Rachael Zufall
Vice President and Assistant Secretary at NUVEEN MASSACHUSETTS QUALITY MUNICIPAL INCOME FUND
Executive
About Rachael Zufall
Rachael Zufall serves as Vice President and Assistant Secretary of the Nuveen Massachusetts Quality Municipal Income Fund (NMT) and has been an officer within the Nuveen fund complex since 2022. Her year of birth is 1973, and her principal occupations include Managing Director and Associate General Counsel roles across Nuveen/TIAA entities; information is current as of October 22, 2025 . Officers of the Funds serve without compensation from the Funds, and compensation for certain roles (e.g., CCO) is paid by the Adviser; proxies do not disclose individual officer compensation arrangements or performance-linked metrics for fund officers .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director and Assistant Secretary | Since 2023 | Officer and legal governance support across Nuveen fund complex |
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 (MD); Since 2014 (AGC/Asst Sec) | Legal oversight for registered investment products |
| TIAA Separate Account VA-1 | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 (MD); Since 2014 (AGC/Asst Sec) | Legal and governance for insurance separate account products |
| TIAA-CREF Funds | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 (MD); Since 2014 (AGC/Asst Sec) | Mutual fund governance and compliance leadership |
| TIAA-CREF Life Funds | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 (MD); Since 2014 (AGC/Asst Sec) | Legal oversight for life fund complex |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 (MD); Since 2011 (AGC/Asst Sec) | Institutional advisory governance and counsel |
| TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Since 2017 (MD); Since 2011 (AGC/Asst Sec) | Asset management legal leadership |
| Nuveen, LLC and TIAA | Managing Director | Since 2017 | Corporate leadership within parent organizations |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed in NMT proxies | — | — | No external directorships or committee roles for Zufall are listed in the fund proxies; disclosures focus on internal Nuveen/TIAA roles . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; any compensation is at Adviser-level and not itemized for officers in fund proxies |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | No officer bonus framework disclosed for Funds |
| Actual bonus paid | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed at fund level |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | No perquisite details disclosed for officers |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None applicable at fund level for officers | — | — | — | — | Proxies state officers serve without fund compensation; no PSU/RSU/option plans for fund officers are disclosed |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Value | As of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership (Zufall) | Not disclosed | Oct 22, 2025 | Proxies provide aggregate statement: Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund |
| Group beneficial ownership (Board Members + officers) | <1% of outstanding shares of each Fund | Oct 22, 2025 | Aggregate alignment is limited; individual officer-level holdings are not itemized |
| Board Member ownership guideline | Expected to invest at least one year of compensation in Fund Complex | Policy in effect as of Oct 22, 2025 | Applies to Board Members, not officers; no officer-level stock ownership guideline disclosed |
| Pledging/Hedging by officers | Not disclosed | — | No pledging or hedging disclosures at officer level in proxies; “hedging” referenced pertains to fund investment strategies, not personal policies |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Officer election and term | Officers are elected annually by the Board; term is indefinite; serve until successors are elected and qualified | |
| Length of service indicator | “Since 2022” for Zufall as fund officer in the Nuveen fund complex | |
| Compensation source | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; CCO compensation is paid by Adviser (with Fund reimbursement for allocable incentive compensation); no officer-specific comp schedules disclosed | |
| Severance / Change-of-control / Clawbacks | Not disclosed in fund proxies for officers |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage at the fund level is effectively absent for officers; proxies confirm officers are not compensated by the Funds, so no disclosed bonus metrics, equity awards, or vesting schedules to align with TSR or NAV performance .
- Alignment via direct ownership is limited at the aggregate level (<1% group holdings), and individual officer holdings for Zufall are not itemized; no pledging/hedging policy disclosures at officer level, reducing visibility into potential misalignment red flags .
- Tenure and role breadth (Vice President and Assistant Secretary since 2022; Managing Director/Associate General Counsel across Nuveen/TIAA entities) suggest institutional retention is tied to parent-company (Nuveen/TIAA) employment rather than fund-level incentives; retention risk assessment requires Adviser-level documents, not fund proxies .
- Trading signal analysis from Form 4s could refine insider selling pressure assessment, but fund proxies do not include this data; Section 16(a) compliance statements are provided generally without transaction detail, implying the need to review SEC Form 4 filings for specifics .