TIAA-CREF Launches Social Choice Bond Fund

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TIAA-CREF today announced the launch of the Social Choice Bond Fund (TSBIX, TSBBX, TSBRX, TSBPX) an actively managed, socially responsible, core fixed-income mutual fund.

“We continue to see interest from our clients in fixed income investment options that provide the opportunity for competitive returns and reflect their values”

The Social Choice Bond Fund will provide clients the ability to continue to align their investments with their values by giving consideration to environmental, social and governance guidelines. Investments primarily include U.S. Government securities, corporate bonds, taxable municipal securities and mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities. The fund’s benchmark is the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.

In addition, the fund targets 10 percent of fund investments to fixed-income securities considered to be “proactive social investments”. These investments provide funding for organizations or projects with positive social and environmental benefits in addition to competitive risk-adjusted returns. The proactive social investments will focus on four thematic areas: affordable housing, community and economic development, renewable energy and climate change, and natural resources.

“We continue to see interest from our clients in fixed income investment options that provide the opportunity for competitive returns and reflect their values,” said Stephen M. Liberatore, CFA, portfolio manager of the TIAA-CREF Social Choice Bond Fund. “The Social Choice Bond Fund provides our clients with a new socially responsible investment option.”

Liberatore has more than 17 years of total-return fixed-income portfolio management experience. He is supported by sector portfolio managers Steven Raab and Joseph Higgins and TIAA-CREF’s team of more than 40 fixed income research analysts. Libertore also manages the fixed-income allocation of the CREF Social Choice Account - a socially screened, balanced variable annuity account.

TIAA-CREF’s Global Social and Community Investing team manages the development, enhancement and oversight of the criteria used to establish the eligible investment universe for each of TIAA-CREF’s socially responsible investment products. The evaluation process favors investments with a best in class record on environmental, social and corporate governance issues.

Professionally managed socially responsible investing (SRI) assets continue to expand faster than conventional assets under management, according to data compiled by the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (USSIF). The total amount of assets under management using one or more SRI strategies climbed above $3 trillion in 2010. Further, 84 percent of retirement plan sponsors predict that the demand for SRI options will increase of remain steady over the next five years².

TIAA-CREF is one of the largest managers of socially responsible assets with approximately $13 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2012. The company’s commitment to SRI spans nearly 40 years and includes socially responsible investment products, shareholder advocacy, and community investments.

TIAA-CREF was among the first asset managers to engage with companies on social issues beginning in the 1970s. The CREF Social Choice Account was among the first products to allow individual clients access to socially responsible investments in their retirement plans at its launch in 1990. Today it is among the largest products of its kind available in the United States³ with more than $10 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2012. TIAA-CREF also offers the TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund (TICRX, TRSCX, TISCX, TRPSX), a socially responsible equity mutual fund.

The Social Choice Bond Fund’s retail class shares are available for purchase through certain financial intermediaries or by contacting the fund directly at 800-223-1200 or www.tiaa-cref.org. Retirement and premier class shares are generally available for purchase through employee benefit plans or other types of savings plans or accounts such as TIAA-CREF IRAs. Institutional class shares are available for purchase directly from TIAA-CREF by certain eligible investors or through financial intermediaries.

About TIAA-CREF

TIAA-CREF (www.tiaa-cref.org) is a national financial services organization with $481 billion in assets under management (as of 6/30/12) and is the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877 518-9161, or go to tiaa-cref.org for a current prospectus that contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.

Annuity contracts and certificates are issued by Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) and College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), New York, NY.

Investment, insurance and annuity products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, are not bank deposits, are not insured by any federal government agency, are not a condition to any banking service or activity, and may lose value.

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¹ Social Investment Forum, 2010 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States.

² Opportunities for Sustainable and Responsible Investing in US Defined Contribution Plans, USSIF Foundation – September 2011

³ Social Investment Forum, 2010 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States. Based on assets under management among mutual funds and variable annuities that screen across multiple environmental, social and governance criteria (versus those that apply only product-specific screens such as alcohol and tobacco; among all mutual funds and variable annuity accounts categorized as "socially and environmentally screened," CREF Social Choice was the fourth largest).