More Than 75% of TIAA-CREF Variable Annuities and Mutual Funds Outperform Their Morningstar Median
New York, December 15, 2008
TIAA-CREF, the financial services organization, announced today that newly released data from Morningstar shows that 76 percent of TIAA-CREF’s variable annuities and mutual funds within its fund complex1 rated by Morningstar exceeded their category median over the three-year period and 78 percent exceeded their category median over the five-year period ended November 30, 2008.2 In addition, data from Morningstar shows that 30% of TIAA-CREF’s variable annuities and mutual funds within its fund complex rated by Morningstar held overall ratings of four or five stars and none held overall ratings below three stars as of the same date.3
"The results underscore the value of TIAA-CREF’s long-term investment philosophy in an uncertain market," said Scott C. Evans, Executive Vice President and Head of Asset Management. "TIAA-CREF’s investment philosophy seeks to deliver consistent growth for investors year after year. While we believe in staying fully invested, regardless of the markets’ ups and downs, the Morningstar data shows that our variable annuity accounts and mutual funds are performing very well relative to peers."
Morningstar Mutual Funds, a monthly publication of Morningstar, Inc., rates mutual funds by assessing each fund’s historical total returns and risk relative to other mutual funds in its category as defined by Morningstar (i.e., Large Value, Large Growth, Mid Cap Growth, etc.). The return and risk evaluations are then combined to produce a 1- to 5-star risk-adjusted rating, which measures a fund’s historical risk/return performance in any particular category.4
About TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF (www.tiaa-cref.org) is a national financial services organization with more than $398 billion in assets under management (9/30/08) and the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.
All TIAA-CREF investment products are subject to market risks and fund-specific risk factors as noted in the prospectus.
You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877 518-9161, or go to www.tiaa-cref.org for a current prospectus that contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Annuity products are issued by TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association), New York, NY.
Variable annuity account options are available through contracts issued by TIAA or CREF. These contracts are designed for retirement or other long-term goals, and offer a variety of income options, including lifetime income. Payments from the variable annuity accounts [and mutual funds] are not guaranteed and will rise or fall based on investment performance.
Mutual funds do not offer the range of income options available through annuities.
Media Contact:
Chad Peterson, Director, Corporate Media Relations
cpeterson@tiaa-cref.org, 212 916-4808 Cell: 917 715-9083
1 Fund complex defined as all TIAA-CREF Open-End Mutual Funds, its group variable annuities (e.g. CREF Accounts) and the TIAA-CREF Life Funds as defined by Morningstar Direct.
2 The Morningstar median represents the midpoint of an index of comparable funds/accounts grouped by factors such as investment objective and asset class.
3 The performance of our mutual funds and variable annuity accounts has been negatively impacted by current market volatility.
4 For more information on performance, please visit www.tiaa-cref.org/performance.
