Brett Black
About Brett Black
Brett E. Black serves as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer (Fund CCO) for Nuveen California Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAC); he has held this officer role in the Nuveen fund complex since 2022, with a principal occupation as Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer of Nuveen . Prior experience includes serving as Vice President (2014–2022), Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (2017–2022) for BMO Funds, Inc. . The Funds disclose that officers receive no compensation from the Funds (they are compensated by the Adviser), and fund-level officer compensation metrics (e.g., salary, bonus, equity awards) are not provided in NAC’s proxy . Fund performance oversight (NAV, premiums/discounts, leverage, distributions) is reviewed by independent Board committees, rather than tied to disclosed Officer incentives in NAC’s filing .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen (Fund Complex) | Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer (Fund CCO); Managing Director, Chief Compliance Officer of Nuveen | Since 2022 | Fund CCO responsibilities include receiving and reviewing sub-adviser compliance certifications and material compliance matters, supporting Rule 38a-1 oversight and Adviser reporting flows to the Board . |
| BMO Funds, Inc. | Vice President | 2014–2022 | Senior compliance leadership supporting mutual fund governance and controls . |
| BMO Funds, Inc. | Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer | 2017–2022 | Led compliance and AML programs for registered funds; regulatory liaison duties . |
External Roles
No external board or committee roles for Brett Black are disclosed in the NAC proxy/N-2ASR filings. If additional roles exist, they are not reported in NAC’s filings reviewed here .
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the Funds “serve without any compensation from the Funds”; compensation for the Fund CCO is paid by the Adviser and reimbursed only for an allocable portion of the CCO’s incentive compensation, with Board review and input .
- NAC does not disclose Brett Black’s base salary, target bonus, or cash compensation amounts at the fund level; such details, if any, would be governed by Nuveen/TIAA policies and not reported in NAC’s proxy .
Performance Compensation
- NAC provides no disclosure of RSU/PSU grants, option awards, performance metric weightings, vesting schedules, or payout formulas for fund officers (including the Fund CCO) in the proxy; officers are compensated by the Adviser, and fund-level equity awards to officers are not reported .
- Board performance/closed-end fund market metrics (premium/discount, leverage, distributions, performance vs. benchmarks) are overseen by the Closed-End Fund Committee and Investment Committee, not presented as officer-tied incentive scorecards in NAC’s filing .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | NAC Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Common Shares Outstanding (Record Date Oct 22, 2025) | 147,023,383 Common Shares |
| Beneficial Ownership – Board Members and Officers as a Group | Less than 1% of outstanding shares for each Fund |
| Individual Officer/Board Member Holdings Detail | Board Members’ individual beneficial shareholdings in each Fund constituted less than 1%; officer-level individual holdings are not itemized in NAC tables |
| Pledging/Hedging by Officers | No pledging/hedging of company stock disclosed in NAC proxy |
Stock ownership guidelines, compliance status versus guidelines, and any pledged shares are not disclosed for fund officers in NAC’s proxy .
Employment Terms
| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Officer Positions & Tenure | Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer; Term: Indefinite; Length of Service: Since 2022 |
| Election & Service | Officers are elected annually by the Board to serve until successors are elected and qualified |
| Compensation Source | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; Fund CCO compensation is paid by the Adviser (with a reimbursable portion of incentive comp) and subject to Board review/input |
| Contract Term/Expiration | Officer terms are indefinite; NAC does not disclose individual employment contracts for the Fund CCO |
| Severance/Change-in-Control | Not disclosed in NAC’s proxy for fund officers |
| Non-Compete/Non-Solicit/Garden Leave | Not disclosed in NAC’s proxy for fund officers |
| Clawbacks/Ownership Guidelines | Not disclosed for fund officers; governance disclosures focus on Board compensation/committees and audit policies |
Compliance program interface and reporting flows: Sub-adviser CCO reporting to the Fund CCO on material compliance matters, annual compliance certifications, and policy changes under Rule 38a-1 and Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-7 are documented, reflecting the compliance oversight framework led by the Fund CCO .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance assessment is constrained: NAC’s filings explicitly state officers are not compensated by the Funds and do not disclose officer-level cash/equity or performance metrics; therefore, direct alignment analysis (salary/bonus/RSU/option vesting vs. TSR/NAV outperformance) cannot be performed from fund documents .
- Alignment and retention risk appear anchored in Nuveen/TIAA employment policies and the Fund CCO’s role within a robust governance framework; the compliance structure documents regular reporting to the Fund CCO and Board committees (Audit, Compliance, Investment), supporting control effectiveness rather than incentive-linked trading signals .
- Insider activity signal: NAC reports Section 16 compliance for officers and insiders but does not provide individual Form 4 histories in the proxy; no pledging is disclosed, and group beneficial ownership is under 1%, suggesting limited direct share-based selling pressure from officers at the fund level .
- For trading signals tied to executive behavior (e.g., 10b5-1 plans, large sales), additional sourcing beyond NAC’s proxy (individual Section 16 filings for Brett Black at the fund level) would be required; NAC’s proxy confirms compliance with filing requirements but not specific transactions .