event of a settlement or other disposition not involving a final adjudication (as provided in paragraph (a) or (b)) and resulting in a payment by a Covered Person, unless there has been either a determination that such Covered Person did not engage in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his office by the court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry), that he did not engage in such conduct:

(i) by a vote of a majority of the Disinterested Trustees acting on the matter (provided that a majority of the Disinterested Trustees then in office act on the matter); or

(ii) by written opinion of independent legal counsel.

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 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. Nothing contained herein shall affect any rights to indemnification to which Trust personnel other than Covered Persons may be entitled by contract or otherwise under 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 4 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 4, provided that either:

(a) such undertaking is secured by a surety bond or some other appropriate security or the Trust shall be insured against losses arising out of any such advances; or

(b) a majority of the Disinterested Trustees acting on the matter (provided that a majority of the Disinterested Trustees then in office act on the matter) or independent legal counsel in a written opinion shall determine, based upon a review of the readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry), that there is reason to believe that the recipient ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification.

As used in this Section 4, a “Disinterested Trustee” is one (x) who is not an Interested Person of the Trust (including anyone, as such Disinterested Trustee, who has been exempted from being an Interested Person by any rule, regulation or order of the Commission), and (y) against whom none of such actions, suits or other proceedings or another action, suit or other proceeding on the same or similar grounds is then or has been pending.

As used in this Section 4, the words “claim,” “action,” “suit” or “proceeding” shall apply to all claims, actions, suits, proceedings (civil, criminal, administrative or other, including appeals), actual or threatened; and the words “liability” and “expenses” shall include without limitation, attorneys’ fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement, fines, penalties and other liabilities.

The trustees and officers of the Registrant are covered by joint errors and omissions insurance policies against liability and expenses of claims of wrongful acts arising out of their position with the Registrant and other Nuveen funds, subject to such policies’ coverage limits, exclusions and deductibles.

Section          of the Form of Distribution Agreement filed as Exhibit h.1 to this Registration Statement provides for each of the parties thereto, including the Registrant and the underwriters, to indemnify the others, their trustees, directors, certain of their officers, trustees, directors and persons who control them against certain liabilities in connection with the offering described herein, including liabilities under the federal securities laws.

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), may be permitted to directors, officers and 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 Securities 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 a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer 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 whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Item 31: Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser and Subadviser

(a) Nuveen Fund Advisors manages the Registrant and serves as investment adviser or manager to other open-end and closed-end management investment companies and to separately managed accounts. The principal business address for all of these investment companies and the persons named below, with the exception of Mr. Wachter, is 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606. The principal business address for Mr. Wachter is 730 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017.

A description of any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which the directors and officers of Nuveen Fund Advisors or Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“Nuveen Asset Management”) 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 Nuveen Fund Advisors

  

Other Business, Profession, Vocation or Employment During
Past Two Years

Joseph T. Castro, Senior Managing Director

   Senior Managing Director (since 2017), Head of Compliance (since 2013) of Nuveen, LLC; Senior Managing Director (since 2017) of Nuveen Services, LLC.

Erik Mogavero, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer

  

Formerly employed by Deutsche Bank (2013- August 2017) as Managing Director, Head of Asset Management and Wealth Management Compliance for the Americas region and Chief Compliance Officer of Deutsche Investment Management Americas.

Austin P. Wachter, Managing Director and Controller

  

Managing Director, Treasurer and Controller (since April 2017) (formerly, Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Controller) of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC; Managing Director (since 2017) of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Controller (since 2017) of Nuveen Investments, Inc., Nuveen Alternative Investments, LLC, Nuveen Alternatives Advisors LLC, Nuveen Finance, LLC, Nuveen Services, LLC, NWQ Investment Management Company, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC, Symphony Asset Management LLC and Winslow Capital Management, LLC; Controller (since 2014) of Nuveen, LLC; Controller (since 2016) formerly, Vice President and Funds Treasurer (2014-2016) of Teachers Advisors, LLC; Controller (since 2016), formerly, Senior Director and Funds Treasurer (2014-2016) of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.


Nuveen Asset Management serves as investment sub-adviser to the Registrant and also serves as investment sub-adviser to other open-end and closed-end funds and investment adviser to separately managed accounts. The following is a list of the remaining senior officers of Nuveen Asset Management. The principal business address of each person, with the exception of Mr. Wachter, is 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606. The principal business address for Mr. Wachter is 730 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017.

 

Name and Position with Nuveen Asset Management

  

Other Business, Profession, Vocation or
Employment During Past Two Years

William T. Huffman, President

   None

Stuart J. Cohen, Managing Director and Head of Legal

  

Managing Director and Assistant Secretary (since 2002) of Nuveen Securities, LLC; Managing Director (since 2007) and Assistant Secretary (since 2003) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC.

Diane S. Meggs, Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer

  

Managing Director and Compliance Manager (since 2011) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer (since 2013) of Nuveen Investments Advisers, LLC.

Austin P. Wachter, Managing Director and Controller

  

Managing Director and Controller (since 2017) (formerly, Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Controller) of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC; Controller (since 2017) of Nuveen Investments, Inc., Nuveen Alternative Investments, LLC, Nuveen Alternatives Advisors LLC, Nuveen Finance, LLC, Nuveen Services, LLC, NWQ Investment Management Company, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC, Symphony Asset Management LLC and Winslow Capital Management, LLC; Controller (since 2014) of Nuveen, LLC; Controller (since 2016) formerly, Vice President and Funds Treasurer (2014-2016) of Teachers Advisors, LLC; Controller (since 2016), formerly, Senior Director and Funds Treasurer (2014-2016) of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.

Item 32: Location of Accounts and Records

Nuveen Fund Advisors, 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, maintains the Declaration of Trust, By-laws, minutes of Trustees’ and shareholders’ meetings and contracts of the Registrant and all advisory material of the investment adviser.

State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, maintains all general and subsidiary ledgers, journals, trial balances, records of all portfolio purchases and sales, and all other required records not maintained by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

Item 33: Management Services

Not applicable.


Item 34: Undertakings

 

1.

Not Applicable.

 

2.

Not applicable.

 

3.

Not applicable.

 

4.

The Registrant undertakes:

a. To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement:

(1) to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act;

(2) to reflect in the Prospectus any facts or events after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement; and

(3) to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement.

b. That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the 1933 Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of those securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

c. To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

d. That, for the purpose of determining liability under the 1933 Act to any purchaser, if the Registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 497(b), (c), (d) or (e) under the 1933 Act as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A under the 1933 Act, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use.

e. That for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the 1933 Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of securities:

The undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned Registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned Registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to the purchaser:

(1) any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 497 under the 1933 Act;

(2) the portion of any advertisement pursuant to Rule 482 under the 1933 Act relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant; and

(3) any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned Registrant to the purchaser.

 

5.

Not Applicable.

 

6.

The Registrant undertakes to send by first class mail or other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery, within two business days of receipt of a written or oral request, any Statement of Additional Information.


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in this City of Chicago, and State of Illinois, on the 19th day of December, 2019.

 

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

/S/ GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN

Gifford R. Zimmerman,

Vice President and Secretary

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.

 

Signature

 

Title

  

Date

/s/ E. Scott Wickerham

E. Scott Wickerham

  Vice President and Controller (principal financial and accounting officer)    December 19, 2019

/s/ Cedric H. Antosiewicz

Cedric H. Antosiewicz

  Chief Administrative Officer (principal executive officer)    December 19, 2019
Terence J. Toth*  

Chairman of the Board and Trustee

  
Margo L. Cook*  

Trustee

  
Jack B. Evans*  

Trustee

  
William C. Hunter*  

Trustee

  
Albin F. Moschner*  

Trustee

  
John K. Nelson*  

Trustee

  
Judith M. Stockdale*  

Trustee

  
Carole E. Stone*  

Trustee

  
Margaret L. Wolff*  

Trustee

  
Robert L. Young*  

Trustee

  

By:

         /s/ Gifford R. Zimmerman

         Gifford R. Zimmerman,

         Attorney-in-Fact

December 19, 2019

 

*

The powers of attorney authorizing Gifford R. Zimmerman and Eric F. Fess, 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 are filed as exhibits to this Registration Statement.

 


INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

  i.      Nuveen Open-End and Closed-End Funds Deferred Compensation Plan for Independent Directors and Trustees
  r.1      Code of Ethics and Reporting Requirements of Nuveen (including affiliated entities) and the Nuveen Funds, as amended August 26, 2019
  r.2      Code of Ethics for the Independent Trustees of the Nuveen Funds
  s.      Powers of Attorney

Exhibit i

 

NUVEEN OPEN-END AND CLOSED-END FUNDS

DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES

(As Amended and Restated Effective September 23, 2019)


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

     5  

3.4   Unforeseeable Emergencies

     5  

SECTION 4 ACCOUNTS

     5  

4.1   Crediting of Deferrals

     5  

4.2   Valuation of Account

     5  

SECTION 5 DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ACCOUNT

     7  

5.1   Participant’s 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

     9  

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

     11  

7.4   Statement of Account

     11  

7.5   Governing Law

     11  

7.6   Non-Guarantee of Status

     11  

 

i


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

     13  

7.13 Severability

     13  

7.14 Section 409A

     13  

 

ii


NUVEEN OPEN-END AND CLOSED-END FUNDS

DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS AND TRUSTEES

(As Amended and Restated Effective                     , 2019)

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 is effective July 11, 2019.

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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s Plan Year Accounts.

 

1


(b)    “Administrator” shall mean Nuveen or such other person or persons as Nuveen 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 Participant’s Compensation deferred under the provisions of Section 3.

(h)    “Deferral Election” shall mean the Participant’s 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 Participant’s Account may be deemed to be invested. 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. Eligible Funds shall be listed on Exhibit B to the Plan, which shall be revised from time to time by the Administrator; provided, however, that failure to list an Eligible Fund on Exhibit B shall not affect its status as a Eligible Fund. The Administrator shall report to the Board on a quarterly basis any changes to Exhibit B.

(k)    “Net Asset Value” shall mean the per share value of an open-end fund, as determined as set forth in such fund’s registration statement under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (“1940 Act”), governing instruments and otherwise in accordance with law.

(l)    “Nuveen” shall mean Nuveen, LLC and its affiliates.

 

2


(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 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 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 a Participant’s Compensation deferred to 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s property

 

3


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 Participant’s control. Circumstances that may constitute an Unforeseeable Emergency include the imminent foreclosure of or eviction from the Participant’s 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 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 or amount 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 or amount elected, from each payment of Compensation to which the Participant would otherwise have been entitled but for his Deferral Election.

 

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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 Participant’s Unforeseeable Emergency on account of which the Participant receives a withdrawal pursuant to Section 5.4, the Participant’s Deferral Election shall be canceled.

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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s Account shall be treated as though such amounts had been invested and reinvested in shares of the Participant’s Designated Funds, initially calculated as follows:

 

5


(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 Fund’s Net Asset Value per share as of the date such amount is so credited.

(b)    Pursuant to rules established by the Administrator from time to time, 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 Participant’s 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 Fund’s 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s Plan Year Subaccount, the amount of such distribution shall,

 

6


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.

(g)    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 (although prior deferrals may remain 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 Participant’s Plan Year Subaccounts. Except as provided below, the Participant’s Plan Year Subaccounts shall receive a return in accordance with his deemed 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 Participant’s Account is covered by such written designation,

then the Participant’s Account shall receive no return until such time as the Participant shall provide the Administrator with instructions.

SECTION 5    DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ACCOUNT

5.1    Participants 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

 

7


time of the Participant’s Separation from Service, (ii) a specific date (irrespective of whether such date is before or after the Participant’s Separation from Service), or (iii) the earlier of the Participant’s Separation from Service or a specific date. In the event of a Participant’s Separation from Service from some but not all of the Participating Funds to which the Participant’s Plan Year Account is attributable, to the extent a Participant’s 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s Plan Year Account shall be paid in accordance with the Participant’s 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 Participant’s Payment Election shall be irrevocable.

5.3    Death or Disability Prior to Complete Distribution of Account. If a Participant dies or becomes disabled (as defined in Section 409A) prior to the commencement of the distribution of the amounts credited to his Account, the balance of such Account shall be distributed to the Participant or his Beneficiary, as applicable, in a lump sum as soon as practicable after the Participant’s death or disability. If a Participant dies or becomes disabled 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 the Participant or his Beneficiary, as applicable, 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 Participant’s 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; (ii) by liquidation of the Participant’s assets (to the extent the liquidation of such assets would not itself cause severe financial hardship) or (iii) by cessation of deferrals under this Plan. 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 (including any amounts necessary to pay and Federal, state or local income or employment taxes or penalties reasonably anticipated to arise from the payment, as determined by the Administrator).

5.5    Designation of Beneficiary. For the purposes of Section 5.3 hereof, the Participant’s 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

 

8


of a Beneficiary shall be effective unless and until actually received, in proper form, by the Administrator during the Participant’s life. The Administrator’s 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 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 Participant’s 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 Administrator’s 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 Participant’s 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 Participant’s 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 as applied to Participants who are members of such Board at any time by action of such 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 Participant’s 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; Change in Control

 

  (i)

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary herein, in the event a Participating Fund liquidates in a corporate dissolution taxed under

 

9


  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”). Similarly, in the event a Participating Fund undergoes a change of control as defined Code Section 409A and guidance thereunder, the Board of such Participating Fund shall terminate and liquidate this Plan (a “CIC Fund Termination”) with respect to Affected Accounts of Affected Participants

 

  (ii)

In the event of a Liquidating Fund Termination or a CIC 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 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 or a CIC 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 Participant’s 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.

 

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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 Participant’s 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.

7.5    Governing Law. This Plan shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois without regard to any state’s conflicts of laws principles.

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 Participant’s 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 discretionary power and authority necessary or convenient for the administration of this Plan, including without limitation the authority to:

 

11


(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.

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 Participant’s or other person’s 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.

 

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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. Except with respect to Grandfathered Accounts, 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 Participant’s becoming subject to adverse tax consequences under Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the Boards nor the Administrator make any representation that the Plan complies with Section 409A and shall have no liability to any Participant for any failure to comply with Section 409A of the Code. This Plan shall constitute an “account balance plan” as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 31.3121(v)(2)-1(c)(1)(ii)(A). For purposes of Section 409A, all amounts deferred under this Plan shall be aggregated with amounts deferred under other account balance plans.

 

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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 23rd day of September 2019.

 

By:  

/s/ Gifford R. Zimmerman

Name:       Gifford R. Zimmerman
Title:   Vice President and Assistant Secretary,

 

14


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 Cap Energy MLP Opportunities Fund

Nuveen All-American Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen AMT-Free Municipal Credit Income Fund

Nuveen AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Build America Bond Fund

Nuveen California AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen California High Yield Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen California Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen California Municipal Value Fund, Inc.

Nuveen California Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen California Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio

Nuveen Colorado Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Connecticut Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Connecticut Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

Nuveen Credit Opportunities 2022 Target Term Fund

Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund

Nuveen Diversified Dividend and Income Fund

Nuveen Dividend Value Fund

Nuveen Dow 30SM Dynamic Overwrite Fund

Nuveen Energy MLP Total Return Fund

Nuveen Enhanced Municipal Value Fund

Nuveen Equity Long/Short Fund

Nuveen Equity Market Neutral Fund

Nuveen Floating Rate Income Fund

Nuveen Floating Rate Income Opportunity Fund

Nuveen Global High Income Fund

Nuveen Global Infrastructure Fund

Nuveen Gresham Diversified Commodity Strategy Fund

Nuveen High Income Bond Fund

Nuveen High Income December 2019 Target Term Fund

Nuveen High Income November 2021 Target Term Fund

Nuveen High Yield Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Intermediate Duration Municipal Term Fund

Nuveen International Growth Fund

Nuveen Kansas Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Kentucky Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Large Cap Core Fund

Nuveen Large Cap Growth Fund

Nuveen Large Cap Value Fund

Nuveen Limited Term Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Maryland Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Massachusetts Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Michigan Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Michigan Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Mid Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund

Nuveen Minnesota Intermediate Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Minnesota Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Missouri Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Mortgage Opportunity Term Fund

Nuveen Municipal Credit Income Fund

Nuveen Municipal Credit Opportunities Fund

Nuveen Municipal High Income Opportunity Fund

Municipal Total Return Managed Accounts Portfolio

Nuveen Municipal Value Fund, Inc.

Nuveen Nasdaq 100 Dynamic Overwrite Fund

Nuveen New Jersey Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen New Jersey Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen New York AMT-Free Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen New York Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen New York Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio

Nuveen North Carolina Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen North Carolina Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen NWQ Flexible Income Fund

Nuveen NWQ Global Equity Income 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 Ohio Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Ohio Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Pennsylvania Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities Fund

Nuveen Preferred & Income Securities Fund

Nuveen Preferred and Income Term Fund

Nuveen Preferred Securities and Income Fund

Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Real Asset Income and Growth Fund

Nuveen Real Asset Income Fund

Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund

Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund

Nuveen S&P 500 Buy-Write Income Fund

Nuveen S&P 500 Dynamic Overwrite Fund

Nuveen Santa Barbara Dividend Growth Fund

Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio

Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio 2

Nuveen Select Tax-Free Income Portfolio 3

Nuveen Senior Income Fund

Nuveen Short Duration Credit Opportunities Fund

Nuveen Short Duration High Yield Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Short Term Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Small Cap Select Fund

Nuveen Small Cap Value Fund

Nuveen Strategic Income Fund

Nuveen Strategic Municipal Opportunities Fund

Nuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income Fund

Nuveen Symphony High Yield Income Fund

Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Dividend Growth Fund

Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Total Return Strategy Fund

Nuveen Tennessee Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Virginia Municipal Bond Fund

Nuveen Virginia Quality Municipal Income Fund

Nuveen Winslow Large-Cap Growth Fund

 

 

Exhibit A - Page 1


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 Dividend Value 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 Symphony Credit Opportunities Fund

Nuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income Fund

Nuveen Winslow Large-Cap Growth Fund

 

 

Exhibit B - Page 1

Exhibit r.1

 

LOGO

 

Nuveen Compliance | 26 August 2019

 

 

Code of Ethics

SUMMARY AND SCOPE

 

What the Code is about

Helping to ensure that Nuveen personnel place the interests of Nuveen clients ahead of their own personal interests.

Who the Code applies to and what the implications are

This Code applies to individuals in the following categories:

 

  Nuveen Employees based in the US or Canada (except employees of Gresham Investment Management LLC, Westchester Group Investment Management, Inc., and any employees of Greenwood Resources, Inc. who are based outside of Portland, Oregon).

 

  Employees of any US-registered investment adviser who are based outside the US, except Gresham Investment Management LLC and Greenwood Resources, Inc.

 

  Consultants, interns, and temporary workers based in the US or Canada whose contract length is 90 days or more, unless the Nuveen Ethics Office determines otherwise.

 

  Any TIAA employees designated as Access Persons by the TIAA-CREF Funds Chief Compliance Officer or the Nuveen Ethics Office.

Independent directors and trustees of the TIAA-CREF Funds Complex and Nuveen-sponsored or -branded funds have their own Code of Ethics and are not subject to this one.

For individuals who are subject to the Code, there are two designations with different implications: Access Person and Investment Person.

ACCESS PERSON

All Nuveen Employees who are subject to the Code are considered Access Persons, since they have, or could have, access to non-public information about securities transactions and other investments, holdings, or recommendations for Affiliate-Advised Accounts or Portfolios.

Key characteristics of this designation. An individual may be considered an Access Person of multiple advisers affiliated with Nuveen, or of only one. If your regular duties give you access to non-public information, or you are an officer of a Nuveen or TIAA-CREF sponsored or branded fund, your personal trading is generally monitored only against the trading activity of the specific adviser(s) or Affiliated Funds

with which you are involved. For other employees, personal trading is typically monitored against the trading activities of all advisers affiliated with Nuveen. You will generally not be permitted to execute transactions in a security on any day when an Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio managed by the adviser(s) that you are monitored against has a pending buy or sell order for that security.

INVESTMENT PERSON

An Access Person who meets any of the following criteria will in addition be considered an Investment Person:

 

  The Access Person is a Portfolio Manager, Research Analyst or Research Assistant, or they otherwise participate in making recommendations or decisions concerning the purchase or sale of securities in any Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio.

 

  The Access Person has been designated an Investment Person by the Nuveen Ethics Office.

Key characteristics of this designation. The vast majority of Investment Persons are employees of Nuveen’s affiliated investment advisers.

An Investment Person is prohibited from transacting in securities during the period starting 7 calendar days before, and ending 7 calendar days after, any trade in an Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio for which he/she has responsibility. In addition, an Investment Person’s personal transactions will be reviewed for conflicts in the period starting 7 calendar days before, and ending 7 calendar days after, all trades by their associated investment adviser. In some cases, the Investment Person may be required to reverse a trade and/or forfeit an appropriate portion of any profit as determined by the Nuveen Ethics Office. These consequences can apply whether or not the trade was pre-cleared.

The personal trading of Investment Persons is generally only monitored against the trading activity of the specific adviser for which they have been designated an Investment Person.

 


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Important to understand

Some of our affiliated investment advisers may have policies of their own that impose additional rules on the same topics covered in this Code. Check with your manager or local/designated Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) if you have questions.

Personal trading is a privilege, not a right. Nuveen Employees are expected to follow the law and adhere to the highest standards of behavior—including with respect to personal trading. Any violation of the Code could have severe adverse effects on you, your co-workers, and Nuveen. You may be held personally liable for your conduct and be subject to fines, regulatory sanctions, and even criminal penalties. Because Nuveen can restrict your trading or take actions such as forcing you to hold a position or to disgorge profits, personal trading carries risks beyond normal market risks.

Some requirements in this Code apply to Household Members. Each Household Member (see “Terms with Special Meanings” at right) is subject to the same restrictions and requirements that apply to his/her related Nuveen Employee.

The Code does not address every ethical issue that might arise. If you have any doubt at all after consulting the Code, contact the Nuveen Ethics Office for direction.

The Code applies to appearance as well as substance. Always consider how any action might appear to an outside observer (such as a client or regulator).

You are expected to follow the Code both in letter and in spirit. Literal compliance, such as pre-clearing a transaction, does not necessarily protect you from liability for conduct that violates the spirit of the Code. If you have questions about how to comply with this Code, consult the Nuveen Ethics Office.

 

 

WHO TO CONTACT

 

Nuveen Ethics Office (Americas)

 

Hotline: 1-800-842-2733 extension 22-5599

 

nuveenethicsoffice@nuveen.com

 

 

TERMS WITH SPECIAL MEANINGS

 

Within this policy, these terms are defined as follows:

 

Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio Any Affiliated Fund, or any portfolio or client account advised or sub-advised by Nuveen.

 

Affiliated Fund Any TIAA-CREF or Nuveen branded or sponsored open-end fund, closed-end fund, or Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), and any third-party fund advised or sub-advised by Nuveen.

 

Automatic Investment Plan Any program, such as a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), under which investment account purchases or withdrawals occur according to a predetermined schedule and allocation.

 

Beneficial Ownership Any interest by which you or any Household Member—directly or indirectly—derives a monetary benefit from purchasing, selling, or owning a security or account, or exercises investment discretion.

 

You have Beneficial Ownership of securities held in accounts in your own name, or any Household Member’s name, and in all other accounts over which you or any Household Member exercises or may exercise investment decision-making powers, or other influence or control, including trust, partnership, estate, and corporate accounts or other joint ownership or pooling arrangements.

 

Code This Code of Ethics.

 

Domestic Partner An individual who is neither a relative of or legally married to a Nuveen Employee, but shares a residence and is in a mutual commitment similar to marriage with such Nuveen Employee.

 

Federal Securities Laws The applicable portions of any of the following laws, as amended, and of any rules adopted under them by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of the Treasury:

 

•  Securities Act of 1933.

 

•  Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

•  Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

•  Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

 

•  Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

•  Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

 

•  The Bank Secrecy Act.

 

Household Member Any of the following who reside, or are expected to reside for at least 90 days a year, in the same household as a Nuveen Employee:

 

•  Spouse or Domestic Partner.

 

•  Sibling.

 

•  Child, stepchild, grandchild.

 

 

•  Parent, stepparent, grandparent.

 

•  In-laws, (mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister).

Independent Director Any director or trustee of an Affiliated Fund who is not an “interested person” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

 

Managed Account Any account, including robo-advised accounts, in which you or a Household Member has Beneficial Ownership and for which you have delegated full investment discretion in writing to a third-party broker or investment manager.

 

 

 


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TERMS WITH SPECIAL MEANINGS (continued)

 

Nuveen Nuveen, LLC and all of its direct or indirect subsidiaries worldwide.

 

Nuveen Employee Any full- or part-time employee of Nuveen, and any consultants, interns or temporary workers designated by the Nuveen Ethics Office.

 

Private Placement Any offering exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, such as a private equity investment, hedge fund, or limited partnership.

 

Reportable Account Any account for which you or a Household Member has Beneficial Ownership AND in which securities can be bought or held. This includes, among others:

 

•  All Managed Accounts.

 

•  Any Nuveen 401(k) plan account.

 

•  Any 401(k) plan account from a previous employer that permits transactions in any Reportable Security.

 

•  Any direct holding in an Affiliated Fund.

 

•  Any retirement account or health savings account (HSA) that permits the purchase of any Reportable Security, and any 529 college savings plan that permits the purchase of Affiliated Funds.

 

The following are NOT considered Reportable Accounts:

 

•  Charitable giving accounts.

 

•  Any 401(k) plan account or any other account held directly with a mutual fund complex or mutual fund-only platform in which open-end, non-Affiliated Funds are the only possible investment.

 

•  Any cash management account with a broker in which a Reportable Security cannot be purchased or sold.

 

•  Any accounts that can invest only in non-Reportable Securities, such as cryptocurrencies or US Treasury securities.

 

 

  

 

 

Reportable Security Any security EXCEPT:

 

•  Direct obligations of the US government (indirect obligations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities, are reportable).

 

•  Certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, commercial paper, and high quality short-term debt (including repurchase agreements).

 

•  Money market funds.

 

•  Open-end funds that are not Affiliated Funds.

 

Note that closed-end funds are Reportable Securities.

 

Reportable Transaction Any transaction involving a Reportable Security EXCEPT:

 

•  Transactions in Managed Accounts. Section 16 Persons: Transactions involving Nuveen closed-end funds in any of your Managed Accounts are reportable.

 

•  Transactions under an Automatic Investment Plan; note that transactions that override the pre-set schedule or allocation are reportable.

 

Section 16 Person Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules thereunder impose certain obligations on persons specified in section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as well as insiders of any public company that trades on a national stock exchange (such as a Nuveen closed-end fund). For purposes of Section 16, an “insider” is:

 

•  A director of a public company.

 

•  A designated officer of a public company.

 

•  A person who beneficially owns 10% or more of any class of equity security that is registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

 

•  A portfolio manager of a Nuveen closed-end fund.

 

Persons subject to Section 16 include portfolio managers of the Nuveen closed-end funds.

 

GENERAL RESTRICTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

 

BASIC PRINCIPLES

 

1.

Never abuse a client’s trust, rights, or interests. This means you must never do any of the following:

 

    Engage in any plan or action, or use any device, that would defraud or deceive a client.

 

    Make any material statements of fact that are incorrect or misleading, either as to what they include or omit.

 

    Engage in any manipulative practice.

 

    Use your position (including any knowledge or access to opportunities you have gained by virtue of your position) to personal advantage or to a client’s disadvantage. This would include, for example, front-running or tailgating (trading directly before or after the execution of a large client trade order), or any attempt to influence a client’s trading to enhance the value of your personal holdings.
    Conduct personal trading in any way that could be inconsistent with your fiduciary duties to a client (even if it does not technically violate the Code).

 

2.

Handle conflicts of interest appropriately. This applies not only to actual conflicts of interest, but also to any situation that might appear to an outside observer to be improper or a breach of fiduciary duty.

 

3.

Keep confidential information confidential. Always properly safeguard any confidential information you obtain in the course of your work. This includes confidential information related to any of the following:

 

    Any Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio and any other financial product offered or serviced by Nuveen.

 

    New products, product changes, or business initiatives.
 


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    Past, current, and prospective clients, including their identities, investments, and account activity.

“Keeping information confidential” means using discretion in disclosing information as well as guarding against unlawful or inappropriate access by others. This includes:

 

    Making sure no confidential information is visible on your computer screen and desk when you are not there.

 

    Not sharing passwords with others.

 

    Using caution when discussing business in any location where your conversation could be overheard. Confidential information may be released only as required by law or as permitted under the applicable privacy policy(ies). Consult the Nuveen Ethics Office or your local/designated CCO before releasing any confidential information.

 

4.

Handle Material Non-Public Information properly. Follow all of the terms described in “Material Non-Public Information” below. Be aware that any failure to handle such information properly is a serious offense and may lead to disciplinary action from Nuveen as well as serious civil or criminal liability.

 

5.

Comply with Federal Securities Laws. Any violation of these laws is punishable as a violation of the Code.

 

6.

Never do anything indirectly that, if done directly, would violate the Code. Such actions will be considered the equivalent of direct Code violations.

 

7.

Promptly alert the Nuveen Ethics Office or your local/designated CCO of any actual or suspected wrongdoing. Examples of wrongdoing include violations of the Federal Securities Laws, misuse of corporate assets, misuse of confidential information, or other violations of the Code. If you prefer to report confidentially, call the TIAA Confidential Helpline at 1-877-774-6492. Note that failure to report suspected wrongdoing in a timely fashion is itself a violation of the Code.

PRE-CLEARANCE AND

HOLDING REQUIREMENTS

 

8.

Pre-clear any trade in Reportable Securities, including certain Affiliated Funds (see box on next page for additional information).

If your trade requires pre-clearance, request approval through the Protegent PTA system (PTA) before you or any Household Member places an order to buy or sell any Reportable Security. Any approval you receive expires at the end of the day it was granted; however, you may place after-hours trades in international markets until 11:59 PM local time on that day. When requesting pre-clearance, follow this process:

    Request pre-clearance on the same day you want to trade, during standard US trading hours (9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET). Be sure your pre-clearance request is accurate as to security and direction of trade.

 

    Wait for approval to be displayed before trading. If you receive approval, you may only trade that same day, and only within the scope of approval. If you do not receive approval, do not trade.

 

    Place day orders only. Do not place good-til-canceled orders. You may place orders for an after-hours trading session or in foreign markets using that day’s pre-clearance approval, but you must not place any order that could remain open into the next day’s trading session.

 

9.

Hold positions in securities that are subject to pre-clearance for 60 calendar days, or be prepared to forfeit any gains. Several things to note:

 

    You may be required to surrender any gains realized (net of commissions) through a violation of this rule.

 

    The 60-day holding requirement is tested on a last- in-first-out basis, across all of your holdings (not just within individual accounts).

 

    The 60-day holding requirement extends to any options or other transactions that may have the same effect as a purchase or sale, and to all Reportable Securities except Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs), Unit Investment Trusts (UITs), and open-end Affiliated Funds. Nuveen-branded or sponsored closed-end funds are subject to the 60-day holding requirement.

 

    You may sell the security on the 60th day after purchase, provided you obtain pre-clearance or an exemption applies.

 

    You may re-purchase a security immediately after executing a sale of that same security, which will trigger a new 60 calendar day holding period.

 

    You may close a position at a loss at any time, provided pre-clearance has been obtained or an exemption applies.

 

10.

Comply with trading restrictions described in the prospectuses for all Affiliated Funds. This includes restrictions on frequent trading in shares of any open-end Affiliated Fund.

 

11.

Pre-clear any transaction in a Managed Account that involves your influence. You must also immediately consult with the Nuveen Ethics Office to discuss whether the account in question can properly remain classified as a Managed Account.

 


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12.

Obtain the required approvals before any transaction in a Private Placement. For any private funds advised or sub-advised by Nuveen, you must obtain approval for all transactions (initial investment, subsequent investment, sales/redemptions) except additional capital calls. For all other Private Placements, you must obtain approval for initial and subsequent investments but not sales/redemptions. Approval is required even if the investment is made in a Managed Account.

 

 

WHAT NEEDS TO BE PRE-CLEARED

 

Pre-clearance required

 

•  All actively initiated trades in Reportable Securities, except those listed here under “No pre-clearance required.”

 

•  Restricted stock or employee stock options accrued during prior employment or a Household Member’s employment require pre-clearance. If pre-clearance is denied, you may contact the Nuveen Ethics Office to request reconsideration.

 

Be aware that pre-clearance can be withdrawn even after it has been granted, and even after you have traded, if Nuveen later becomes aware of Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio trades whose existence would have resulted in denial of pre-clearance. In these cases you may be required to reverse a trade and/or forfeit an appropriate portion of any profit, as determined by the Nuveen Ethics Office.

 

Pre-clearance not required

 

•  Shares of any open-end mutual fund (including Affiliated Funds).

 

•  ETFs, ETNs, UITs.

 

•  CDs and commercial paper.

 

•  Securities acquired or disposed of through actions outside your control or issued pro rata to all holders of the same class of investment, such as automatic dividend reinvestments, stock splits, mergers, spin-offs, or rights subscriptions.

 

•  Sales pursuant to a bona fide tender offer.

 

•  Trades made through an Automatic Investment Plan that has been disclosed to the Nuveen Ethics Office in advance.

 

•  Trades in a Managed Account (except that you must pre-clear any trades that involve your influence, any initial purchases of private placements, purchases in any equity IPO, and any sales or redemptions of private placements that are branded, sponsored, advised or sub-advised by Nuveen).

 

•  Foreign currencies, including futures.

 

•  Commodity instruments.

 

•  Index options and index futures.

 

•  Direct investments in cryptocurrencies.

 

 

OTHER RESTRICTIONS

 

13.

Never knowingly trade any security being traded or considered for trade by any Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio. This applies to employee transactions in securities that are exempt from pre- clearance, and includes equivalent or related securities.

For example, if a company’s common stock is being traded, you may face restrictions on trading any of the company’s debt, preferred, or foreign equivalent securities, and from trading or exercising any options based on the company’s securities.

 

14.

Always prioritize client trades over personal trades. Your fiduciary duties to the client are far more important than your personal trading, which is a privilege and not a right. Never delay or in any way alter the timing or terms of a client trade for your personal benefit.

 

15.

Do not engage in trading that involves single stock futures, uncovered short sales or uncovered options on individual securities. For any short position you must own the underlying security in equal notional value. Options are permitted only to generate income or for hedging (that is, selling calls or writing puts that are offset by existing long positions), with the following exceptions:

 

    You may buy or sell (write) uncovered long-term options (those with an expiration of 1 year or more from the date of purchase), subject to the 60-day holding period.

 

    Hedging with puts or with shorts against the box is permitted, however, unless the transaction is a covered call (which can be written when you acquire the underlying position), you must first hold the underlying position for 60 days.

 

16.

Never participate in an investment club or similar entity.

 

17.

Do not engage in excessive or inappropriate trading activity. Never let personal trading interfere with your professional duties. The Nuveen Ethics Office and/or your local/designated CCO, in consultation with your manager, will determine what constitutes excessive or inappropriate trading.

 

18.

Pre-clear the sale of securities in a margin account. Margin accounts are permitted, however you must obtain pre-clearance when selling to meet a margin call, even if the transaction is initiated by a broker.

 


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19.

Never purchase an IPO without advance approval. This includes Managed Accounts. Equity IPO participation is generally prohibited, but approval may be granted in special circumstances, such as when:

 

    You already have equity in the company and are offered shares.

 

    You are a policy holder or depositor in a company that is demutualizing.
    A family member has been offered shares as an employee.

Purchases of initial offerings of fixed income securities, convertible securities, preferred securities, open- and closed-end funds, commodity pools, and secondary equity offerings are generally permitted subject to prior approval from the Nuveen Ethics Office.

 

 

 

MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION

 

       

What is Material Non-Public Information?

 

Material Non-Public Information is defined as information regarding any security, securities-based derivatives or issuer of a security that is both material and non-public. Information is material if both of the following are true:

 

•  A reasonable investor would likely consider it important when making an investment decision.

 

•  Public release of the information would likely affect the price of a security.

 

Information is generally non-public if it has not been distributed through a widely used public medium, such as a press release or a report, filing or other periodic communication.

 

Restrictions and requirements

 

•  Any time you think you might have, or may be about to, come into possession of Material Non-Public Information (whether in connection with your position at Nuveen or not), alert the Nuveen Ethics Office. Alternatively, you may alert your local/designated CCO or Legal office, who in turn must promptly notify the Nuveen Ethics Office. Follow the instructions you are given.

    

•  Until you receive further instructions from the Nuveen Ethics Office, your local/designated CCO, or Legal, do not take any action in relation to the information, including trading or recommending the relevant securities or communicating the information to anyone else.

 

•  Never make decisions on your own regarding potential Material Non-Public Information, including whether such information is actually Material Non-Public Information or what steps should be taken.

 

•  If the Nuveen Ethics Office, your local/designated CCO and/or Legal determine that you have Material Non-Public Information:

 

– Do not buy, sell, gift, or otherwise dispose of the issuer’s securities, whether on behalf of an Affiliate-Advised Account or Portfolio, yourself, or anyone else.

 

– Do not in any way recommend, encourage, or influence others to transact in the issuer’s securities, even if you do not specifically disclose or reference the Material Non- Public Information.

 

– Do not communicate the Material Non-Public Information to anyone, whether inside or outside Nuveen, except in discussions with the Nuveen Ethics Office and Legal and as expressly permitted by any confidentiality agreement or supplemental policies and procedures of your business unit.

 

  

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

 

UPON BECOMING A NUVEEN EMPLOYEE

 

20.

Within 10 calendar days of starting at Nuveen, acknowledge receipt of the Code. This includes certifying that you have read the Code, understand it, recognize that you are subject to it, have complied with all of its applicable requirements, and have submitted all Code-required reports.

 

21.

Within 10 calendar days of starting at Nuveen, use PTA to report all of your Reportable Accounts and holdings in Reportable Securities.

For each Reportable Account, upload the most recent statement, making sure that it includes information about the broker, dealer, or bank through which the account is held and the type of account.

For each Reportable Security, provide the security name and type, a ticker symbol or CUSIP, the number of shares or units held, and the principal amount (dollar value). This information must be no older than 45 calendar days before your first day of employment.

Note that there are separate procedures for Managed Accounts, as described below in item 24. Within 10 calendar days of starting at Nuveen, report all current investments in private placements (limited offerings). Limited offerings are Reportable Securities.

 

22.

Within 30 calendar days of starting at Nuveen, move or close any Reportable Account that is not at an approved firm. This does not include Reportable Accounts that are 401(k), HSA, or 529 accounts. Contact the Nuveen Ethics Office if you are unsure whether your

 


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  account must be held with an approved firm. The list of approved firms is maintained by the Nuveen Ethics Office and may be accessed on PTA.

Under very limited circumstances, it may be possible to obtain a waiver to keep a Reportable Account at a non- approved firm. Examples include:

 

    An account owned by a Household Member who works at another financial firm with comparable restrictions.

 

    An account that holds securities that cannot be transferred.

 

    An account that cannot be moved because of a trust agreement.

To apply for an exception, contact the Nuveen Ethics Office. For any account granted an exception, arrange for the Nuveen Ethics Office to receive duplicates of all periodic statements. If a firm cannot provide duplicate statements directly to the Nuveen Ethics Office, you must take responsibility for providing them yourself. In all cases, if your accounts are not held at an approved firm, you must manually enter all executed transactions in PTA within 5 days of execution.

At the discretion of the Nuveen Ethics Office, some consultants and temporary workers may not be required to move or close Reportable Accounts.

WHEN OPENING ANY NEW REPORTABLE ACCOUNT (INCLUDING A MANAGED ACCOUNT)

 

23.

Get pre-approval for any new Managed Account before any trading activity commences. Using the appropriate form (available from the Nuveen Ethics Office), provide representations that support the classification of the account as a Managed Account. For an account to be classified as a Managed Account, the account owner must have no direct or indirect influence or control over the securities in the account. The form must be signed by the account’s broker or investment manager and by all account owners. You may be asked periodically to confirm these representations.

Note that if the Managed Account is not maintained at an approved firm, you are also responsible for providing duplicate statements for the Managed Account to the Ethics Office, if requested.

 

24.

Report any new Reportable Account (other than a Managed Account) that is opened with an approved firm. Do this within 10 calendar days of the date you or a Household Member opens the account or an account becomes a Reportable Account through marriage, cohabitation, divorce, death, or another event.

EVERY QUARTER

 

25.

Within 30 calendar days of the end of each calendar quarter, verify in PTA that all Reportable Transactions made during that quarter have been reported. PTA will display all transactions of yours for which it has received notice (except transactions in your TIAA pension or and retirement plan accounts, which you are not required to report because the firm accesses this information directly). For any other Reportable Transactions not displayed, or displayed inaccurately, you are responsible for making any necessary revisions in PTA to complete your certification.

 

26.

For each Reportable Transaction, you must provide, as applicable, the transaction date, security name and type, ticker symbol or CUSIP, interest rate (coupon) and maturity date, number of shares, price at which the transaction was effected, principal amount (dollar value), the nature of the trade (buy or sell), and the name of the broker, dealer, or bank that effected the transaction. It is very important that you carefully review and verify the transactions and related details displayed on PTA, checking for accuracy and completeness. Once again, if you find any errors or omissions, correct or add to your list of transactions in PTA.

EVERY YEAR

 

27.

Within 45 calendar days of the end of each calendar year, acknowledge receipt of the most recent version of the Code and certify in PTA as to your Annual Holdings and Accounts Report.

The report must contain the information described in item 20 above, and include your certification that you have reported all Reportable Accounts, and all holdings in Reportable Securities at year end.

If any of your holdings in Reportable Securities are not displayed in PTA or are displayed inaccurately, you are responsible for making any necessary revisions in PTA to complete your certification.

In addition, you must affirm each year through PTA that each Managed Account is properly classified as a Managed Account, for yourself and on behalf of any Household Member. This separate certification does not require broker or investment manager involvement.

You also must acknowledge any amendments to the Code that occur during the course of the year.

 


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ADDITIONAL RULES FOR

SECTION 16 PERSONS

 

•  Pre-clear (through PTA) any transactions in Nuveen closed-end funds and any other closed-end funds of which you are a Section 16 Person. Your request will be reviewed by Legal.

 

•  Pre-clear buy/sell transactions involving any Nuveen closed-end funds within your Managed Account(s).

 

•  When selling for a gain any securities you buy that are issued by the entity of which you are a Section 16 Person, make sure it is at least 6 months after your most recent purchase of that security. This rule extends to any options or other transactions that may have the same effect as a purchase or sale, and is tested on a last-in-first-out basis. You may be required to surrender any gains realized through a violation of this rule. Note that for any fund of which you are a Section 16 Person, no exception from pre-clearance is available.

 

•  Promptly email details of all executed transactions in these securities to the appropriate contact in Legal.

 

•  See the Nuveen Funds Section 16 Policy and Procedures for additional information.

 

If you are unsure whether you are a Section 16 Person, contact Legal or the Nuveen Ethics Office.

 

     

 

CODE ADMINISTRATION

 

Training

 

You will be required to participate in training on the Code when joining Nuveen as well as periodically during the time you are subject to the Code.

 

Exceptions

 

The Code exists to prevent violations of law. The Nuveen Ethics Office may, under certain circumstances, grant waivers from a Code requirement. No waivers or exceptions that would violate any law will be granted.

 

Monitoring

 

The Nuveen Ethics Office is responsible for monitoring transactions and holdings for any violations of this Code.

 

Consequences of violation

 

Any individual who violates the Code is subject to penalty. Penalties could include, among other possibilities, a written warning, restriction of trading privileges, disgorgement of trading profits, fines, and suspension or termination of employment.

 

Applicable rules

 
     

The Code has been adopted in recognition of Nuveen’s fiduciary obligations to clients and in accordance with various provisions of Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. This Code is also adopted by the Affiliated Funds advised by Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC and Teachers Advisors, LLC under Rule 17j-1.

 

Some elements of the Code also constitute part of Nuveen’s response to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requirements that apply to registered personnel of Nuveen Securities, LLC.

 

 

Exhibit r.2

Nuveen Funds

Code of Ethics for the Independent Trustees

 

 

 

  I.

Summary

 

  a.

Purpose

The purpose of this Code is to help to ensure that the Independent Directors/Trustees (“Trustees”) of the Nuveen Funds place the interests of the Nuveen Funds and their shareholders ahead of the Trustees’ own personal interests. This Code has been adopted in recognition of Nuveen’s and the Trustees’ fiduciary obligations to Nuveen Fund shareholders and in accordance with various provisions of Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

 

  b.

Important to understand

The securities industry is highly regulated and its participants are expected to adhere to high standards of behavior, including in their personal trading. A violation of the Code can have an adverse effect on you, your fellow Trustees, and Nuveen, as well as the Funds and their shareholders. The Code does not address every ethical issue that might arise.

It is important for Trustees to be sensitive to investments that may compromise your independence, directly or indirectly. The Code applies to appearance as well as substance. Always consider how any action might appear to an outside observer such as a regulator. If you have any doubt after consulting the Code, contact Legal or Compliance.

For purposes of this Policy, the obligations and requirements for Independent Trustees also covers the Independent Trustee’s Household Members (as defined herein) and covers any account for which the Independent Trustee or Household Member has Beneficial Ownership (also as defined herein).

 

  c.

Terms with Special Meanings

 

  i.

Beneficial Ownership: Any interest by which you or any Household Member – directly or indirectly – derives a monetary benefit from purchasing, selling, or owning a security or account, or exercises investment discretion.

You have Beneficial Ownership of securities held in accounts in your own name, or any Household Member’s name, and in all other accounts over which you or any Household Member exercise or may exercise investment decision-making powers, or other influence or control, including trust, partnership, estate, and corporate accounts or other joint ownership or pooling arrangements.

 

  ii.

Code. This Code of Ethics.


Exhibit r.2

 

  iii.

Household Member: Any of the following who reside, or are expected to reside for at least 90 days a year, in the same household as an Independent Trustee: Spouse or Domestic Partner, Sibling, Child, Stepchild, Grandchild, Parent, Stepparent, Grandparent, In-laws (mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister).

 

  iv.

Inside Information: Inside information is information that is both material and non-public. Information is material if: (1) a reasonable investor would likely consider it important when making an investment decision; and (2) public release of the information would likely affect the price of a security. Information is non-public if it has not been distributed through a widely used public medium such as a press release or a report, filing or other periodic communication.

 

  v.

Nuveen: Nuveen, LLC. and all of its direct or indirect subsidiaries.

 

  vi.

Nuveen Fund: Any Nuveen-sponsored open-end fund, closed-end fund, or exchange traded fund (respectively, “OEF,” “CEF,” and “ETF”)

 

  vii.

NFAL: Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

 

  viii.

Trustee: Any director or trustee of a Nuveen Fund advised by NFAL who is not an “interested person” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Any Interested Trustee is covered by the applicable Nuveen Code of Ethics along with other Nuveen employees.

 

  II.

Restrictions and requirements

 

  a.

Do not purchase or sell common or preferred shares of any Nuveen CEF without prior approval from Nuveen Legal. The procedures are found in the Director Handbook located in the board’s online portal at https://nuveen.boardvantage.com under the “Resources” folder.

 

  b.

Do not purchase and sell or sell and purchase a Nuveen CEF within 6 months at a profit.

 

  c.

Do not purchase or sell any securities if you know at the time of the proposed transaction that a Nuveen Fund has purchased or sold the same securities within the past 15 days, or is considering purchasing or selling the same securities within the next 15 days. This is the “15 day window.”

 

  d.

Avoid conflicts of interest. This applies not only to actual conflicts of interest, but also to any situation that might appear to an outside observer to be improper or a breach of fiduciary duty.

 

  e.

Keep confidential information regarding the Nuveen Funds, including information regarding securities held in or under consideration for a Nuveen Fund, confidential.


Exhibit r.2

 

  f.

Comply with trading restrictions found in the prospectuses for the Nuveen Funds. This includes restrictions on frequent trading in shares of any Nuveen OEF.

 

  g.

Never do anything indirectly that, if done directly, would violate the Code. Such actions will be considered the equivalent of direct Code violations.

 

  h.

Promptly alert Compliance of any actual or suspected wrongdoing.

 

  III.

Actions to Take

 

  a.

When you become an Independent Trustee: Sign an acknowledgement that you have received this Code.

 

  b.

If you want to trade in a security within the 15-day window (described above)

 

  i.

Contact Legal to pre-clear your trade.

 

  ii.

Submit a quarterly transaction report to Compliance within 30 days after the end of the quarter in which the transaction takes place.

 

  c.

If you want to trade in common or preferred shares of any Nuveen CEF

 

  i.

Contact Legal to pre-clear your trade.

 

  ii.

After you have purchased or sold the shares, immediately notify Legal and Compliance of the number of shares and the price.

 

  d.

Section 16 – CEF Insider Requirements

 

  i.

Reporting Requirements – Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act required officers and directors of certain publicly-traded companies to report promptly to the SEC their trades in the company of which they are an “insider.” As an Independent Trustee, you are considered an “insider” of the Nuveen CEFs and must report your trades in Nuveen CEF shares. Please also see III.c.ii. above.

 

  ii.

Short Swing Profit Prohibition – Section 16 insiders are also subject to a ban on short-swing profits from sales of shares of the company. This means that you may not profit from any purchase and any sale of Nuveen CEF shares within 6 months of each other. You must surrender to the Nuveen CEF in question any profits from such trades. This extends to options or other transactions that may have the same effect as a purchase or sale. Please also see II.b. above.

 

  e.

During the year: Acknowledge receipt of any material amendments to the Code. Your approval of such changes may serve as the acknowledgment.

 

  IV.

Administration of this Code

  a.

Training: A Nuveen representative will review this Code with you when you join the Board.


Exhibit r.2

 

  b.

Exceptions: The Code exists to ensure that Trustees place the interests of the Nuveen Funds and shareholders ahead of Trustee’s own personal interests. No exceptions that would violate that principle will be granted.

 

  c.

Reporting and enforcement: Compliance will alert the Nuveen Fund Board to any known violations of this Code. The Nuveen Fund Board shall determine what action is appropriate for any breach of the provisions of this Code by a Trustee.

 

V.

Responsible Parties

    

Fund Board Relations

    

Legal

    

Compliance (Fund and Ethics Office)

Effective: January 1, 2013

Amended: May 23, 2019

Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for her on her behalf and in her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as she might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set her hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Margo L. Cook

Margo L. Cook


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for him on his behalf and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set his hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Jack B. Evans

Jack B. Evans


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for him on his behalf and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set his hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ William C. Hunter

William C. Hunter


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for him on his behalf and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set his hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Albin F. Moschner

Albin F. Moschner


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for him on his behalf and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set his hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ John K. Nelson

John K. Nelson


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for her on her behalf and in her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as she might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set her hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Judith M. Stockdale

Judith M. Stockdale


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for her on her behalf and in her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as she might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set her hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Carole E. Stone

Carole E. Stone


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for him on his behalf and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set his hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Terence J. Toth

Terence J. Toth


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for her on her behalf and in her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as she might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set her hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Margaret L. Wolff

Margaret L. Wolff


Exhibit s

NUVEEN MUNICIPAL HIGH YIELD & SPECIAL SITUATIONS FUND

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned, a trustee of the above-referenced organization, a Massachusetts business trust (the “Trust”), hereby constitutes and appoints MARK J. CZARNIECKI, DIANA R. GONZALEZ, KEVIN J. McCARTHY, CHRISTOPHER M. ROHRBACHER, MARK L. WINGET, GIFFORD R. ZIMMERMAN and ERIC F. FESS, and each of them (with full power to each of them to act alone) his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, for him on his behalf and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign, execute and file one or more Registration Statements on Form N-2 under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, including any amendment or amendments thereto, with all exhibits, and any and all other documents required to be filed with any regulatory authority, federal or state, relating to the registration thereof, or the issuance of shares thereof, without limitation, granting unto said attorneys, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do if personally present, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned trustee of the above-referenced organization has hereunto set his hand this 22nd day of May 2019.

/s/ Robert L. Young

Robert L. Young