Joseph T. Castro
About Joseph T. Castro
Executive Vice President, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer at Nuveen; serves as a Vice President (fund officer) of Nuveen Real Estate Income Fund (JRS) with an indefinite term since 2025. Born 1964; BSBA in Finance from the University of Denver. Castro leads global Compliance, Operational Risk, and Investment Risk programs for Nuveen (assumed EVP/CRCO role in 2025); previously Head of Compliance since 2013 and Deputy CCO since 2011; prior senior compliance leadership at Fidelity (14 years) and Citibank (7 years). No fund-level performance linkage (TSR/revenue/EBITDA) is disclosed for JRS officers; officers receive no compensation from the Fund and are compensated by the adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | EVP, Chief Risk & Compliance Officer | 2025–present | Leads global Compliance, Operational Risk, and Investment Risk programs; enterprise-wide coverage . |
| Nuveen | Chief Compliance Officer / Oversight of Compliance | 2016–2025 | Oversaw firm-wide compliance programs; AML and U.S. sanctions program leadership . |
| Nuveen | Head of Compliance | 2013–2016 | Designed and implemented programs covering federal securities laws . |
| Nuveen | Senior VP & Deputy Chief Compliance Officer | 2011–2013 | Deputy enterprise compliance leadership during Nuveen integration into TIAA . |
| Fidelity Investments | Senior Compliance leadership (incl. Head of Compliance for multiple divisions; SVP & Deputy CCO) | ~14 years (pre-2011) | Led compliance across personal investments, retirement services, fund distribution, clearing and capital markets businesses . |
| Citibank | VP & Group Compliance Officer (Emerging Markets capital markets & corporate finance) | ~7 years (pre-Fidelity) | Oversight of cross-border finance compliance in emerging markets . |
| JRS (Fund officer) | Vice President (fund officer) | Since 2025 | Senior Managing Director at Nuveen entities; Chief Risk & Compliance Officer; supports fund governance . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| PaineWebber | Compliance roles (career start) | Not disclosed (prior to Citibank) | Early compliance experience foundational to later leadership . |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the Nuveen Funds (including JRS) receive no compensation from the Funds; the Funds have no employees .
- The Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer’s compensation (base + incentive) is paid by the Adviser, with the Funds reimbursing an allocable portion of the Adviser’s cost of the CCO’s incentive compensation (context for fund-level officer compensation flows; Castro is EVP/CRCO at Nuveen, while the fund CCO role is separate) .
| Item | Disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed at fund level; paid by Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) | |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed at fund level | |
| Actual bonus paid | Not disclosed at fund level | |
| Cash retainer (officers) | None; officers receive no compensation from the Funds |
Performance Compensation
No RSUs, PSUs, options, or performance-metric-based awards are disclosed for JRS officers; officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and any Nuveen corporate compensation for Castro is not reported in JRS filings .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Individual officer holdings are not itemized in JRS filings; group holdings are disclosed across Funds. No pledging, hedging, or officer ownership guidelines are disclosed for JRS .
- As context, the “All Board Members/Nominees and Officers as a Group” beneficial ownership in the Real Estate Income fund (JRS) increased from 1,159 to 1,267 across the two most recent proxies, but individual officer breakdowns (including Castro) are not provided .
| Metric | FY 2022 (as of Dec 31, 2022) | FY 2023 (as of Dec 31, 2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Group beneficial ownership – JRS (shares) | 1,159 | 1,267 |
| Individual officer (Castro) holdings | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
| Term element | JRS disclosure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer title | Vice President (fund officer) | |
| Length of service | Since 2025; term indefinite | |
| Election/renewal | Officers elected annually by Board; serve until successors are elected and qualified | |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed in JRS filings | |
| Severance / change-of-control | Not disclosed; no fund-level employment contracts for officers | |
| Clawback provisions | Not disclosed at fund level |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Compliance and risk leadership: EVP/CRCO at Nuveen (2025), prior CCO (2016–2025), Head of Compliance (2013–2016), Deputy CCO (2011–2013) .
- Industry experience: 14 years at Fidelity (multiple compliance divisions) and 7 years at Citibank (Group Compliance Officer for emerging markets capital markets/corporate finance) .
- Education: BSBA in Finance, University of Denver .
Governance Context (Fund-Level)
- JRS 8-K disclosed a board consolidation across Nuveen/TIAA fund complexes in 2023 to drive cost efficiencies and unified oversight; not specific to officer compensation, but relevant to fund governance environment within which officers serve .
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: No fund-level compensation for officers; therefore, no direct pay-for-performance or equity incentive alignment signals from JRS filings for Castro. Any incentive alignment resides at the Nuveen corporate level, which is not disclosed in JRS proxies .
- Retention risk: Castro’s tenure and progression to EVP/CRCO at Nuveen suggest strong institutional anchoring; fund officer roles are appointed annually but not subject to fund employment contracts, implying retention drivers are primarily Nuveen corporate (not disclosed in JRS) .
- Trading signals: With no itemized officer ownership or option/RSU data and no fund-level compensation, there are limited insider selling pressure or vesting calendar signals to monitor at JRS; watch for any future officer-specific holdings disclosures or Form 4 equivalents if applicable, though JRS filings currently do not itemize officer holdings .
- Governance risk: No pledging/hedging disclosures for officers; absence of severance/CoC terms at fund level reduces golden parachute risk but also limits clarity on individual employment protections; governance changes via board consolidation primarily impact board functions rather than officer incentives .