Kevin J. McCarthy
About Kevin J. McCarthy
Kevin J. McCarthy (born 1966) is Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Variable Rate Preferred & Income Fund (NPFD), serving in this officer capacity since 2007, and holds enterprise-wide legal leadership roles across Nuveen/TIAA affiliates, including Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel of Nuveen Investments, Inc.; Senior Managing Director and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Securities, LLC; and Senior Managing Director and Secretary of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC . NPFD’s proxy discloses that the Funds have no employees and officers receive no compensation from the Funds (compensation is paid by the Adviser), so fund documents do not tie McCarthy’s pay to fund performance metrics like TSR, revenue, or EBITDA; Section 16(a)/1940 Act compliance for officers was affirmed without individual compensation detail .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Investments, Inc. | Executive Vice President; Secretary; General Counsel | EVP 2016–2017; Secretary/GC since 2016 | Led legal and corporate governance across Nuveen’s investment platforms and fund complex . |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director; Secretary; Co-General Counsel (2011–2020) | Senior MD since 2017; Secretary since 2016 | Oversight of fund advisory legal matters; governance and regulatory compliance for closed-end funds . |
| Nuveen Asset Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director; Secretary; Associate General Counsel (2011–2020) | Senior MD since 2017; Secretary since 2016 | Legal leadership across asset management operations and product governance . |
| Nuveen Securities, LLC | Senior Managing Director; Assistant Secretary | Senior MD since 2017; Assistant Secretary since 2008 | Broker-dealer governance and fund distribution legal oversight . |
| NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC | Vice President (2007–2021); Secretary (2016–2021) | 2007–2021 | Legal and corporate secretarial functions for affiliated managers . |
| Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC | Vice President (2007–2021); Secretary (2016–2021) | 2007–2021 | Legal and governance support for affiliated asset manager . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winslow Capital Management, LLC | Vice President and Secretary | Since 2010 | Corporate secretarial responsibilities for an affiliated investment adviser . |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC; TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC; Nuveen Alternative Investments, LLC; TIAA‑CREF Funds/Life Funds | Executive Vice President/Associate General Counsel/Assistant Secretary; Senior Managing Director/Secretary | Various since 2016–2017 | Legal leadership and registered fund governance across TIAA/Nuveen complex, including registered investment companies . |
Fixed Compensation
Officers receive no compensation from NPFD; compensation is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC). No base salary, bonus, or perquisite details are disclosed in NPFD’s proxy for officers.
| Component | 2024–2025 Disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed | Officers serve without compensation from the Funds; paid by Adviser . |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed | No fund-level disclosure of officer incentive targets . |
| Actual bonus paid | Not disclosed | Not reported in NPFD fund proxy . |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed | No officer perquisite detail in NPFD proxy . |
| Pension/SERP | Not disclosed | Funds do not have retirement/pension plans; applies to directors, not officers . |
Performance Compensation
No disclosure of officer performance metrics (e.g., revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR) or vesting frameworks tied to NPFD. Fund documents do not link officer pay to fund performance; officers are compensated by the Adviser.
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash/STI | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed . |
| RSUs/PSUs | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed . |
| Options | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Category | NPFD Shares Owned (as of 12/31/2024) | % of Shares Outstanding | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin J. McCarthy (individual) | Not individually disclosed | Not individually disclosed | Proxy reports group ownership; individual officer holdings not itemized . |
| Board Members and Officers as a Group | 0 | <1% for each Fund | Group beneficial ownership in NPFD variable rate preferred & income reported as 0 shares; overall group ownership <1% across funds . |
| Pledging/Hedging Disclosures | None disclosed for officers | N/A | No pledging/hedging disclosures specific to officers in NPFD proxy . |
| Stock Ownership Guidelines | Director-only principle | N/A | Independent trustees expected to invest at least one year of compensation; not applicable to officers . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure | Details |
|---|---|---|
| NPFD Officer Role | Vice President and Assistant Secretary | Term: Indefinite; Length of Service: Since 2007 . |
| Employment Contract; Severance; Change-of-Control | Not disclosed in NPFD proxy | Officers are employed by the Adviser; Fund has no employees, and officer contracts/severance terms are not included in fund proxy . |
| Non-compete/Non-solicit; Garden leave; Consulting | Not disclosed | No NPFD proxy disclosure for officer restrictive covenants or post-termination arrangements . |
| Section 16(a)/1940 Act Compliance | Affirmed | Funds state officers complied with applicable ownership reporting requirements in the last fiscal year . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment at the fund level is limited: NPFD discloses that officers receive no compensation from the Funds and provides no performance metric or vesting linkage for officers, reducing direct fund-level incentive signals tied to McCarthy .
- Ownership alignment appears minimal: individual officer holdings are not itemized, and Board Members and officers as a group held 0 NPFD shares as of 12/31/2024, with overall group ownership <1%—suggesting low insider selling pressure and limited direct equity alignment at the fund level .
- Retention risk looks low given tenure and enterprise scope: McCarthy’s long-standing role since 2007 and broad legal leadership across Nuveen/TIAA affiliates implies institutional continuity; however, lack of disclosed severance/change-of-control terms in NPFD documents limits visibility into retention economics .
- Trading signals: Absence of disclosed insider equity stakes or Form 4 activity in NPFD proxy materials means few actionable insider-trading or vesting cadence signals derived from fund documents; monitoring Adviser-level disclosures and any Section 16 filings would be required for updates .