John M. McCann
About John M. McCann
John M. McCann (year of birth: 1975) serves as Vice President and Assistant Secretary of Nuveen Municipal Credit Income Fund (NZF), an officer role he has held since 2022. He is Senior Managing Director and Division General Counsel of Nuveen, and holds senior legal and secretary roles across Nuveen Fund Advisors, Nuveen Asset Management, Teachers Advisors, TIAA-CREF Investment Management, and other TIAA/Nuveen affiliates; officers of the Funds receive no compensation from the Funds and are employees of the adviser (Nuveen) . Officers are elected by the Board on an annual basis to serve until successors are elected and qualified, with terms listed as indefinite in the proxy .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen/TIAA (prior periods, not individually dated) | Various positions with Nuveen/TIAA | Pre-2020s (unspecified) | Progressive legal and governance responsibilities across the Nuveen/TIAA complex supporting fund governance and regulatory compliance . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen (parent legal org) | Senior Managing Director, Division General Counsel | Past 5 years (current) | Oversees divisional legal matters supporting fund governance and adviser oversight . |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director, General Counsel and Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | General counsel/secretary for the funds’ adviser; supports fund compliance and board processes . |
| Nuveen Asset Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Investment adviser affiliate legal support . |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | TIAA affiliate legal support . |
| TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | TIAA asset management affiliate legal support . |
| TIAA SMA Strategies LLC | Managing Director and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Legal/secretary role for TIAA SMA entity . |
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Governance/legal administration for CREF . |
| TIAA Separate Account VA-1 (VA-1) | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Governance/legal administration for VA-1 . |
| TIAA-CREF Funds; TIAA-CREF Life Funds | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Registered fund governance/legal support . |
| Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Insurance parent governance/legal support . |
| Nuveen Alternative Advisors LLC | Managing Director, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary | Past 5 years (current) | Alternatives platform governance/legal support . |
Fixed Compensation
- Officers receive no compensation from NZF; they are employees of Nuveen (the adviser). The proxy specifies: “The Funds have no employees. The officers of the Funds serve without any compensation from the Funds.” The CCO’s compensation is paid by the Adviser, with the Funds reimbursing an allocable portion of the CCO’s incentive compensation .
| Component | Amount/Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary (from NZF) | $0; officers receive no compensation from the Funds | |
| Target bonus % (from NZF) | Not applicable; not paid by the Fund | |
| Cash bonus actually paid (from NZF) | Not applicable; not paid by the Fund | |
| Perquisites (from NZF) | Not disclosed by the Fund |
Performance Compensation
- No equity awards, options, or fund-level performance incentives are disclosed for fund officers; compensation is determined and paid by Nuveen/TIAA, not by the Fund. No officer-specific performance metrics (revenue growth, EBITDA, TSR, ESG) are tied to McCann at the fund level in the proxy .
| Incentive type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual incentive (Fund) | None disclosed for officers | — | — | — | — |
| RSUs/PSUs (Fund) | None disclosed for officers | — | — | — | — |
| Stock options (Fund) | None disclosed for officers | — | — | — | — |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Initial statement of beneficial ownership | Form 3 filed 04/21/2022 shows “No securities are beneficially owned.” (Officer: Vice President) . |
| Subsequent insider filings | No Forms 4 located for McCann in NZF’s docket; officer/board group Section 16 compliance affirmed in the proxy . |
| Officer/board aggregate ownership | As of May 31, 2025, Board Members and executive officers as a group beneficially owned less than 1% of outstanding shares of each Fund; group holdings in NZF (“Credit Income”) shown as 28,757 shares in Appendix A . |
| Pledging/hedging | No pledging disclosures specific to officers in the proxy; beneficial ownership for officers is presented at the group level, with individual officer positions not enumerated . |
| Ownership guidelines | The governance principle for investment by Board Members targets at least one year of compensation invested in the fund complex; this expectation applies to Board Members, not fund officers . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Position at NZF | Vice President and Assistant Secretary . |
| Year of birth | 1975 . |
| Length of service as officer | Since 2022 . |
| Term of office | Indefinite; officers are elected annually by the Board to serve until successors are elected and qualified . |
| Employer of record | Nuveen (Fund has no employees) . |
| Severance/Change-of-control | Not disclosed by the Fund; officer compensation/terms are at the Adviser, not NZF . |
| Clawback/tax gross-ups | Not disclosed in NZF proxy for officers . |
| Non-compete/non-solicit | Not disclosed in NZF proxy for officers . |
| Section 16(a) compliance | Fund states Board Members and officers complied with applicable Section 16(a) requirements in the last fiscal year . |
Performance & Track Record
- Role scope: As Division General Counsel and a fund officer, McCann’s responsibilities are legal/governance-oriented rather than portfolio performance-driven; the Fund’s oversight of performance and risk is conducted via Independent Board committees (Audit; Compliance, Risk Management and Regulatory Oversight; Investment; Closed-End Funds Committee) per charters summarized in the proxy .
- Board/committee cadence illustrates robust governance: e.g., NZF’s last fiscal year showed regular and special board meetings and committee sessions as listed in Appendix C .
Compensation Structure Analysis
- At-risk vs fixed mix at fund level: None; officers receive no compensation from the Funds, so there is no fund-level cash/equity split or pay-for-performance alignment to NZF metrics disclosed .
- Equity award design: None disclosed for officers at the Fund; no vesting calendars, options, or PSUs/RSUs enumerated in NZF filings .
- Discretionary bonuses, repricings, or award modifications: Not applicable at the Fund level for officers; not disclosed .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Insider ownership/trading pressure: McCann’s Form 3 reported no beneficial ownership as of 04/14/2022, and no McCann Form 4s are present in the docket; this indicates low direct selling pressure signal at the NZF entity level .
- Section 16(a) status: The proxy reports compliance by Board Members and officers in the last fiscal year (mitigating governance risk around reporting) .
- Related party/conflicts: Officers are employees of the Adviser and serve across the Nuveen/TIAA complex; this shared-services model is standard for closed-end funds and disclosed in the proxy; no officer-specific related-party transactions are cited for NZF .
Say-on-Pay & Shareholder Feedback
- Not applicable to fund officers; independent Board compensation (not officers) is disclosed and paid by the Funds, with details of retainers and committee fees enumerated; officers receive no compensation from the Funds .
Investment Implications
- Alignment and incentives: Because officers are compensated by the adviser and not by NZF, there is limited direct pay-for-performance linkage to NZF’s market or NAV outcomes at the fund entity level; insider ownership for McCann was reported as zero at initial filing, reducing alignment but also reducing forced-selling risk tied to vesting calendars .
- Retention risk: Employment terms for officers reside with Nuveen/TIAA; no NZF-specific severance or change-of-control economics are disclosed, implying retention dynamics are driven by adviser policies, not fund-level agreements .
- Trading signals: Absence of McCann share ownership and lack of officer-level equity awards at NZF limit the utility of insider-based trading signals for this individual; governance oversight remains strong via independent committees and frequent meetings, which supports operational continuity rather than indicating directional trading catalysts .