Rachael Zufall
About Rachael Zufall
Rachael Zufall (born 1973) serves as Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Dynamic Municipal Opportunities Fund (NDMO) with an indefinite term and length of service since 2022. She is Managing Director and Associate General Counsel across Nuveen/TIAA fund complexes (Nuveen Fund Advisors, College Retirement Equities Fund, TIAA Separate Account VA‑1, TIAA‑CREF Funds, TIAA‑CREF Life Funds; Teacher Advisors, LLC; TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC) and Managing Director of Nuveen, LLC and TIAA, focused on legal, regulatory, and governance oversight for the fund complex . The Funds have no employees and officers serve without compensation from the Funds; compensation for the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer is paid by the Adviser with Board input .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years | Legal and governance oversight for Nuveen closed-end/mutual funds . |
| College Retirement Equities Fund; TIAA Separate Account VA‑1; TIAA‑CREF Funds; TIAA‑CREF Life Funds | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years | Legal/regulatory stewardship across TIAA fund platforms . |
| Teacher Advisors, LLC; TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years | Asset management legal leadership and fund governance . |
| Nuveen, LLC; TIAA | Managing Director | Past 5 years | Corporate legal leadership across Nuveen/TIAA complex . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Closed-End Funds (multiple registrants) | Authorized Attorney-in-Fact on Form N‑2 powers of attorney | Ongoing | Enables timely securities registration filings across Nuveen closed-end funds . |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers of the Funds serve without any compensation from the Funds; the Funds have no employees .
- Compensation specifics (base salary, target bonus, actual bonus) for Ms. Zufall are not disclosed in Fund documents (paid by Nuveen/TIAA, not the Funds) .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed for Fund officers | — | — | — | — | — |
| Notes: The Funds do not compensate officers; no performance metrics, equity awards, or vesting schedules are disclosed for Ms. Zufall at the Fund level . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value | As-of Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership in NDMO | Not individually disclosed | May 31, 2025 | Proxy tables present group totals, not officer-level detail . |
| Officers and Board Members as a group – NDMO (Dynamic Municipal) shares | 0 | May 31, 2025 | “All Board Members/Nominees and Officers as a Group” shows 0 for Dynamic Municipal . |
| Share pledging by officers | Not disclosed | — | No pledging disclosure for officers in proxy . |
| Stock ownership guidelines (officers) | Not disclosed | — | Officers are affiliated with Nuveen and not compensated by the Funds . |
Employment Terms
| Term Component | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Title and capacity | Vice President and Assistant Secretary . |
| Term and tenure | Term: Indefinite; Length of Service: Since 2022 . |
| Employer relationship | Officer of the Funds; legal/governance roles across Nuveen/TIAA complexes . |
| Employment contract, severance, change-of-control | Not disclosed for Fund officers (CEF officers are not compensated by the Funds; no severance/CoC terms disclosed) . |
| Non-compete, non-solicit, garden leave | Not disclosed in Fund filings. |
Investment Implications
- Alignment and selling pressure: With officers serving without Fund-level compensation and no disclosed equity awards or vesting schedules, there are no mechanical insider selling pressures or vesting-related overhangs tied to NDMO; group ownership shows 0 NDMO shares, indicating limited direct equity alignment at the Fund level .
- Retention risk: Ms. Zufall’s role is embedded within Nuveen/TIAA’s legal and governance infrastructure with an indefinite Fund officer term since 2022, suggesting continuity; no Fund-level severance or CoC economics imply retention drivers are at the adviser level, not the Fund .
- Governance stability: The 2023 board consolidation across Nuveen/TIAA fund complexes emphasizes streamlined governance and operational efficiency, a neutral-to-positive support for Fund oversight; this is not a direct compensation signal for officers but indicates organizational stability that reduces governance-related risk premia .
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