Mutual funds
Simple, smart investing for what matters most
Mutual funds offer a convenient way to save with growth potential—whether you’re planning for retirement, buying a home, or building a rainy-day fund. It’s a smart, straightforward way to pursue your financial goals.
What are mutual funds?
A mutual fund is a collection of professionally selected stocks, bonds, cash or alternative investments grouped into one fund. They provide excellent diversification benefits, spreading risk across numerous securities—ideal for investors of all experience levels seeking growth and stability. Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a wide range of mutual funds.
TIAA mutual fund overview
A convenient, simple approach to investing
Pre-built diversification
Mutual funds are comprised of multiple investments in one fund. This can provide lower risk through diversification and lower costs for you.
Professional money management
We handle all the day-to-day decisions, such as buying, selling and researching investment opportunities for our actively managed funds.
Easy access to your money
Mutual funds allow you to buy and sell shares as well as convert your assets to cash with ease.
Mutual fund options
We offer an extensive selection of mutual funds to help you address your financial goals
Target date funds
Nuveen's target date or lifecycle funds offer diversified portfolios that automatically adjust as you age through retirement.
- Simple selection: Choose by retirement year
- Smart strategy: Balances market, inflation and longevity risks
- One investment: Complete diversification without complexity
Lifestyle funds
An alternative to individual mutual funds, lifestyle funds provide one diversified fund that matches your risk tolerance.
- Select your risk level: Choose a Nuveen Lifestyle Fund that matches your risk tolerance
- Maintain consistency: Your selected risk profile remains stable over time
- Balanced structure: Professional design prevents overexposure to any single asset class
Responsible investing
Responsible investment funds seek competitive returns while recognizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.
- Investment-driven: We prioritize long-term returns with ESG integration, while reducing risk
- Responsible leadership: Maximizing potential through responsible investment practices
- Dual impact: Meeting financial goals while creating positive change
Next steps
Get started investing in mutual funds
Open a TIAA IRA account
You can invest in Nuveen mutual funds by opening a new TIAA IRA.
Manage portfolio
Allocate your TIAA IRA by logging into your account.
Investment options for TIAA IRA
Explore the range of mutual funds available through a TIAA IRA account.
Open a TIAA brokerage account
You can invest in Nuveen mutual funds by opening a new TIAA brokerage account.
Manage portfolio
Build, navigate, and monitor your portfolio.
Mutual fund families available through TIAA brokerage
Explore the range of mutual funds available through a TIAA brokerage account.
Faq
What people ask us
What types of mutual funds can I trade through my TIAA Brokerage account?
TIAA Brokerage offers an array of mutual funds representing strategies for virtually every investment objective and risk profile. We offer mutual funds from many well-known fund families. This includes a variety of no-load funds for growth, income, income and growth, tax-exempt income and other financial objectives. A TIAA Brokerage consultant can show you how to use our online tools to find the funds that best match your investment goals.
What are the minimums for investing in mutual funds through a TIAA Brokerage account?
For No Transaction Fee (NTF) mutual funds, the minimum initial investment is the greater of $500 or the amount listed in the fund's prospectus. Additional investments follow the same minimum unless using systematic (automatic recurring) orders, which require only $100 minimum per transaction. Purchases below these minimums will incur transaction fees, and a short-term redemption fee applies for shares held less than three months. Additional information on redemption fees is included in each fund’s prospectus.
How do I select mutual funds and what tools and resources are available to help me?
TIAA offers multiple resources to help you select mutual funds that align with your investment goals. Our
When is the money from a mutual fund redemption available to trade or withdraw?
Proceeds from a mutual fund redemption (sale) are available to purchase another investment or withdraw on the day of settlement. Mutual funds settle between one and three business days, depending on the fund company and the fund type. Equity and bond funds tend to settle within one day (T+1) while commodity and other types of funds take up to three business days (T+3).
We’re here to help
Schedule a complimentary meeting with one of our team members or consultants, who will answer all your questions and advise on next steps.
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Diversification is a technique to help reduce risk. It is not guaranteed to protect against loss.
Lifecycle and Target date funds are a “fund of funds,” primarily invested in shares of other mutual funds. The fund’s investments are adjusted from more aggressive to more conservative over time as the target retirement date approaches. The principal value of a target-date fund isn’t guaranteed at any time, including at the target-date, and will fluctuate with market changes. The target date represents an approximate date when investors may plan to begin withdrawing from the fund. However, you are not required to withdraw the funds at that target date. After the target date has been reached, some of your money may be merged into a fund with more stable asset allocation. Also, please note that the target-date fund is selected for you based on your projected retirement date (assuming a retirement age of 65). Life Cycle/Target Date funds share the risks associated with the types of securities held by each of the underlying funds in which they invest. In addition to the fees and expenses associated with the target-date funds, there is exposure to the fees and expenses associated with the underlying mutual funds as well.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC, distributes securities products. SIPC only protects customers' securities and cash held in brokerage accounts. Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY. Each is solely responsible for its own financial condition and contractual obligations.
Responsible investing incorporates Environmental Social Governance (ESG) factors that may affect exposure to issuers, sectors, industries, limiting the type and number of investment opportunities available, which could result in excluding investments that perform well. Diversification is a technique to help reduce risk. There is no guarantee that diversification will protect against a loss of income.
This material is for informational or educational purposes only and is not fiduciary investment advice, or a securities, investment strategy, or insurance product recommendation. This material does not consider an individual’s own objectives or circumstances which should be the basis of any investment decision.
Advisory services are provided by Advice & Planning Services, a division of TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser.