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 of emerging market issuers or in instruments with economic characteristics similar to emerging market equity securities. For these purposes, “equity securities” include equity securities of any type, including common stocks; preferred securities; warrants to purchase common stocks and preferred securities; convertible debt securities that are either in the money or immediately convertible into common stocks or preferred securities; common and preferred securities issued by master limited partnerships and real estate investment trusts; depositary receipts; and other securities with equity characteristics. The Fund considers an “emerging market security” to be a security that is principally traded on a securities exchange of an emerging market or that is issued by an issuer that has primary operations in an emerging market. The Fund generally defines an “emerging market” as any of the countries or markets represented in the Fund’s benchmark index, the MSCI Emerging Markets^® Index (“MSCI EM Index”), or any other country or market with similar emerging characteristics. The stock selection decisions of the Fund’s sub-adviser, Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“Nuveen Asset Management”), drive Nuveen Asset Management’s country and regional asset allocations for the Fund. However, Nuveen Asset Management regularly compares the Fund’s sector and country exposure against the MSCI EM Index to assess its comparative investment exposures. Nuveen Asset Management looks for companies of any size that it believes have sustainable earnings growth, focused management with successful track records, unique and easy-to-understand franchises (brands), stock prices that do not fully reflect the stock’s potential value (based on current earnings, assets, and long-term growth

prospects), and consistent generation of free cash flow. For purposes of the 80% investment policy, the term “assets” means net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes.

The Fund may purchase and sell futures, options, swaps and other equity derivatives to carry out the Fund’s investment strategies.

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, reimburse and/or compensate the Fund for certain fees, expenses and/or costs. Without these reductions and/or compensation, 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.

· Small-Cap Risk—The risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies often have lower overall liquidity than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when Nuveen Asset Management deems it appropriate.

· Currency Risk—The risk that foreign (non-U.S.) currencies may decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar and adversely affect the value of the Fund’s investments in foreign currencies, securities denominated in foreign currencies or derivative instruments that provide exposure to foreign currencies. Currency rates in foreign countries may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the imposition of currency controls or other political, economic and tax developments in the U.S. or abroad.