Find out more and view the entire transition guide! (PDF) - TIAA-CREF

Northwestern Medical Faculty FoundationRETIREMENT PlanYour new retirement portfolioWhat typeof investorare you?To assist you in choosing your investment allocations, NMFF is now offeringseveral fund options within <strong>the</strong> investment menu to all plan participants.Through <strong>the</strong>se options, you have access to a wide array of competitivelyperforming investment options from Fidelity Investments, <strong>TIAA</strong>-<strong>CREF</strong><strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r leading investment managers. These options include:OPTION 1: Lifecycle FundsLifecycle Funds are professionally managed mutual funds designed for investors who wanta simple yet diversified approach to investing. With a Lifecycle Fund, you select <strong>the</strong> fundthat’s closest to your expected retirement date. The fund’s managers <strong>the</strong>n adjust <strong>the</strong> fund’sunderlying investments from <strong>more</strong> aggressive to <strong>more</strong> conservative as <strong>the</strong> target retirementdate approaches. As with all mutual funds, <strong>the</strong> principal value of a Lifecycle Fund isn’tguaranteed. Also, please note that <strong>the</strong> retirement date of <strong>the</strong> fund is an approximate datewhen investors may plan to begin withdrawing from <strong>the</strong> fund.You may want to consider this option if you prefer a “h<strong>and</strong>s-free” approach to investing<strong>and</strong> want to leave <strong>the</strong> portfolio allocation decisions to <strong>the</strong> fund’s professionalmanagement team.OPTION 2: Core Funds (Index <strong>and</strong> Active)Core Funds include several actively <strong>and</strong> passively managed mutual funds, which arepreselected within several different asset classes <strong>and</strong> that have performed consistentlyagainst <strong>the</strong>ir benchmarks <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir peer group. There are two types of core funds, Indexfunds <strong>and</strong> Active funds. Index funds are passively managed funds that use a style in which<strong>the</strong> fund’s portfolio mirrors a market index. Actively managed funds use a style in which <strong>the</strong>fund’s manager(s) attempt to <strong>out</strong>perform a given market index through various investmentstrategies <strong>and</strong> buying/selling of <strong>the</strong> fund’s securities.You may want to consider investing in this option if you believe <strong>the</strong>se funds offer goodlong-term growth opportunities for your portfolio.Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation | 3