Nuveen has added direct real estate investments to target-date fund series, the TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Funds, Nuveen announced Wednesday.
The offering provides direct access to commercial real estate in target-date mutual funds to provide diversification and reduce risk, says Nuveen, a global investment firm.
The real estate investments for the fund series will be made through TH Real Estate, a manager of real estate investments for institutional investors. TIAA Investments manages the TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Funds.
The real estate allocation of the TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Fund series will typically range between 1 percent and 5 percent of each portfolio's assets. The funds will focus on institutional-quality U.S. commercial real estate investments, primarily in office, industrial, retail and multifamily residential properties.
While real estate allocations have long played an important role in the performance of defined benefit plan portfolios, they have been less accessible to defined contribution plan investors until now, Nuveen says.