This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses, before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, remain

the same. The example assumes that the Fund’s fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangements will each remain in place for the durations noted in the table above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities that comprise its benchmark index, the MSCI Emerging Markets^® Index (“MSCI EM Index”), or in instruments with economic characteristics similar to all or a portion of the MSCI EM Index. The MSCI EM Index is designed to measure equity market performance in the global emerging markets. The Fund buys most, but not necessarily all, of the stocks in its benchmark index, and will attempt to closely match the overall investment attributes of its benchmark index. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.

The Fund is designed to track various emerging market equity markets as a whole or a segment of these markets. The Fund primarily invests its assets in equity securities its sub-adviser, Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“Nuveen Asset Management”), has selected to track a designated stock market index.

Because the return of an index is not reduced by investment and other operating expenses, the Fund’s ability to match the returns of the MSCI EM Index is negatively affected by the costs of buying and selling securities as well as the Fund’s fees and other expenses. The use of a particular index by the Fund is not a fundamental policy and may be changed without shareholder approval. The portfolio management team of Nuveen Asset Management will attempt to build a portfolio that generally matches the market weighted investment characteristics of the Fund’s benchmark index.

The Fund is classified as a diversified investment company, as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). However, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without the approval of Fund shareholders solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of its benchmark index, the MSCI EM Index, which the Fund seeks to track.

The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund’s performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of Class R6 of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year for the last ten years. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of Class R6 may vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns of Class R6 for a calendar quarter during the full calendar-year periods covered by the bar chart. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Fund’s average annual total returns for Class R6, Class I, Premier Class, Retirement Class, Class A and Class W over the applicable one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods ended December 31, 2025, and how those returns compare to those of the Fund’s broad-based securities market and benchmark index. For periods prior to August 1, 2026, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”) served as investment adviser to the Fund. After-tax performance is shown only for Class R6 shares, and after-tax returns for the other classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Class R6 shares.

The returns shown below reflect previous agreements by Advisors, the Fund’s prior investment adviser, to waive or reimburse the Fund for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The broad-based securities market and benchmark index listed below is unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the broad-based securities market and benchmark index reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.

For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.nuveen.com/performance or call 800-257-8787.

After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class, and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)—The risk that an issuer’s earnings prospects, credit rating and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of the issuer’s financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.

· Foreign Investment Risk—Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments as well as armed conflicts and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also have lower liquidity and be more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers. To the extent the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in the securities of companies in a single country or region, it may be more susceptible to adverse economic, market, political or regulatory events or conditions

affecting that country or region. The Fund currently invests a significant portion of its assets in companies located in China, although this may change over time. Foreign investments may also be subject to risk of loss because of more or less foreign government regulation, less public information, less stringent investor protections and less stringent accounting, corporate governance, financial reporting and disclosure standards. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. The imposition of sanctions, exchange controls (including repatriation restrictions), confiscations, trade restrictions (including tariffs) and other restrictions by the United States or other governments may also negatively impact the Fund’s investments. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Fund’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and/or thus may make the Fund’s investments in such securities less liquid (or illiquid) or more difficult to value. The type and severity of sanctions and other measures that may be imposed could vary broadly in scope, and their impact is impossible to predict.

· Large-Cap Risk—The risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.

· Illiquid Investments Risk—The risk that illiquid investments may be difficult to sell for the value at which they are carried, if at all, or at any price within the desired time frame.

· Non-Diversification Risk—While the Fund is considered to be a diversified investment company under the 1940 Act, the Fund may become non-diversified under the 1940 Act without Fund shareholder approval when necessary to continue to track its benchmark index. Non-diversified status means that the Fund can invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer than a diversified fund. Investing in a non-diversified fund involves greater risk than investing in a diversified fund because a loss in value of a particular investment may have a greater effect on the fund’s return since that investment may represent a larger portion of the fund’s total portfolio assets.