Brett E. Black
About Brett E. Black
Brett E. Black (born 1972) serves as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) for NUW’s fund complex; he has served as an officer since 2022 and is a Managing Director and CCO at Nuveen . Prior to Nuveen, he was Vice President (2014–2022), Chief Compliance Officer and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer (2017–2022) at BMO Funds, Inc. . The NUW proxy does not disclose his education, individual performance metrics, or personal pay outcomes; officers receive no compensation from the Funds and the CCO’s compensation (base plus incentive) is paid by the Adviser, with Board review/input .
Officers receive no compensation from the Funds; the CCO’s compensation (base + incentive) is paid by the Adviser, and the Funds reimburse an allocable portion of the Adviser’s cost of the CCO’s incentive compensation .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Managing Director; Chief Compliance Officer (current) | Since 2022–Present | Enterprise compliance leadership for fund complex; officer of NUW funds . |
| BMO Funds, Inc. | Vice President; Chief Compliance Officer; AML Compliance Officer | 2014–2022 (CCO/AMLCO 2017–2022) | Led registered fund compliance and AML program . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed in NUW proxy | — | — | The NUW proxy lists principal occupation and officer status; no external board roles for Mr. Black are disclosed . |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Latest Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | Not disclosed | CCO compensation is paid by the Adviser, not directly by the Funds . |
| Target Bonus (%) | Not disclosed | The Funds reimburse an allocable portion of the Adviser’s cost of the CCO’s incentive compensation . |
| Actual Bonus Paid ($) | Not disclosed | Incentive compensation exists; amounts and formula not disclosed in the Fund proxy . |
| Fund-Paid Amounts | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds | Board provides review/input on CCO compensation paid by Adviser . |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
- The Board’s Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight Committee (Compliance Committee) receives written and oral reports from the CCO and meets privately with the CCO each quarter, indicating structured oversight of the compliance program and risk-related outcomes .
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Brett E. Black | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (shares) | Not disclosed | The proxy provides aggregate ownership by Board Members and officers, not individual officer holdings . |
| Ownership as % of shares outstanding | Not disclosed | As of the record dates, Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of each Fund . |
| Vested vs unvested | Not disclosed | No breakdown disclosed for officers . |
| Options (exercisable/unexercisable, value) | Not disclosed | No option disclosures for officers . |
| Shares pledged as collateral | Not disclosed | No pledging disclosures for officers . |
| Stock ownership guidelines (officers) | Not disclosed | Board Members are expected to invest at least one year of compensation in Nuveen funds; this principle is stated for Board Members, not officers . |
| Group beneficial ownership in NUW (AMT-Free Value) | 0 shares for Board Members and officers as a group | Appendix A-3 shows “All Board Members/Nominees and Officers as a Group” holdings by fund; NUW group holdings were 0 . |
Employment Terms
| Term Element | Disclosure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employment start date / Length of service | “Since 2022” as officer of the Funds | Listed in officer table for NUW funds . |
| Term of office | Indefinite; officers are elected annually by the Board and serve until successors are elected and qualified | Governance continuity with annual election . |
| Contract term length / expiration | Not disclosed | Only officer election terms are disclosed . |
| Auto-renewal clause | Not disclosed | — |
| Non-compete / geography & industry scope | Not disclosed | — |
| Non-solicit provisions | Not disclosed | — |
| Garden leave | Not disclosed | — |
| Post-termination consulting | Not disclosed | — |
| Clawbacks / tax gross-ups | Not disclosed | Officer comp terms beyond Adviser-paid structure are not detailed in proxy . |
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Direct pay-for-performance alignment at the Fund level is limited because officers receive no compensation from the Funds; the CCO’s compensation (base plus incentive) is paid by the Adviser and only a portion of incentive cost is reimbursed by the Funds . This structure reduces direct linkage between NUW share performance and Mr. Black’s compensation outcomes.
- Oversight and retention: The Compliance Committee’s quarterly private sessions with the CCO and ongoing written/oral reporting indicate strong governance oversight of compliance and risk—supportive for institutional confidence and potentially reducing execution risk in compliance operations .
- Insider selling pressure: Aggregate beneficial ownership by Board Members and officers is less than 1% of outstanding shares, and the group held 0 NUW shares as of May 31, 2025—suggesting minimal potential insider selling pressure impacting NUW stock .
- Disclosure gaps: Key compensation levers (salary, bonus targets, performance metrics, vesting, severance/change-of-control provisions, hedging/pledging) are not disclosed for Mr. Black in the NUW proxy, limiting pay-for-performance analysis and severance economics assessment .
- Section 16 compliance: The Funds report that Board Members and officers complied with applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements, supporting governance discipline; no individual Form 4 activity for Mr. Black is disclosed in the proxy .