Rachael Zufall
About Rachael Zufall
Rachael Zufall serves as Vice President and Assistant Secretary for Nuveen Select Maturities Municipal Fund (NIM). Year of birth: 1973; tenure in Nuveen fund officer capacity since 2022 with an indefinite term, elected annually by the Board . Her core credentials are legal and governance: Managing Director and Associate General Counsel roles across Nuveen/TIAA entities (Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management, Teachers Advisors, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, College Retirement Equities Fund, TIAA Separate Account VA-1, TIAA-CREF Funds and TIAA-CREF Life Funds) . The Fund’s proxy materials do not disclose individual executive TSR or operating metrics such as revenue or EBITDA at the officer level; officers receive no compensation from the Fund (context limits pay-for-performance assessment at the Fund level) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director; Assistant Secretary | As of June 20, 2025; fund officer since 2022 | Legal administration for fund governance and officer responsibilities |
| Nuveen Asset Management, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | As of June 20, 2025 | Legal oversight and fund documentation across Nuveen entities |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | As of June 20, 2025 | Legal counsel and governance for TIAA-affiliated funds |
| TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | As of June 20, 2025 | Legal and compliance support for investment management operations |
| TIAA Separate Account VA-1; College Retirement Equities Fund; TIAA-CREF Funds; TIAA-CREF Life Funds | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | As of June 20, 2025 | Legal stewardship across insurance and retirement products complexes |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen, LLC; TIAA | Managing Director | As of June 20, 2025 | Senior legal leadership within parent organizations supporting fund complex alignment |
Fixed Compensation
Officers of the Funds serve without any compensation from the Funds. Compensation for the Funds’ Chief Compliance Officer is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen) and reimbursed in part by the Funds; no officer-specific cash compensation is paid by the Funds .
| Component | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Fund-paid base salary | None | None |
| Fund-paid cash bonus | None | None |
| Fund-paid committee/meeting fees | None (officers; only Board members receive retainers/fees) | None (officers; only Board members receive retainers/fees) |
Performance Compensation
The Fund does not grant equity or options to officers; no RSU/PSU or option awards and no performance-based payout metrics are disclosed for Fund officers (the Board’s compensation is via retainers and fees; officers are uncompensated by the Funds) .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- Each Board Member’s individual beneficial shareholdings in each Fund constituted less than 1% of outstanding shares; officers and Board members as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund as of the respective record dates .
- Governance principle: Board Members are expected to invest at least the equivalent of one year of compensation in the funds in the Nuveen Fund Complex; this is a Board guideline, not an officer guideline .
| Metric | FY 2024 | FY 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Select Maturities (NIM) – Shares owned by Board Members and officers as a group | 0 | 0 |
| Individual beneficial holdings threshold | <1% of outstanding shares (each Board Member) | <1% of outstanding shares (each Board Member) |
| Officer pledging/hedging | Not disclosed; no pledging flagged in proxies | Not disclosed; no pledging flagged in proxies |
Employment Terms
| Term Element | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Fund officer term | Indefinite; elected annually by the Board |
| Length of service in Nuveen fund officer capacity | Since 2022 |
| Severance/change-of-control | Not disclosed for Fund officers; Funds have no employees and do not pay officer compensation |
| Clawbacks/gross-ups | Not disclosed for Fund officers |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment: As officers are not compensated by NIM (no cash, equity, or options from the Fund), traditional pay-for-performance levers and trading signals tied to officer equity grants, vesting calendars, or option exercises are absent at the Fund level .
- Insider selling pressure: Proxies report compliance with Section 16(a) filings for the last fiscal year; earlier year noted a late Form 4 for a different officer (David Lamb), with no issues cited for Zufall—reducing concern about near-term selling pressure from officer holdings (and the group holds 0 NIM shares) .
- Ownership alignment: Board members are expected to invest one year of compensation in funds across the complex, but officers have no parallel guideline; with group holdings at 0 for NIM, alignment via personal stake is limited at the Fund officer level .
- Retention/execution risk: Zufall’s role is legal/governance within the Nuveen/TIAA complex rather than portfolio management; her direct influence on NIM’s investment performance and distribution policy is indirect via legal administration, reducing the applicability of executive-specific trading catalysts .