Joseph T. Castro
About Joseph T. Castro
Joseph T. “Joe” Castro is Executive Vice President and Chief Risk and Compliance Officer (CRCO) at Nuveen, leading global Compliance, Operational Risk, and Investment Risk programs; he became CRCO in 2025 after serving as Head of Compliance since 2013 and Deputy Chief Compliance Officer since 2011 at Nuveen . He was appointed an officer of Nuveen Dynamic Municipal Opportunities Fund (NDMO) as Vice President in 2025; his birth year is disclosed as 1964 (approx. age 61 in 2025) . For NDMO, the funds pay no compensation directly to officers (officers are paid by the adviser or affiliates), so no fund-level pay metrics are disclosed for Castro . The Board’s oversight materials emphasize extensive compliance and risk management programs across the Nuveen fund complex, aligning with Castro’s remit .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact / remit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | EVP, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer | 2025–present | Leads global Compliance, Operational Risk, and Investment Risk programs across Nuveen . |
| Nuveen | Head of Compliance (and oversight of compliance for Nuveen) | 2013–2025 (assumed broader compliance leadership April 2016) | Oversaw enterprise compliance for Nuveen; scaled programs post TIAA integration . |
| Nuveen | SVP, Deputy Chief Compliance Officer | 2011–2013 | Deputy CCO responsibilities, foundational compliance leadership at Nuveen . |
| Fidelity Investments | Multiple compliance leadership roles; CCO for broker-dealers; SVP & Deputy CCO (Enterprise Compliance) | ~14 years (pre‑2011) | Led compliance for personal investments, retirement services, fund distribution, correspondent clearing/capital markets; AML and U.S. Sanctions programs . |
| Citibank | VP & Group Compliance Officer (emerging markets capital markets and corporate finance) | 7 years (pre‑Fidelity) | Regional compliance leadership for capital markets and corporate finance . |
| PaineWebber | Early compliance roles | Not disclosed | Early career compliance experience . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIFMA Compliance & Legal Society | Executive Committee Member | Not disclosed | Professional leadership involvement in industry compliance community . |
| Education | B.S.B.A., Finance, University of Denver | 1986 (degree year disclosed) | Core credential noted in Nuveen profile . |
Fixed Compensation
| Item | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Fund-level officer compensation | Officers receive no compensation directly from the Funds; remuneration is from the Adviser or its affiliates . |
| Base salary, target bonus %, actual bonus | Not disclosed by the Fund; officers are paid by the Adviser (Nuveen) and details are not included in NDMO’s proxy or shareholder reports . |
| Perquisites, pension/SERP, deferred compensation (officers) | Not disclosed at the Fund level; deferred compensation plans referenced in filings apply to independent trustees, not officers . |
Performance Compensation
| Element | Metrics/Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual/long-term incentives (officer) | Not disclosed at Fund level | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed; no fund-level equity or option awards for officers are disclosed . |
The Fund’s filings do not include performance metric linkages (e.g., revenue, EBITDA, TSR) for officers; officers are Advisor employees, and such details are not presented in NDMO’s proxy/shareholder documents .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| NDMO common shares beneficially owned by “Board Members/Nominees and Officers as a Group” | 0 shares (Dynamic Municipal column shows 0 for the group as of May 31, 2024) . | 0 shares (Dynamic Municipal column shows 0 for the group as of May 31, 2025) . |
| Joseph T. Castro individual NDMO holdings | Not individually disclosed in proxy (beneficial ownership tables list board members individually and aggregate group including officers) . | Not individually disclosed in proxy (same disclosure structure) . |
| Shares pledged as collateral | No pledging disclosure for officers is provided in NDMO’s proxy . | |
| Ownership guidelines (officers) | Not disclosed at the Fund level; trustee deferred comp plan described, but not officer stock ownership guidelines . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| NDMO officer title | Vice President . |
| Term of office | Indefinite; Length of service since 2025 . |
| Principal occupation | EVP, Chief Risk and Compliance Officer; formerly Senior Managing Director and Head of Compliance, Nuveen . |
| Employment contract, severance, change-of-control provisions | Not disclosed in Fund filings; officers are employees of the Adviser (Nuveen), and the 8‑K item on officers/board changes during the period concerns board consolidation, not officer compensatory arrangements . |
| Clawbacks, non-compete/non-solicit, tax gross‑ups | Not disclosed in NDMO fund filings . |
| Section 16(a) reporting status | Fund reports indicate applicable parties complied with Section 16(a) filing requirements during the last fiscal year . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance signaling: Because NDMO officers receive no compensation directly from the Fund and officer-level pay metrics are not disclosed in fund documents, there are no observable fund-level incentive linkages (e.g., revenue/EBITDA/TSR) or vesting calendars that would create near-term selling pressure in NDMO; compensation is set and paid by Nuveen (the Adviser) .
- Alignment via ownership: As of May 31, 2025, “Board Members/Nominees and Officers as a Group” reported 0 NDMO shares, implying limited direct fund-level equity alignment; Castro’s individual NDMO holdings are not disclosed .
- Retention/coverage of key risk functions: Castro’s long-tenured compliance leadership and current remit over enterprise Compliance, Operational Risk, and Investment Risk suggest robust governance and risk controls across the Nuveen complex that oversee NDMO; the Board receives regular reports on compliance/risk programs, supporting process quality and continuity .
- Governance/transition risk: Officer terms are indefinite, with Castro serving as NDMO Vice President since 2025; no fund-level employment contracts or severance/change-of-control terms are disclosed, so retention economics are opaque at the Fund level (driven by Nuveen employment terms, not the Fund) .
- Trading signals: Absence of disclosed officer equity awards, vesting schedules, or Form 4 selling tied to NDMO reduces the risk of insider selling pressure around specific dates; group-level NDMO holdings at zero further limit such signals .
Context: NDMO operates under a unitary board and expansive adviser-managed compliance/risk framework; the Board emphasized extensive compliance/risk programs and oversight, consistent with Castro’s enterprise mandate .