Nathaniel Jones
About Nathaniel Jones
Nathaniel T. Jones (born 1979) serves as Vice President and Treasurer of Nuveen Municipal High Income Opportunity Fund (NMZ), with an indefinite term and length of service since 2016. He is Senior Managing Director, Head of Public Product at Nuveen and President (formerly Senior Managing Director) of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC; he holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation . Fund officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and NMZ does not disclose executive performance metrics like TSR, revenue, or EBITDA for officers; the Funds have no employees, and officer compensation is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) with only the CCO’s incentive reimbursement noted .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Vice President | 2011–2016 | Progression into senior leadership; foundation for fund treasury responsibilities |
| Nuveen | Senior Vice President | 2016–2017 | Expanded management scope; stepping stone to Managing Director |
| Nuveen | Managing Director | 2017–2021 | Senior leadership in asset management; oversight responsibilities |
| Nuveen | Senior Managing Director | 2021–Present | Executive leadership; Head of Public Product |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director | 2015–Present | Fund adviser leadership; governance and operations |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | President | Current | Executive leadership of adviser to the Funds |
| NMZ (Fund) | Vice President and Treasurer | 2016–Present | Fund treasury oversight; officer role elected annually |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | No external directorships or board roles for Jones are disclosed in NMZ filings . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | From NMZ? | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary | No | $0 | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; Funds have no employees |
| Target Bonus | No | $0 | Not paid by NMZ; officer compensation paid by Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) |
| Actual Bonus | No | $0 | Not paid by NMZ; only CCO incentive reimbursement to Adviser noted |
| Cash Retainer/Perquisites | No | $0 | Not applicable to fund officers |
The proxy discloses detailed compensation only for Independent Board Members, not fund officers .
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed for fund officers | — | — | — | — | — |
NMZ does not disclose RSUs/PSUs/options or performance metrics tied to officer pay; officers receive no compensation from the Funds, and officer compensation is handled by the Adviser .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Metric | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group beneficial ownership – NMZ (Board Members & officers as a group) – shares | 2,201 | 2,220 | 4,614 | 7,126 | 8,988 |
- Individual holdings for Nathaniel T. Jones are not separately disclosed in NMZ filings .
- As of June 20, 2025, Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund ; NMZ had 115,101,107 common shares outstanding (June 20, 2025) .
- Section 16(a) filing compliance is reported as current for Board Members and officers; no delinquent reports noted .
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position(s) | Vice President and Treasurer of NMZ |
| Term of Office | Indefinite; officers elected annually by the Board until successors are elected and qualified |
| Length of Service | Since 2016 as officer in the Fund complex |
| Employer of Record | Funds have no employees; officer compensation paid by Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA); CCO incentive reimbursement noted |
| Non-compete / Non-solicit | Not disclosed in NMZ filings |
| Severance / Change-of-Control | Not disclosed for fund officers in NMZ filings |
| Clawback / Gross-up | Not disclosed |
Contextual governance changes: Board consolidation across Nuveen and TC Funds effective January 1, 2024 (Item 5.02) to improve operating efficiency and oversight; not specific to officer compensation .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance assessment at the fund level is constrained: officers receive no compensation from NMZ and officer pay structures (salary, bonus, equity awards) are not disclosed in fund filings, limiting direct analysis of incentive alignment or vesting/selling pressure; monitor Nuveen/TIAA disclosures for adviser-level executive comp details .
- Alignment via share ownership appears limited: group beneficial ownership of NMZ shares is negligible (<1% of outstanding), and individual officer holdings (including Jones) are not disclosed, reducing visibility into “skin-in-the-game” signals .
- Trading signals: Section 16 compliance is current, but inability to access individual Form 3/4 records here limits insight into grants, exercises, or sales; tracking future Forms 3/4 for “JONES NATHANIEL T” would be the primary avenue to detect insider-related pressure or vesting events .
- Retention/transition risk: Officers’ terms are indefinite with annual election; no disclosed employment contracts, severance, or change-of-control terms in NMZ filings, implying standard fund-officer governance without disclosed special economics .