Albin F. Moschner
About Albin F. Moschner
Independent Board Member of the Nuveen Funds (including Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities Fund, ticker JPC), and Chair of the Closed-End Fund Committee. Born in 1952, he holds a B.E. in Electrical Engineering (City College of New York, 1974) and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering (Syracuse University, 1979). Career highlights include COO and CMO of Leap Wireless, President of Verizon Card Services, and CEO of Zenith Electronics; he founded Northcroft Partners, LLC in 2012. He joined the Nuveen Funds Board in 2016 and oversees 218 portfolios across the fund complex .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northcroft Partners, LLC | Founder & CEO | Since 2012 | Management consulting; operational, management, governance solutions . |
| Leap Wireless International | COO; prior CMO; Consultant | COO 2008–2011; CMO 2004–2008; Consultant 2011–2012 | Senior operating leadership in wireless services . |
| Verizon Communications (Verizon Card Services) | President | 2000–2003 | Led card services division . |
| One Point Communications | President, One Point Services | 1999–2000 | Business operations leadership . |
| Zenith Electronics | Director, President & CEO; earlier President & COO | CEO 1995–1996; President & COO 1994–1995 (various roles 1991–1996) | Turnaround/executive leadership in consumer electronics . |
| Diba, Incorporated | Vice Chairman of the Board | 1996–1997 | Internet technology provider governance . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA Technologies, Inc. | Chairman (2019); Director | 2012–2019 | Electronic payments for unattended retail; former board chair . |
| Wintrust Financial Corporation | Director | 1996–2016 | Regional banking; long-tenured financial services governance . |
| Kellogg School of Management (Advisory Board) | Emeritus member | 2018–present (member 1995–2018) | Business school advisory capacity . |
| Archdiocese of Chicago Financial Council (Advisory) | Emeritus member | 2018–present (member 2012–2018) | Non-profit financial oversight advisory . |
Board Governance
- Independence: Nuveen Funds state all nominees and current trustees, including Moschner, are not “interested persons” under the 1940 Act and have never been employees/directors of TIAA/Nuveen or affiliates; they are deemed Independent Board Members .
- Committee assignments and chair roles:
- Closed-End Fund Committee: Chair (focus on premiums/discounts, leverage, repurchases; discount workshops) .
- Compliance, Risk Management & Regulatory Oversight Committee: Member .
- Investment Committee: Member .
- Nominating & Governance Committee: Member .
- Audit: Not listed as a current member; however, designated an “audit committee financial expert” alongside select peers .
- Attendance: Each Board Member attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings during the last fiscal year; meeting counts by fund are disclosed in Appendix C .
- Election and tenure (JPC-specific context):
- For funds with Preferred Shares (which include JPC – Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities), Moschner and Wolff are elected by holders of Preferred Shares; they were last elected on April 12, 2024 and are again nominees at the 2025 annual meeting .
- For funds without Preferred Shares, he serves as a Class III trustee; last elected April 12, 2024, with terms generally expiring at the 2027 meeting .
- Board service since 2016 .
Fixed Compensation
Compensation moved from a meeting-fee-heavy model (2023) to higher base retainers and committee retainers (2024), with 2025 increases to certain components.
| Component | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (changes effective Jan 1, 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual base retainer (Independent Board Members) | $210,000 | $350,000 | $350,000 (unchanged) |
| Board meeting fees (regular) | $7,250 per day | Replaced by retainer framework; ad hoc only | Ad hoc only: $1,000 or $2,500 depending on length/immediacy |
| Special Board meetings | $4,000 per meeting | — | — |
| Audit, Compliance Committee meetings | $2,500 per meeting | Membership retainer $30,000 | Membership retainer $35,000 (Audit and Compliance) |
| Compliance, Risk Mgmt & Reg Oversight meetings | $5,000 per meeting | Included above (committee membership retainer) | Included above |
| Dividend Committee meetings | $1,250 per meeting | Membership retainer $20,000 | Membership retainer $25,000 |
| Investment Committee | $2,500 per meeting | Membership retainer $20,000 | Membership retainer $30,000 |
| Nominating & Governance | $500 per meeting | Membership retainer $20,000 | Membership retainer $25,000 |
| Closed-End Fund Committee | $2,500 per meeting | Membership retainer $20,000 | Membership retainer $25,000 |
| Board Chair retainer | $140,000 | $140,000 | $150,000 |
| Committee Chair retainers (Audit, Compliance) | $20,000 | $30,000 | $35,000 |
| Investment Committee Chair | $20,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| Dividend, Nominating, Closed-End Chairs | $20,000 | $20,000 | $25,000 |
| Special assignment committees | Chair/member fee determined by chair | Chair/member quarterly fees start at $1,250/$5,000 | Same |
| Deferred Compensation Plan | Available (elective deferral into fund equivalents) | Available | Available |
Director-specific amounts (latest fiscal year):
- Aggregate compensation from JPC (Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities) paid to Moschner: $9,780 .
- Total compensation from funds in the Nuveen Fund Complex paid to Moschner: $481,250 .
- Deferred compensation election (JPC): No deferred fees shown for Moschner (“—”) .
Performance Compensation
| Component | Disclosure in Proxy |
|---|---|
| Cash bonus / annual incentive | Not described for Independent Board Members; compensation is structured as retainers/committee fees/ad hoc fees . |
| Stock awards (RSUs/PSUs) | Not discussed in Independent Board Member compensation sections; tables present cash compensation by fund . |
| Option awards | Not discussed in Independent Board Member compensation sections . |
| Performance metrics (TSR, EBITDA, ESG, etc.) | Not referenced for Independent Board Members; compensation framework does not cite performance metrics . |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company/Institution | Role | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA Technologies, Inc. | Chairman (2019); Director | 2012–2019 | Payments/fintech; former chair role . |
| Wintrust Financial Corporation | Director | 1996–2016 | Regional bank; long-tenured role . |
| Kellogg School of Management (Advisory Board) | Advisory Board (Emeritus since 2018) | 1995–2018 (emeritus since 2018) | Academic advisory; non-profit . |
| Archdiocese of Chicago Financial Council | Advisory Board (Emeritus since 2018) | 2012–2018 (emeritus since 2018) | Non-profit financial council . |
The “Other Directorships Held by Board Member During the Past Five Years” list for Moschner shows prior public company roles (USA Technologies) during that period; no current public company board roles disclosed in the last five years section .
Expertise & Qualifications
- Designated “audit committee financial expert” (SEC definition), along with select peers, reflecting financial reporting and valuation oversight expertise .
- Operating leadership across telecom/wireless and electronics (Leap Wireless COO/CMO; Verizon Card Services President; Zenith CEO) .
- Engineering credentials (B.E. EE; M.S. EE), supporting technical and operational rigor .
- Oversees 218 Nuveen portfolios, indicating broad fund governance exposure .
Equity Ownership
| Fund | Dollar Range (12/31/2024) | Shares Owned (12/31/2024) | Ownership as % of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Preferred & Income Opportunities (JPC) | $0 | Not disclosed in share table; aggregate for each Board Member <1% | <1% (each Board Member individually) as of 2/18/2025 |
| Nuveen Real Estate Income | $1–$10,000 | Not disclosed | <1% (general statement applies) |
| Nuveen Floating Rate Income | Not shown in dollar-range table | 34,519 shares | <1% (general statement applies) |
- Board-wide note: As of February 18, 2025, each Board Member’s individual beneficial shareholdings of each Fund constituted less than 1% of the Fund’s outstanding shares; the group also owned less than 1% of each Fund .
- Pledging/hedging: No disclosure indicating Moschner has pledged JPC shares in the proxy; no pledging details are provided for him .
Governance Assessment
- Positives
- Independent director with “audit committee financial expert” designation, strengthening financial reporting and valuation oversight .
- Chairs the Closed-End Fund Committee, which actively reviews premiums/discounts, leverage, distributions, and repurchase strategies; participates in discount workshops—a critical focus area for closed-end fund investors .
- Serves on Compliance and Investment Committees, indicating deep involvement in risk, regulatory oversight, and performance/risk management reviews .
- Attendance threshold met (≥75%) for Board and committee meetings during the last fiscal year, supporting engagement .
- Potential concerns and alignment flags
- No disclosed ownership in JPC (dollar range $0), which may raise alignment questions for JPC specifically (although he holds shares in other Nuveen funds) .
- Compensation structure increased fixed retainers in 2024 (from $210,000 to $350,000 base), with further 2025 increases to committee retainers and chair fees; while modernizing pay, it reduces the meeting-based at-risk component that previously scaled with workload .
- Related-party transactions: No related-party transactions involving Moschner were disclosed in the proxy materials reviewed (no such transactions cited).
- Election dynamics (investor note)
- For JPC and other funds with Preferred Shares, Moschner is elected by Preferred shareholders; he was last elected April 12, 2024 and is a nominee again in 2025, which can influence board composition independent of common shareholders’ votes .
Overall: Moschner brings broad operating and governance expertise, chairs the CEF committee, and is recognized as a financial expert—favorable for oversight of discounts, leverage, and valuation. Absence of JPC share ownership and the pivot to higher fixed retainers warrant monitoring for alignment; no specific conflicts or attendance issues are disclosed .