William Siffermann
About William Siffermann
William A. Siffermann is a Vice President (officer) of Nuveen Municipal Credit Opportunities Fund (NMCO) and a Senior Managing Director at Nuveen; he has served as an officer within the Nuveen fund complex since 2017 (Year of birth: 1975) . The funds have no employees, and officers receive no compensation from the funds; compensation for the Chief Compliance Officer is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen Fund Advisors), and the funds reimburse only a portion of the Adviser’s CCO incentive compensation, underscoring that officer pay is set and paid by Nuveen/TIAA rather than NMCO directly . As of February 18, 2025, Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each fund (individual officer holdings not broken out), suggesting limited direct in-fund equity alignment disclosure for officers in the proxy materials . The Nominating & Governance Committee designates Mr. Siffermann as Manager of Fund Board Relations and the point of contact for shareholder communications to the Board, reflecting his governance interface responsibilities at Nuveen .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen (parent to Nuveen Fund Advisors) | Senior Managing Director | Not disclosed | Current principal occupation in officer table |
| Nuveen fund complex | Vice President (officer) | Since 2017 | Officer tenure within the Nuveen fund complex; term indicated as “Indefinite” and service since 2017 |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen (Fund Board Relations) | Manager of Fund Board Relations (contact for Board nominations/communications) | Not disclosed | Named contact for Board nominations and shareholder communications, indicating governance liaison duties |
Fixed Compensation
Officers receive no compensation from the funds; compensation is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA). The proxy does not disclose Mr. Siffermann’s base salary or cash compensation, as such details reside at the Adviser level and are not reported in the fund proxy.
| Component | Amount/Terms | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed (paid by Adviser, not the Fund) | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds |
| Actual bonus | Not disclosed | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds |
The proxy discusses only the Fund CCO’s structure (base + incentive paid by Adviser, with partial reimbursement of CCO incentive by the Funds); it does not provide individual officer cash compensation detail for Mr. Siffermann .
Performance Compensation
The proxy provides no disclosure of equity awards, options, PSUs/RSUs, or specific performance metrics for Fund officers. Equity and option awards are not granted by the Fund; the Funds have no employees and officer compensation is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA), with no metric detail disclosed at the fund level .
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed (officers) | — | — | — | — | — |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (individual) | Not disclosed for Mr. Siffermann in the proxy (Board Members and officers as a group own <1% per fund) |
| Vested vs. unvested shares | Not disclosed (no officer-level breakdown) |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable) | Not disclosed (no officer-level breakdown) |
| Shares pledged/hedged | Not disclosed in proxy |
| Ownership guidelines | The Board has a principle that each Independent Board Member is expected to invest at least one year of compensation across Nuveen funds; this applies to Board Members, not officers . |
Appendix A includes detailed holdings for Board Members and totals for Board Members and officers as a group, but does not identify individual officer holdings, including Mr. Siffermann .
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Officer term | Indefinite; officers are elected by the Board on an annual basis to serve until successors are elected and qualified . |
| Length of service | Since 2017 (first year he became an officer of a fund in the Nuveen fund complex) . |
| Employer | Nuveen (Senior Managing Director; officer role at the Funds) . |
| Employment agreement | Not disclosed (fund proxy does not include Nuveen employment contracts) . |
| Severance/change-of-control | Not disclosed for officers (fund proxy does not cover Adviser employment economics) . |
| Non-compete/non-solicit/garden leave | Not disclosed in fund proxy . |
| Clawback/gross-ups | Not disclosed for officers in fund proxy . |
Governance Interface and Board Committees (Context)
- Mr. Siffermann is identified as Manager of Fund Board Relations for nominations and shareholder communications to the Board, indicating a formal governance liaison role within Nuveen’s fund governance processes .
- The governance structure is a unitary board across the Nuveen fund complex; officers, including Mr. Siffermann, are separate from Independent Board Members who receive retainers and committee fees paid by the funds (officers are not paid by the funds) .
Performance & Track Record
- Role scope: The proxy lists Mr. Siffermann’s principal occupation as Senior Managing Director of Nuveen and officer role (Vice President) at the Funds; it does not attribute portfolio performance outcomes to fund officers nor provide TSR/alpha metrics for officers .
- Fund performance metrics (e.g., TSR, NAV returns) are not presented in association with Mr. Siffermann’s individual role in the proxy; performance oversight resides primarily with the Adviser and is overseen by Independent Board committees (Investment Committee, etc.) .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Section 16 compliance: The proxy states the funds believe Board Members and officers complied with Section 16(a) filing requirements during the last fiscal year; no delinquent reporting for officers noted .
- Related-party transactions, option repricing, hedging/pledging for officers: Not disclosed in the fund proxy for officers .
- Legal proceedings against officer: Not disclosed in the proxy .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback (Context)
- As closed-end funds with Independent Boards and no fund employees, fund-level say-on-pay for officers is not applicable; Independent Board Member compensation is disclosed (retainers/fees), while officer compensation is not paid by the Funds .
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment and trading signals: Because officers receive no compensation from NMCO (paid instead by the Adviser) and individual officer equity holdings are not disclosed, there are limited direct pay-for-performance or insider ownership signals to evaluate for Mr. Siffermann at the fund level .
- Retention risk: Terms of officer employment (including severance/change-of-control) are not disclosed in the fund proxy; retention dynamics depend on Nuveen/TIAA employment arrangements rather than NMCO itself .
- Governance/engagement: Mr. Siffermann’s role as Manager of Fund Board Relations centralizes communications with the Independent Board, indicating meaningful process responsibility but not a direct economic link to NMCO shareholders via fund-paid compensation or fund-level equity .
- What to monitor: Any Item 5.02 8-K filings regarding officer appointments/departures or compensatory arrangements, and Section 16 filings for personal trading activity; fund committee and governance disclosures in future proxies for changes in oversight that could affect distribution, leverage, or discount management .