Rachael Zufall
About Rachael Zufall
Rachael Zufall is Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Variable Rate Preferred & Income Fund (NPFD), born in 1973 and serving as an officer in the Nuveen fund complex since 2022. She is a Managing Director and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC, and a Managing Director, Associate General Counsel, and Assistant Secretary across the TIAA/CREF funds and vehicles (CREF, TIAA Separate Account VA‑1, TIAA‑CREF Funds, and TIAA‑CREF Life Funds). Officers of the Funds receive no compensation from the Funds; compensation is paid by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) and is not disclosed in NPFD’s proxy, so pay‑for‑performance linkages, TSR, revenue, or EBITDA growth tied to her compensation are not available in fund documents .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Managing Director and Assistant Secretary | Since 2017; officer of NPFD since 2022 | Legal and corporate secretary responsibilities supporting governance across the Nuveen closed‑end funds . |
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), TIAA Separate Account VA‑1, TIAA‑CREF Funds, TIAA‑CREF Life Funds | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Associate GC/Assistant Secretary since 2014 | Legal, regulatory, and governance oversight for registered products under TIAA/Nuveen . |
| Teacher Advisors, LLC and TIAA‑CREF Investment Management, LLC | Managing Director; Associate General Counsel; Assistant Secretary | Managing Director since 2017; Associate GC/Assistant Secretary since 2011 | Legal and compliance leadership supporting investment management operations . |
| Nuveen, LLC and TIAA | Managing Director | Since 2017 | Enterprise legal leadership within parent organization(s) of the Adviser . |
External Roles
None disclosed in NPFD proxy statements for Zufall .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fund‑paid officer cash compensation | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Officers of the Funds receive no compensation from the Funds; compensation is paid by the Adviser, with only CCO incentive reimbursement noted . |
| Base salary (Adviser‑paid) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) pays officer compensation; NPFD proxy does not disclose amounts . |
| Bonus/annual incentive (Adviser‑paid) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed in NPFD proxy . |
| Perquisites/benefits | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed in NPFD proxy . |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | — | — | — | — | — |
| NPFD proxies do not disclose officer performance metrics or variable compensation structures; only independent board member compensation is detailed . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Individual beneficial ownership (Zufall) | Not disclosed in NPFD proxy | As of Dec 31, 2024 / Feb 18, 2025 . |
| Board members and executive officers as a group (NPFD) | Less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund | Feb 18, 2025 . |
| NPFD shares outstanding (Common) | 24,164,141 | Record date Feb 18, 2025 . |
| NPFD Preferred (TFP Series A) outstanding | 85,000 | Record date Feb 18, 2025 . |
| Stock ownership guidelines / pledging | Not disclosed for officers in NPFD proxy | — . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Position | Vice President and Assistant Secretary | . |
| Year of birth | 1973 | . |
| Start of officer service in Nuveen fund complex | Since 2022 | . |
| Election/term | Officers are elected annually by the Board; term is indefinite until successors are elected and qualified | . |
| Compensation source | Paid by Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA); Funds reimburse portion of CCO incentive only | . |
| Non‑compete / severance / change‑of‑control | Not disclosed in NPFD proxy | . |
Investment Implications
- Compensation alignment and trading signals: NPFD does not pay officers; compensation is at the Adviser level and undisclosed in fund proxies, limiting pay‑for‑performance assessment and reducing direct fund‑level trading signals tied to officer incentives .
- Insider selling pressure: Individual officer holdings (including Zufall) are not disclosed; the group (board + executive officers) holds under 1% of NPFD, suggesting limited aggregate insider selling pressure at the fund level .
- Retention risk: Officers are elected annually with indefinite terms and broad enterprise responsibilities (MD/Associate GC across TIAA/Nuveen), indicating stability of role; lack of disclosed severance/change‑of‑control terms prevents quantifying retention economics .
- Governance context: Zufall’s role is legal/secretarial within a unitary board structure with extensive committee oversight; board compensation and meeting cadence are robust, but officer compensation detail is outside the fund and not disclosed here .