William Siffermann
About William Siffermann
William A. Siffermann is Vice President of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (JQC) and a Senior Managing Director at Nuveen; he has served as a fund officer since 2017 (year of birth: 1975) . He also serves as Manager of Fund Board Relations for Nuveen’s fund complex, acting as the shareholder communication point for trustee nominations . Fund proxies disclose no officer-level pay-for-performance metrics or fund TSR attribution to officers; officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and are Nuveen employees .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Susquehanna International Group | Derivative Trader | 1997–2004 | Options/derivatives market making; trading and risk expertise that informs governance and oversight support roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Investments | Managing Director – Nuveen Fund Board Relations | 2017–present | Leads board relations across funds (15c advisory reviews, product, investment oversight, compliance/risk, audit/accounting, distributions), aligning Nuveen and independent boards |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Detail | Disclosure Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Officer cash compensation from JQC | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds | Disclosed | |
| Employment/employer | Nuveen Senior Managing Director; JQC fund officer | Disclosed | |
| CCO compensation construct (fund complex) | Paid by Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA), with Funds reimbursing an allocable portion of CCO incentive comp | Disclosed (context; not specific to Siffermann) | |
| Base salary, bonus, equity from Nuveen | Not disclosed in fund filings | Not disclosed | — |
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metrics | Targets | Payout | Vesting | Disclosure Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual bonus (Nuveen employment) | Not disclosed | — | — | — | Not disclosed in fund filings | — |
| Equity awards (RSUs/PSUs/options) | Not disclosed | — | — | — | Not disclosed in fund filings | — |
Officers of the Funds are Nuveen employees; fund proxies do not include Nuveen employee compensation plans or performance metric linkages for officers .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Date | Security | Shares Owned | Ownership Form | Ownership % of Fund | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-08-02 | JQC Common Shares | 346.257 | Direct | <1% (individual holdings of each Fund) | Initial Form 3 filing upon becoming an officer |
- Group-level alignment: As of Feb 18, 2025, each Board Member’s individual beneficial shareholdings in each Fund were <1% of outstanding; Board Members and executive officers as a group also owned <1% of each Fund .
- Ownership guidelines: Board Members are expected to invest at least the equivalent of one year of compensation in Nuveen funds; this principle applies to trustees, not officers .
- Pledging/hedging: No pledging disclosed for Siffermann; personnel investments are governed by a combined Code of Ethics prioritizing client interests and restricting certain personal transactions .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Fund Officer Role | Vice President (Term—Indefinite; Length of Service—Since 2017) | |
| Nuveen Role | Senior Managing Director (Fund Board Relations; shareholder communications contact for nominations) | |
| Contract specifics (term, non-compete, severance, CoC) | Not disclosed in fund filings | — |
Board Governance (Context)
- Officers are elected annually by the Board and serve until successors are elected; officers receive no compensation from the Funds .
- Siffermann (Manager, Fund Board Relations) is the designated contact for trustee nomination suggestions, indicating a central role in governance processes .
Risk Indicators & Trading Signals
| Indicator | Observation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Insider filings | Form 3 filed on 2017-08-10 reporting 346.257 JQC shares; no Form 4 transactions found in fund document search | (Form 3) / Search returned none for Form 4 |
| Code of Ethics | Personnel subject to ethics code; ensures client interests are prioritized over personal transactions |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: JQC officers (including Siffermann) are compensated by Nuveen, not the Fund; fund proxies thus provide no officer-specific pay-for-performance structures or vesting schedules—alignment to JQC performance is indirect .
- Ownership/retention: Personal JQC holdings disclosed only via 2017 Form 3 (346.257 shares), with individual holdings <1%—skin-in-the-game appears limited at the fund level . Long tenure since 2017 suggests continuity, but no employment contract economics (severance/CoC) are disclosed—retention risk cannot be quantified from fund filings .
- Trading signals: Absence of Form 4s in fund document search indicates limited recent reported trading activity; monitor future filings for selling pressure or award vesting events (none available in proxies) (Search result noted none).
- Governance leverage: His role as Manager of Fund Board Relations positions him as a gatekeeper for board processes and shareholder communications, relevant for engagement strategies around governance and fund actions .