Fund Evaluator:
Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R (TIKRX)
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Best Performing in Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R Overview
Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R (TIKRX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond fund. Nuveen launched the fund in 2006.
The investment seeks to provide inflation protection and income, primarily through investment in inflation-linked bonds. The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in fixed-income securities whose principal value increases or decreases based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers ("CPI-U"), over the life of the security. Typically, it will invest in U.S. Treasury Inflation-Indexed Securities ("TIIS"). Under most circumstances, the fund's investments in inflation-linked bonds of foreign issuers are generally less than 20% of its assets.
About Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R (TIKRX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.18 years: Chad Kemper (2019), Peter Agrimson (2023). 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 US Trsy Infl Note 1-10Y TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R has 47 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 44.6% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R has 0.0% 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 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 100.0% (100.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R has 0.0% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $98 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Short-Term Inflation-Protected 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.
TIKRX 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 Inflation Link Bd R expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category. Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R has an expense ratio of 0.50%, which is 3% 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 Inflation Link Bd R has a portfolio turnover rate of 27%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 63% for the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R returned -0.2%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond category had an average return of 0.1%. 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 Inflation Link Bd R has a trailing yield of 4.49%, which is below the 4.56% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains annually.
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 Inflation Link Bd R Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.0%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 2.8% over the past year (grade of D), 4.4% over the past three years (grade of F) and 1.5% per year over the past five years (grade of F) and 2.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).
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TIKRX 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 |
|
| TIKRX Return (NAV) | -0.2% | -0.7% | 2.8% | 4.4% | 1.5% | 2.5% |
| TIKRX Grade | F | F | D | F | F | F |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.9% | -0.6% |
| Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond Avg | 0.1% | -0.3% | 3.0% | 4.8% | 2.4% | 3.1% |
| TIKRX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.8% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
TIKRX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TIKRX Return (NAV) | 1.0% | 6.8% | 3.0% | 4.0% | -7.4% | 5.0% | 7.8% | 6.3% | -0.7% | 1.5% | 3.4% |
| TIKRX Grade | F | B | F | D | F | F | B | B | D | B | C |
| +/- Category | -0.4% | 0.5% | -1.3% | -0.2% | -2.4% | -1.5% | 1.8% | 0.8% | -0.3% | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| Short-Term Inflation-Protected Bond Avg | 1.4% | 6.3% | 4.3% | 4.2% | -5.0% | 6.5% | 6.1% | 5.5% | -0.4% | 1.2% | 4.0% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 3.1% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.26 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.41 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (95% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.49 |
| R-Squared: | 78% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.5% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $3257 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 98 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Retirement |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 27% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 7.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 5.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Kemper Chad (2019), Agrimson Peter (2023) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 47 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 44.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 100.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.0% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 800-257-8787 |
| Website: | www.tiaa.org |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | March 31, 2006 |
| 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: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.50% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.52% |
| Share Class: | Nuveen Inflation Link Bd R6 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
