Rachael Zufall
About Rachael Zufall
Rachael Zufall (born 1973) is Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (JQC) with tenure since 2022. She is Managing Director and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the College Retirement Equities Fund, TIAA Separate Account VA‑1, TIAA‑CREF Funds and TIAA‑CREF Life Funds; Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Teachers Advisors, LLC and TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC; and Managing Director of Nuveen, LLC and of TIAA. Her listed business address is 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262. Officers receive no compensation from the Fund; compensation structures for adviser personnel are not disclosed in the Fund’s proxy materials.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (JQC) | Vice President and Assistant Secretary | Since 2022 | Fund officer role within the Nuveen closed-end fund complex |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director and Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 | Fund-adviser officer role across Nuveen complex |
| College Retirement Equities Fund; TIAA Separate Account VA‑1; TIAA‑CREF Funds; TIAA‑CREF Life Funds | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel, Assistant Secretary | Since 2014 | Legal and officer responsibilities across TIAA‑affiliated funds |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC; TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel, Assistant Secretary | Since 2011 | Legal and officer responsibilities across advisor entities |
| Nuveen, LLC; TIAA | Managing Director | Since 2017 | Senior officer roles within parent organizations |
External Roles
No external directorships or public-company board roles are disclosed for Rachael Zufall in JQC’s proxy materials.
Fixed Compensation
- Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; the Funds have no employees. The CCO’s compensation is paid by the Adviser, and the Funds reimburse an allocable portion of the Adviser’s cost of the CCO’s incentive compensation. These disclosures imply officer compensation occurs at the adviser/affiliates, not at the Fund level.
Performance Compensation
- No Fund-level disclosure of individual officer performance metrics, incentive weightings, or payouts for Rachael Zufall. Officers are not compensated by the Fund.
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- No beneficial ownership table entries are disclosed for Fund officers (including Rachael Zufall) in the JQC proxies reviewed; beneficial ownership by portfolio managers is disclosed only by dollar-range, not by specific share counts. No Form 3/4 filings naming Rachael Zufall were found in JQC’s document set.
Employment Terms
| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Fund Officer Start Date | Since 2022 (Vice President and Assistant Secretary) |
| Term Length | Indefinite; officers are elected annually and serve until successors are elected and qualified |
| Employer/Affiliations | Officer and AGC roles across Nuveen Fund Advisors, Teachers Advisors, TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, and TIAA‑affiliated funds |
| Fund-Level Compensation | None; officers serve without any compensation from the Funds |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment at the Fund level is not applicable for officers; compensation and incentives reside at the adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) and are not disclosed in JQC’s proxy, limiting direct analysis of salary, bonus, and equity incentives for Rachael Zufall. This reduces visibility into individual retention levers or payout pressure tied to Fund performance.
- No evidence of Fund share ownership, pledging, or insider transactions for Rachael Zufall within JQC disclosures, suggesting low near-term insider selling pressure signals; ownership and hedging policies are not detailed for Fund officers.
- Governance continuity: tenure since 2022 across legal and officer functions within Nuveen/TIAA fund complexes indicates institutional experience and process familiarity; the Fund’s board consolidation in late 2023 did not alter officer compensation practices and may streamline oversight structures.