SHARETIAA-CREF operates one of the largest fixed-income portfolios in the United States today. The core work of our fixed-income area supports TIAA’s General Account, which had invested assets totaling more than $184 billion as of December 31, 2009.
As with TIAA-CREF’s equity investments, expert analysis underlies all of our investments in the fixed-income area. We scrutinize the fundamentals of each issuer, while closely monitoring global credit markets. Our fixed-income holdings cover the full range of corporate and government bonds, including municipal and asset-backed securities.
Our long-term approach enables us to hold investments for extended periods. By doing so, our goal is to achieve superior returns from less liquid investments that other money managers might have to avoid. Our participants and investors benefit from our size, as well as other advantages our prominent market role affords us.
Because TIAA-CREF is one of the largest institutional investors, we enjoy substantial economies of scale that help us control expenses. In addition, our market clout gives us favorable rates on our execution of trades, advantageous new issue allocations and rapid, complete access to information about new issues. Over the years, we have found that having a strong equity team working side-by-side with a strong fixed-income team gives us a crucial edge in adding value for our investors.
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