Fund Evaluator:
Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I (TLSHX)
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Fund Details
Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I Overview
Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I (TLSHX) is an actively managed Allocation Global Moderately Conservative Allocation fund. Nuveen launched the fund in 2015.
The investment seeks long-term total return, consisting of current income and capital appreciation. The fund is a "fund of funds" that invests in Class R6 shares of other funds of the Trust and in other investment pools or investment products. It generally seeks to meet the fund's investment objective by investing: (1) approximately 40% of the fund's assets in equity underlying funds and (2) approximately 60% of the fund's assets in fixed-income underlying funds. It may deviate from these target allocations by up to ten percentage points depending upon current market conditions and outlook.
About Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I (TLSHX)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.11 years: Steve Sedmak (2020), Jeff Sun (2025), John Cunniff (2011). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I has 19 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 88.4% 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 Lifestyle Conservative I is part of the Allocation global asset class and is within the Allocation fund group. Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I has 20.9% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 25.8%. There is 13.9% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.7% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 56.8% (49.8% domestic bond, 7.0% foreign bond and 0.1% convertible bond). Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I has 2.7% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $3 million in total assets, which is below the $304 million average for the Global Moderately Conservative Allocation 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.
TLSHX 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 Lifestyle Conservative I expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Global Moderately Conservative Allocation category. Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I has an expense ratio of 0.58%, which is 41% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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 Lifestyle Conservative I has a portfolio turnover rate of 13%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 50% for the Global Moderately Conservative Allocation category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative I returned -0.6%, which earned it a grade of C, as the Global Moderately Conservative Allocation category had an average return of -0.5%. 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 Lifestyle Conservative I has a trailing yield of 3.02%, which is below the 3.07% 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 Lifestyle Conservative I Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.9%, 1.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 9.8% over the past year (grade of D), 9.2% over the past three years (grade of B) and 4.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 6.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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TLSHX 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 |
|
| TLSHX Return (NAV) | -0.6% | 1.2% | 9.8% | 9.2% | 4.3% | 6.1% |
| TLSHX Grade | C | D | D | B | B | A |
| +/- Category | -0.2% | -0.3% | -1.1% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Global Moderately Conservative Allocation Avg | -0.5% | 1.5% | 10.9% | 9.1% | 3.9% | 5.4% |
| TLSHX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.8% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 1.5% |
TLSHX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TLSHX Return (NAV) | 3.9% | 12.0% | 8.2% | 12.6% | -13.7% | 6.4% | 12.0% | 15.5% | -4.6% | 12.2% | 5.4% |
| TLSHX Grade | F | B | A | A | C | F | A | B | C | A | D |
| +/- Category | -1.2% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 2.2% | -0.2% | -1.1% | 3.1% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 1.5% | -0.7% |
| Global Moderately Conservative Allocation Avg | 5.1% | 11.6% | 7.3% | 10.4% | -13.5% | 7.5% | 8.9% | 15.0% | -4.8% | 10.7% | 6.1% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.9% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.56 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.93 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (32% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.72 |
| R-Squared: | 97% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Large-Cap Blend |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Moderate Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 3.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $317 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 4 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 13% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 14.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.1 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Cunniff John (2011), Sedmak Steve (2020), Sun Jeff (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 19 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 88.4% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 20.9% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 25.8% |
| Foreign Stock: | 13.9% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.7% |
| Domestic Bond: | 49.8% |
| Foreign Bond: | 7.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.1% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 2.7% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 800-257-8787 |
| Website: | www.tiaa.org |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 4, 2015 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $100,000 |
| 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 (%): | 0.58% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.98% |
| Share Class: | Nuveen Lifestyle Conservative R6 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
