Robert L. Young

About Robert L. Young

Independent Chair of the Nuveen Funds boards and Independent Board Member overseeing NDMO; born 1963; joined the Board in 2017 and became Chair in 2025. Former Chief Operating Officer and Director at J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. (2010–2016); President and Principal Executive Officer of J.P. Morgan Funds (2013–2016); former Senior Manager (Audit) at Deloitte & Touche LLP; former CPA. Holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from the University of Dayton; served on its Board of Trustees Investment Committee (2008–2011) .

Past Roles

External Roles

Board Governance

• Roles: Chair of the Board (since 2025) ; Chair, Executive Committee ; Chair, Nominating & Governance Committee ; Member, Audit Committee (designated “audit committee financial expert”) ; Member, Investment Committee ; Member, Closed-End Fund Committee .
• Independence: Audit Committee and Nominating & Governance Committee composed entirely of Independent Board Members; Young is Independent and designated an “audit committee financial expert” per SEC rules .
• Attendance: Each Board Member attended at least 75% of Board and applicable committee meetings in the last fiscal year .
• Term: Class I/III nominee through 2028 annual meeting; Board service since 2017; Chair since 2025 . Board terms for common shareholders are staggered to the third succeeding annual meeting, potentially delaying replacement of a majority for up to two years .

Fixed Compensation

• Structure (effective Jan 1, 2025):
  • Annual retainer: $350,000 for Independent Board Members .
  • Committee membership retainers: Audit $35,000; Compliance, Risk Management & Regulatory Oversight $35,000; Investment $30,000; Dividend $25,000; Nominating & Governance $25,000; Closed-End Funds $25,000 .
  • Chair retainers: Board Chair $150,000; Audit Chair $35,000; Compliance Chair $35,000; Investment Chair/Co-Chair $30,000; Dividend Chair $25,000; Nominating & Governance Chair $25,000; Closed-End Funds Chair $25,000 .
  • Ad hoc meetings: $1,000 or $2,500 per meeting depending on length/immediacy; special assignment committees: quarterly fees beginning at $1,250 (Chair/Co-Chair) and $5,000 (members) .
  • Deferred Compensation Plan available; distributions can be lump sum or over 2–20 years .

Historical context: Prior structures (2023 and pre-2025) used lower base retainers and per-meeting fees; escalated to the current retainer model by 2025 .

Performance Compensation

• No performance-based director compensation (no PSUs/RSUs/options or performance metrics) is disclosed; compensation consists of retainers, committee fees, and ad hoc/special assignment fees, with optional deferral into Nuveen funds .

Other Directorships & Interlocks

Expertise & Qualifications

• Financial oversight: Designated audit committee financial expert; extensive fund valuation and audit oversight experience .
• Fund governance: Led agenda-setting, regulatory policies, and board relations at J.P. Morgan Funds .
• Accounting: Former CPA; senior audit leadership at Deloitte .
• Education: B.B.A. in Accounting, University of Dayton; investment committee experience .

Equity Ownership

Governance principle: Each Board Member is expected to invest, directly or deferred, at least the equivalent of one year of compensation in funds in the Fund Complex; beneficial holdings include deferred plan share equivalents; individual holdings of each fund were <1% of outstanding shares as of June 20, 2025 .

Note: Table values include share equivalents if compensation is deferred into eligible Nuveen funds .

Governance Assessment

• Strengths

  • Independent Board Chair with deep asset management operations background; designated audit committee financial expert, bolstering financial reporting oversight .
  • Broad committee engagement (Executive Chair; Nominating & Governance Chair; Audit, Investment, Closed-End member), indicating central role in governance, valuation oversight, and performance monitoring .
  • Attendance ≥75% across Board and committees; Section 16(a) filing compliance affirmed (no delinquencies), supporting governance discipline .

• Alignment and potential watch items

  • No disclosed ownership of NDMO shares; while directors are expected to invest at least one year of compensation across the fund complex (directly or deferred), aggregate holdings are disclosed only as “Over $100,000,” limiting clarity on guideline compliance versus current compensation levels .
  • No external public company directorships disclosed in the past five years, reducing interlock/conflict risk but also limiting external market perspectives .

• Conflicts/Related party transactions

  • Proxy identifies related holdings for another director (Kenny) in entities under common control; no such holdings disclosed for Young, and committees are independent per charters .

• Compensation structure signals

  • Shift from per-meeting fees (2023) to higher base retainer and chair/member retainers (2025) increases guaranteed cash relative to variable per-meeting fees, potentially stabilizing director workload compensation while maintaining ad hoc meeting fees for spikes in activity .

• RED FLAGS

  • No NDMO ownership disclosed (0 shares), which some investors may view as weaker fund-specific alignment despite aggregate complex holdings and deferred plan participation .