TIAA Named One of 2021 World's Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute for the Seventh Consecutive Year

Recognition honors those companies that understand the importance of leading with integrity and making values-based decisions

NEW YORK, February 23rd, 2021 TIAA, the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural and government field, received its seventh consecutive annual recognition as one of the 2021 World's Most Ethical CompaniesOpens in a new window® by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

"For over a century, TIAA has been committed to fostering a culture that empowers our people to behave ethically and rewards them for their integrity," said David Nason, Chief Legal, Risk and Compliance Officer for TIAA. “This honor, received now for the seventh year in a row, is a true testament to employees around the world who act with our clients’ best interest in mind."

"This recognition bolsters our company's position as a purpose-driven organization, with a shared set of values that put our clients at the forefront," added Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., president and CEO of TIAA. "I am proud of my colleagues and their commitment to transparency, accountability and respect for our clients, while continually delivering success for our business."

This year, Ethisphere recognized 135 companies spanning 22 countries and 47 industries. TIAA was one of six financial services companies honored with the recognition

"While addressing the tough challenges of 2020, we saw companies lead – above all other institutions – on earning the trust of stakeholders through resilience and a commitment to ethics and integrity," said Ethisphere CEO, Timothy Erblich. "The World's Most Ethical Companies® honorees continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to the highest values and positively impacting the communities they serve. Congratulations to everyone at TIAA for earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies designation."

Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World's Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe.

The Ethisphere process expanded this year to gauge how companies have been adapting and responding to issues including the global health pandemic; environmental, social, and governance factors; employee safety; and social justice issues

About TIAA

With an award-winning1 track record for consistent investment performance, TIAA (TIAA.org) is the leading provider of financial services in the academic, research, medical, cultural and government fields. TIAA has $1.3 trillion in assets under management (as of 12/31/20202) and offers a wide range of financial solutions, including investing, banking, advice and education, and retirement services.

About the Ethisphere Institute

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.comOpens in a new window.

Press contact

John McCool
888-200-4062
media@tiaa.orgOpens Email

1 The Refinitiv Lipper Fund Awards are based on the Lipper Leader for Consistent Return rating, which is a risk-adjusted performance measure calculated over 36, 60 and 120 months. Lipper Leaders fund ratings do not constitute and are not intended to constitute investment advice or an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security of any entity in any jurisdiction. For more information, see lipperfundawards.com. Lipper Fund Awards from Refinitiv, ©2020 Refinitiv. All rights reserved. Used under license. The Award is based on a review of risk-adjusted performance of 39 companies for 2016, 36 for 2017, 35 for 2018 & 2019, and 30 for 2020. The award pertains only to the TIAA-CREF mutual funds in the mixed-asset category. Without such waivers ratings could be lower. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For current performance, rankings and prospectuses, please visit TIAA.org.

2 Based on approximately $1.3 trillion of assets under management across Nuveen affiliates and TIAA investment management teams as of 12/31/2020.