Rachael Zufall
About Rachael Zufall
Rachael Zufall (born 1973) serves as Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAD) with an indefinite term and has served since 2022; her principal occupations include Managing Director and Assistant Secretary roles at Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, and Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary roles across TIAA and Nuveen-affiliated fund complexes . The funds disclose that officers serve without compensation from the Funds (compensation for the Chief Compliance Officer is paid by the Adviser), and no executive pay metrics, incentives, or performance targets are reported at the fund level, limiting pay-for-performance analysis for fund officers .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director and Assistant Secretary | Since 2023 | Not disclosed |
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF Accounts) | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Assoc. GC/Asst. Sec. since 2014 | Not disclosed |
| TIAA Separate Account VA-1 | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Assoc. GC/Asst. Sec. since 2014 | Not disclosed |
| TIAA-CREF Funds | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Assoc. GC/Asst. Sec. since 2014 | Not disclosed |
| TIAA-CREF Life Funds | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Assoc. GC/Asst. Sec. since 2014 | Not disclosed |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Assoc. GC/Asst. Sec. since 2011 | Not disclosed |
| TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Assoc. GC/Asst. Sec. since 2011 | Not disclosed |
| Nuveen, LLC and TIAA | Managing Director | Since 2017 | Not disclosed |
External Roles
No external public company directorships or committee roles are disclosed in her fund officer biography; the proxy lists only Nuveen/TIAA-affiliated legal and fund governance positions .
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the Funds serve without compensation from the Funds; the Funds disclose that the Chief Compliance Officer’s base and incentive compensation is paid by the Adviser (with partial reimbursement), and no officer salary/bonus tables are provided for fund officers .
- Independent Board Member compensation schedules are disclosed (cash retainers and committee fees), but these apply to trustees, not fund officers; thus they are not applicable to Ms. Zufall’s fund officer role .
Performance Compensation
- The Funds do not disclose RSUs/PSUs, option awards, targets, or payout formulas for fund officers; no vesting schedules or performance metrics (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, TSR) are reported for officers in the proxy materials .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value | As-of Date |
|---|---|---|
| NAD Common Shares Outstanding | 233,404,655 | June 20, 2025 |
| Board Members and Officers as a Group – NAD Shares Owned | 35,764 | May 31, 2025 |
| Group Ownership as % of Shares Outstanding | Less than 1% of each Fund | June 20, 2025 |
- Individual officer holdings (including Ms. Zufall) are not itemized in the proxy; only Board Members are shown individually, with officers included in the “group” totals .
- The Boards expect Independent Board Members (trustees) to invest at least the equivalent of one year of compensation in the funds complex to align interests; this governance principle does not reference fund officers .
Employment Terms
- Position: Vice President and Assistant Secretary of NAD; Term of office: Indefinite; Length of service: Since 2022; Address: 8500 Andrew Carnegie Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28262; Year of birth: 1973 .
- The Funds have no employees and officer compensation is not paid by the Funds; no employment agreements, severance, or change-of-control terms for fund officers are disclosed in the proxy filings .
- Board consolidation (October 13, 2023) aligned oversight across the fund complex; this impacted board composition and governance processes but did not disclose officer contracts or economics .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage cannot be assessed from fund filings for Ms. Zufall: fund officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and no incentive structures or performance metrics are disclosed at the fund level .
- Equity alignment signals are limited: beneficial ownership for Board Members and officers as a group in NAD is 35,764 shares versus 233.4 million shares outstanding; the proxy states group ownership is less than 1% for each Fund, and individual officer holdings are not disclosed .
- Retention and transition risk appear structurally tied to Nuveen/TIAA employment rather than fund-level contracts; NAD proxies do not disclose officer employment terms (non-compete, severance, change-of-control) for fund officers .
- Trading signals: The proxy does not report officer equity awards, vesting schedules, pledging, hedging, or insider transactions; monitor future Item 5.02 8-Ks for officer changes as governance events rather than compensation-driven catalysts .