Marc Cardella
About Marc Cardella
Marc Cardella (born 1984) serves as Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) of Nuveen Municipal Credit Income Fund (NZF), with an indefinite term and length of service since 2024 . He is Senior Managing Director and Head of Public Investment Finance at Nuveen and holds senior finance roles across Nuveen/TIAA affiliates; he also serves as Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, and Treasurer of TIAA Separate Account VA-1 and the College Retirement Equities Fund . As PFO of NZF, Cardella signed the fund’s Section 302 and 906 SOX certifications for the period ended April 30, 2025, indicating responsibility for disclosure controls and financial reporting integrity . Officers receive no compensation from the Fund and are compensated by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA), so fund-level pay-for-performance linkages are not disclosed in NZF filings .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes/Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuveen | Senior Managing Director; Head of Public Investment Finance | Past 5 years (disclosed as current as of 2025) | Leads public investment finance; senior finance leadership at Nuveen |
| Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of 2025) | Senior finance leadership within fund adviser |
| Nuveen Asset Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of 2025) | Senior finance leadership within asset management affiliate |
| Teachers Advisors, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of 2025) | Senior role at TIAA asset management affiliate |
| TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC | Senior Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of 2025) | Senior role at TIAA investment management affiliate |
| Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America | Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of 2025) | Senior role at TIAA insurance entity |
| TIAA SMA Strategies LLC | Managing Director | Past 5 years (current as of 2025) | Senior role at TIAA SMA affiliate |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TIAA Separate Account VA-1 | Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer | Current as of 2025 | Officer roles at related TIAA vehicle |
| College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) | Principal Financial Officer, Principal Accounting Officer, Treasurer | Current as of 2025 | Officer roles at related TIAA vehicle |
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Detail |
|---|---|
| Fund-paid compensation | Officers receive no compensation from the Funds |
| Employer of record | Compensation paid by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA); Funds have no employees |
| Base salary | Not disclosed in NZF filings (officer comp paid by Adviser) |
| Bonus/variable pay | Not disclosed in NZF filings (officer comp paid by Adviser); as a structural example, the Fund reimburses the Adviser for an allocable portion of the CCO’s incentive compensation |
| Pension/SERP/Perquisites | Not disclosed in NZF filings (officer comp paid by Adviser) |
Performance Compensation
| Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual | Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not disclosed by NZF; officers are compensated by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Notes | No fund-level executive compensation metrics, targets, or vesting schedules are disclosed for officers |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Filing/As-Of | Title of Security | Amount Owned | Ownership Form | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form 3 (Event: 12/02/2024; Filed: 12/03/2024) | Common Shares | 0 | — | “No securities are beneficially owned.” |
| As of 6/20/2025 (Proxy) | Fund shares (group) | <1% by Board Members and executive officers as a group | — | Group beneficial ownership of each Fund’s outstanding shares is less than 1% |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position | Vice President and Controller (Principal Financial Officer) |
| Term of office | Indefinite; elected by the Board; length of service since 2024 |
| SOX certifications | Signed Section 302 certification for April 30, 2025 period; signed Section 906 certification (filed July 7, 2025) |
| Clawback | N-CSR Item 18 “Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation”: Not applicable |
| Section 16(a) compliance | Fund states Board Members and officers complied with applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements during the last fiscal year |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance linkage at the Fund level is limited: officers receive no compensation from NZF and are paid by the Adviser (Nuveen/TIAA), with no officer-specific salary/bonus/equity detail or performance metrics disclosed by NZF, reducing visibility into incentive alignment with NZF performance .
- Alignment via share ownership appears minimal: Cardella’s Form 3 reported zero beneficial ownership at appointment and no securities beneficially owned; the Board Members and executive officers as a group owned less than 1% of outstanding shares as of June 20, 2025, suggesting low insider ownership and limited insider selling pressure from vesting .
- Execution and control environment: As PFO, Cardella signed the Fund’s SOX 302/906 certifications for the April 30, 2025 period, indicating direct accountability for disclosure controls and financial reporting integrity—a positive indicator for reporting quality .
- Governance/recoupment: The Fund’s N-CSR indicates “Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation” is not applicable; while consistent with fund structure (officers not paid by the Fund), it provides no fund-level clawback recourse for officer pay .
- Compliance/process: The Fund reports compliance with Section 16(a) filing requirements by Board Members and officers in the last fiscal year, reducing regulatory risk related to insider reporting .