Marc Cardella
Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) at Nuveen Variable Rate Preferred & Income Fund
Executive
About Marc Cardella
Marc Cardella (born 1984) serves as Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) of Nuveen Variable Rate Preferred & Income Fund (NPFD). He has held this officer role since 2024 and concurrently serves as Senior Managing Director, Head of Public Investment Finance at Nuveen; Senior Managing Director of Teachers Advisors, LLC and TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC; Managing Director of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America and TIAA SMA Strategies LLC; and Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer and Treasurer of TIAA Separate Account VA-1 and the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) . NPFD’s proxy does not disclose TSR, revenue, EBITDA, or officer-specific performance metrics; fund officers are compensated by the adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) and receive no compensation from the Fund .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Senior Managing Director; Head of Public Investment Finance | Not disclosed (current) | Leads public investment finance across Nuveen complex |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Not disclosed (current) | Senior leadership at adviser to TIAA-CREF funds |
| TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Not disclosed (current) | Senior leadership in investment management platform |
| Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) | Managing Director | Not disclosed (current) | Executive role at TIAA parent organization |
| TIAA SMA Strategies LLC | Managing Director | Not disclosed (current) | Executive role supporting SMA platform |
| TIAA Separate Account VA-1 and CREF | Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer | Not disclosed (current) | Principal finance/accounting leadership for VA-1 and CREF |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| None disclosed in NPFD filings | — | — | No public company directorships or external board roles disclosed for Cardella |
Fixed Compensation
Fund officers receive no compensation from NPFD; compensation (base salary, incentives) is paid by the adviser (Nuveen/TIAA). Specific amounts for Cardella (base salary, target/actual bonus) are not disclosed at the fund level.
| Component | Status |
|---|---|
| Base salary | Not disclosed (Fund officers receive no compensation from the Fund; paid by Adviser) |
| Target bonus % | Not disclosed (paid by Adviser) |
| Actual bonus | Not disclosed (paid by Adviser) |
| Perquisites | Not disclosed at fund level |
Performance Compensation
No officer performance metrics (weightings, targets, payouts) or equity award structures are disclosed at the fund level for NPFD officers; compensation is handled by the Adviser.
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed (officers’ comp administered by Adviser; not paid by Fund) | — | — | — | — | — |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
- NPFD discloses beneficial ownership for Board Members and officers collectively, not at the individual officer level. As of the most recent record dates in the proxies, Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund .
- Pledging/hedging, stock ownership guidelines, and compliance for officers are not disclosed at the fund level (Nuveen’s Board investment expectations apply to Independent Board Members, not fund officers) .
| Metric | FY 2022/Record 2023 | FY 2024/Record 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Board Members + executive officers beneficial ownership as % of shares outstanding | <1% | <1% |
| Individual disclosure for Marc Cardella | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
Employment Terms
- Officers are elected by the Board annually; Cardella’s term is indefinite and he has served as NPFD’s Principal Financial Officer since 2024 .
- NPFD has no employees; officers serve without compensation from NPFD. Compensation for the Funds’ CCO is paid by the Adviser (with reimbursement for a portion of incentive compensation); other officer employment terms (severance, change-of-control, clawbacks, non-compete) are not disclosed at the fund level .
- No officer-specific employment agreement, severance multiple, or change-of-control provisions for Cardella are disclosed in NPFD filings.
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Role and start | VP & Controller (PFO), since 2024 |
| Term length | Indefinite; officers elected annually |
| Employer | Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA); Fund has no employees |
| Severance / CoC | Not disclosed at fund level |
| Clawbacks | Not disclosed at fund level |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed at fund level |
Performance & Track Record
- Fund-level filings do not attribute TSR, revenue, or EBITDA to officers or disclose officer-linked performance outcomes for NPFD .
- Section 16(a) compliance: NPFD states that its Board Members and officers complied with applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements during the last fiscal year; no delinquent filings reported .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Section 16(a) reports: NPFD indicates compliance by Board Members and officers; no delinquencies noted .
- Legal proceedings, related-party transactions, option repricing, tax gross-ups, or officer-level hedging/pledging: Not disclosed for Cardella in NPFD filings .
Governance & Committees (context)
- Officers serve without compensation from the Funds; Board and committees oversee operations and risk, with officers (including PFO) providing administrative and financial reporting leadership under Board oversight .
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance analysis is not applicable at the fund level for officers: NPFD’s officers (including Cardella) are paid by the Adviser; no officer compensation tables, metrics, or equity awards are disclosed in NPFD’s proxy, limiting visibility into incentive alignment and vesting-driven selling pressure at the fund level .
- Retention risk and incentives are Adviser-driven (Nuveen/TIAA), not fund-driven; monitor Adviser announcements and any Item 5.02 8-Ks for role changes or compensatory arrangements that could affect continuity in the PFO function .
- Insider trading signal quality is low: NPFD aggregates beneficial ownership at the group level (<1% collectively), with no individual officer holdings disclosed; while Section 16 compliance is affirmed, lack of individual Form 4 detail in the proxy constrains analysis of selling cadence or scheduled trading plans .
- Governance quality is supported by established Board committee structures and oversight; financial control and reporting are centralized under Nuveen/TIAA, suggesting operational continuity, but investor assessment of Cardella’s personal incentive alignment necessarily relies on Adviser-level disclosures rather than fund filings .