Fund Evaluator:
Nuveen Green Bond Premier (TGRLX)
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Best Performing in Intermediate Core-Plus Bond Over the Last Year
| 4.1% | Diamond Hill Core Plus Bond Y (DHNYX) |
| 3.9% | Diamond Hill Core Plus Bond I (DHNIX) |
| 3.7% | Diamond Hill Core Plus Bond Investor (DHNAX) |
| 3.5% | Weitz Core Plus Income Investor (WCPNX) |
| 3.4% | Nuveen Core Plus Bond I (TCBHX) |
Fund Details
Nuveen Green Bond Premier Overview
Nuveen Green Bond Premier (TGRLX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Intermediate Core-Plus Bond fund. Nuveen launched the fund in 2018.
The investment seeks total return, primarily through current income, while giving special consideration to certain environmental criteria. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in bonds. For these purposes, bonds include fixed-income securities of all types. Generally, the fund's advisor intends to invest in bonds issued by both domestic and foreign issuers; including foreign issuers from emerging market countries. While the fund's investments will generally be denominated in U.S. dollars, the fund may also invest in non-dollar denominated instruments.
About Nuveen Green Bond Premier (TGRLX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.71 years: Jessica Zarzycki (2018), Stephen Liberatore (2018). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg MSCI US Green Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen Green Bond Premier has 252 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 13.5% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Nuveen Green Bond Premier is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Nuveen Green Bond Premier has 21.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 1.5% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 94.4% (73.1% domestic bond, 21.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nuveen Green Bond Premier has 1.4% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $901 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
TGRLX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Nuveen Green Bond Premier expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category. Nuveen Green Bond Premier has an expense ratio of 0.57%, which is 27% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Nuveen Green Bond Premier has a portfolio turnover rate of 31%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 181% for the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen Green Bond Premier returned -0.9%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Intermediate Core-Plus Bond category had an average return of -1.3%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Nuveen Green Bond Premier has a trailing yield of 4.16%, which is below the 4.36% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Nuveen Green Bond Premier Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 0.1%, 0.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 2.9% over the past year (grade of C), 4.4% over the past three years (grade of B) and 0.0% per year over the past five years (grade of B).
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TGRLX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| TGRLX Return (NAV) | -0.9% | -0.2% | 2.9% | 4.4% | 0.0% | na |
| TGRLX Grade | A | A | C | B | B | na |
| +/- Category | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | na |
| Intermediate Core-Plus Bond Avg | -1.3% | -0.7% | 2.7% | 4.2% | -0.2% | 1.8% |
| TGRLX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.5% | na |
TGRLX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TGRLX Return (NAV) | 0.1% | 6.6% | 2.9% | 6.3% | -13.1% | -0.7% | 8.5% | 8.8% | na | na | na |
| TGRLX Grade | A | F | B | C | B | C | C | D | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 0.7% | -0.8% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 0.3% | -0.1% | -0.1% | -0.4% | na | na | na |
| Intermediate Core-Plus Bond Avg | -0.6% | 7.3% | 2.3% | 6.1% | -13.4% | -0.6% | 8.6% | 9.1% | -0.9% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 4.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.36 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.78 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (5% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.77 |
| R-Squared: | 98% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | |
| Total Assets: | $206 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 1 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 31% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Zarzycki Jessica (2018), Liberatore Stephen (2018) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 252 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 13.5% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 21.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 1.5% |
| Domestic Bond: | 73.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 21.3% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 2.6% |
| Cash: | 1.4% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 800-257-8787 |
| Website: | www.tiaa.org |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | November 16, 2018 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | 0.15% |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.57% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.78% |
| Share Class: | Nuveen Green Bond R6 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
