Nuveen CEO Minaya Steps Down, President Huffman Takes Role

TIAA’s $1.2 trillion asset management arm Nuveen has a new CEO, according to an announcement Thursday.

Jose Minaya, who has been head of the division for four years, has stepped down from the role and will be leaving the firm July 11 to “pursue other opportunities outside of Nuveen,” according to a spokesperson.

He is succeeded by William Huffman, currently president of Nuveen asset management and head of equities and fixed income. Huffman, who has been with the firm for over 16 years, will also chair the Nuveen executive leadership team and serve on TIAA’s executive committee, according to the announcement.

William Huffman

In his prior role, Huffman managed the business across areas including equities, fixed income, municipal bonds, multi-asset and private capital.

“Bill’s constant dedication to the best interests of clients and the advancement of the firm’s strategy have had a transformative impact on Nuveen’s business and culture, driving growth and innovation over the last 16 years,” TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett said in a statement. “We are grateful for all of Jose’s contributions and wish him every success in the future.”

Huffman has played a “key role” in growing Nuveen’s AUM from $800 billion when TIAA acquired it in 2014 to the current $1.2 trillion today, the announcement noted. He also played a role in “significant acquisitions.” In 2023, Nuveen acquired Arcmont Asset Management, a European private debt investment manager, and a 12,000-unit affordable housing portfolio, an area of growth for the division.

“We will continue to succeed by reinforcing our position as a market leader in fixed income, delivering enhanced public market and alternative capabilities to clients, and investing in our wealth and institutional businesses in key segments including insurance and retirement,” Huffman said in a statement. “An increased international presence will enable Nuveen to serve clients in new ways, building on the strong foundation of our diverse and stable business.”

Prior to joining Nuveen, Huffman was CEO of Northern Trust Global Investments Ltd.

The firm had about $1 trillion in AUM when outgoing CEO Minaya started in 2020, according to releases from that time.

He had climbed through the ranks of TIAA, where he started as a fixed-income portfolio manager, to be named president and chief investment officer of Nuveen in 2017. He started his career at J.P. Morgan Chase and also spent time at Merrill, which is now owned by Bank of America.

Nuveen’s TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index target-date funds ranked ninth among the largest defined contribution investment only TDFs by assets with $23 billion as of year-end 2022, according to the most recent PLANADVISER DCIO Survey. Nuveen also ranked fifth for the number of DCIO funds available on recordkeeping platforms, with 122 funds.

TIAA/Nuveen has recently been active in the defined contribution retirement space with a target-date fund that includes an annuity designed to provide participants with steady retirement income.

TIAA has seen net new U.S. fund flows this year of $262.9 million through May, excluding fund of funds and money market funds, which significantly lags net inflows for other leading asset managers such as Vanguard ($96.9 billion), BlackRock ($63.2 billion) and Fidelity Investments ($61 billion), according to Simfund, which, like PLANADVISER, is owned by ISS STOXX.

That is coming off two years of net outflows, with TIAA seeing outflows of $11.7 billion in 2023 and $14.8 billion in 2022, according to the market intelligence provider.