Fund Evaluator:
Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier (TSTPX)
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Fund Details
Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier Overview
Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier (TSTPX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. Nuveen launched the fund in 2009.
The investment seeks current income. The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury and agency securities and investment-grade fixed-income investments with an average maturity or average lives of less than 5 years. It primarily invests in a broad range of investment-grade bonds and fixed-income securities, including, but not limited to, U.S. government securities, corporate bonds and mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities.
About Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier (TSTPX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 10.98 years: Peter Agrimson (2019), Richard Cheng (2011). 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 Govt/Credit 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier has 292 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 31.6% 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 Short Term Bond Premier is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier has 10.3% 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 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 91.7% (81.4% domestic bond, 10.3% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier has 8.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $2 million in total assets, which is below the $904 million average for the Short-Term 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.
TSTPX 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 Short Term Bond Premier expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier has an expense ratio of 0.41%, which is 38% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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 Short Term Bond Premier has a portfolio turnover rate of 189%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 135% for the Short-Term Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nuveen Short Term Bond Premier returned 0.2%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Short-Term Bond category had an average return of -0.0%. 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 Short Term Bond Premier has a trailing yield of 4.20%, which is above the 4.16% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly 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 Short Term Bond Premier Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 1.2%, 0.3 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 3.6% over the past year (grade of B), 5.0% over the past three years (grade of C) and 2.7% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 2.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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TSTPX 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 |
|
| TSTPX Return (NAV) | 0.2% | 0.5% | 3.6% | 5.0% | 2.7% | 2.4% |
| TSTPX Grade | A | B | B | C | B | B |
| +/- Category | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.1% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | -0.0% | 0.3% | 3.4% | 5.0% | 2.2% | 2.3% |
| TSTPX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.7% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.1% |
TSTPX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| TSTPX Return (NAV) | 1.2% | 5.7% | 5.0% | 5.3% | -3.0% | 0.0% | 3.3% | 4.2% | 1.3% | 1.7% | 1.9% |
| TSTPX Grade | B | C | C | D | A | B | D | D | B | C | C |
| +/- Category | 0.3% | -0.1% | 0.1% | -0.3% | 2.0% | 0.1% | -0.9% | -0.6% | 0.6% | -0.1% | -0.6% |
| Short-Term Bond Avg | 0.9% | 5.9% | 4.9% | 5.6% | -5.0% | -0.0% | 4.2% | 4.8% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 2.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 1.6% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.13 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.82 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Grade: | B (31% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.26 |
| R-Squared: | 86% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 4.2% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Monthly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $1751 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 2 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 189% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 15.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 11.0 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Cheng Richard (2011), Agrimson Peter (2019) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 292 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 31.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 10.3% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 81.4% |
| Foreign Bond: | 10.3% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 8.3% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Nuveen |
| Phone Number: | 800-257-8787 |
| Website: | www.tiaa.org |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | September 30, 2009 |
| 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 (%): | 0.41% ( Rating : Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.66% |
| Share Class: | Nuveen Short Term Bond R6 |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
