TIAA-CREF Asset Management continues to demonstrate its commitment to delivering consistent growth for our 3.4 million participants. Among the investment distinctions that TIAA-CREF recently received are:
Over 70 percent of TIAA-CREF's mutual funds and variable annuity accounts have exceeded their Morningstar median over the past three and five years, as of March 31, 2008.1
TIAA -CREF Institutional Growth and Income Fund (Institutional Class) wins 2008 Lipper Fund Award as "Best Fund over Past Five Years, Large-Cap Core Funds Category." [out of 565 funds]2
Seven out of 10 TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Funds with a full year's performance beat their benchmarks in 2007.
1 The Morningstar median represents the midpoint of an index of comparable funds/accounts grouped on factors such as investment objective and asset class.
2 The highest Lipper Leader for Consistent Return (Effective Return) value within each eligible classification determines the fund classification winner over three, five, or ten years.
TIAA-CREF was awarded 2008 Energy Star® Partner of the Year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The award recognizes TIAA-CREF as an industry leader in the critical effort to adhere to the Energy Star program's stringent energy efficiency standards, which result in improvements to properties in our portfolios and in turn, lead to better returns for our clients.At TIAA-CREF we seek to deliver consistent growth year after year. By continuing to appear among the top of investment lists like Barron's, Wall Street Journal and Lipper and with 70 percent of TIAA-CREF's mutual funds and annuity accounts exceeding their Morningstar averages (as of March 31, 2008) over the past three and five years1, we believe we are delivering on that promise.
1Morningstar is an independent service that rates mutual funds and variable annuities. The top 10 percent of accounts in an investment category receive five stars, the next 22.5 percent receive four stars, and the next 35 percent receive three stars. Morningstar proprietary ratings reflect historical risk-adjusted performance and can change every month. They are calculated from the account's three-, five-, and ten-year average annual returns in excess of 90-day Treasury bill returns with appropriate fee adjustments, and a risk factor that reflects subaccount performance below 90-day T-bill returns. The overall star ratings are Morningstar's published ratings, which are weighted averages of its 3-, 5-, and 10-year ratings for periods ending Dec. 31, 2007.
Lipper is a trademark of Reuters, SA and provides data and analysis on Mutual Funds and Variable Annuities. Lipper is an independent provider of investment company data that is widely regarded as a leading source on independent data used by independent investors.
Investor's Business Daily (IBD) is a national business and financial daily newspaper that serves over 800,000 investors worldwide through a variety of proprietary products and services, relevant news from the investor's perspective, as well as innovative research, investment education, efficient stock ratings and screens unavailable anywhere else.
Ignites is a publication of Money-Media and is a source for news about the mutual fund industry. Primary subscribers of Ignites are money management firms in the mutual fund industry.
Pensions & Investments is an international publication that delivers news, research and analysis to executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.
Private Equity International is part of PEI Media, which is one of the leading financial media groups dedicated to alternative assets globally and delivers information to institutional investors and market practitioners who have an active interest in private equity.
For a complete listing of all TIAA-CREF performance data please visit tiaa-cref.org.
Mutual funds that invest in small-cap companies are subject to heightened risks and are more volatile than funds that invest in larger more established companies.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
High-yield bond funds that invest in noninvestment-grade securities are subject to interest rate and inflation risks, and significantly higher credit risk. Real estate securities are subject to various risks, including fluctuations in property values, higher expenses or lower income than expected, and potential environmental problems and liability.
Funds that invest in foreign securities are subject to special risks, including currency fluctuation and political and economic instability. Funds that invest in fixed income securities are not guaranteed and are subject to interest rate, inflation, and credit risks.
For a more complete discussion of these and other risks, please consult the prospectus.
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA distribute securities products.
You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 1 877 518-9161, or go to www.tiaa-cref.org for a current prospectus that contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.
© 2008 and prior years, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), New York, NY 10017
