As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 1, 2013

1933 Act Registration No. 033-16905

1940 Act Registration No. 811-05309

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-1A

Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60606

(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)

(312) 917-7700

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code):

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: As soon as practicable after effectiveness.

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

If appropriate, check the following box:

CONTENTS OF POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 139

This Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement comprises the following papers and contents:

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Preliminary Prospectus dated March 1, 2013

Subject to Completion

Table of Contents

NOT FDIC OR GOVERNMENT INSURED     MAY LOSE VALUE     NO BANK GUARANTEE

Section 1    Fund Summary

Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Fund is to provide above average current income and long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “What Share Classes We Offer” on page 15 of the Fund’s prospectus, “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge” on page 18 of the prospectus and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page S-57 of the Fund’s statement of additional information.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Example

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in 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 either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

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Section 1    Fund Summary

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was     % of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in income-producing common stocks of publicly traded companies engaged in the real estate industry. These companies derive at least 50% of their revenues or profits from the ownership, construction, management, financing or sale of real estate, or have at least 50% of the fair market value of their assets invested in real estate.

The Fund’s sub-adviser will select companies that it believes exhibit strong management teams, a strong competitive position, above average growth in revenues and a sound balance sheet. The sub-adviser will generally sell a stock if the stock hits its price target, the company’s fundamentals or competitive position significantly deteriorate, or if a better alternative exists in the marketplace.

A majority of the Fund’s total assets will be invested in real estate investment trusts (REITs). REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types:

The Fund expects to emphasize investments in equity REITs, although it may invest in all three kinds of REITs.

The Fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in non-dollar denominated equity securities of non-U.S. issuers. In addition, the Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets, collectively, in non-dollar denominated equity securities of non-U.S. issuers and in dollar-denominated equity securities of non-U.S. issuers that are either listed on a U.S. stock exchange or represented by depositary receipts that may or may not be sponsored by a domestic bank. Up to 15% of the Fund’s total assets may be invested in equity securities of emerging market issuers. A country is considered to be an “emerging market” if it is defined as such by Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc.

The Fund may utilize options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts (“derivatives”). The Fund may use these derivatives to manage market or business risk, enhance the Fund’s return, or hedge against adverse movements in currency exchange rates.

Principal Risks

The value of your investment in this Fund will change daily, which means you could lose money. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:

Derivatives Risk—The use of derivatives involves additional risks, such as liquidity, interest rate, counterparty, market, credit and management risks, and transaction costs which could leave the Fund in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives could have a large impact on performance. Recent legislation requires the development of a new regulatory framework for the derivatives market. The impact of the new regulations is still unknown, but has the potential to increase the costs of using derivatives, may limit the availability of some forms of derivatives or the Fund’s ability to use derivatives, and may adversely affect the performance of some derivative instruments used by the Fund as well as the Fund’s ability to pursue its investment objective through the use of such instruments.

Section 1    Fund Summary

3

Equity Security Risk—Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur in the equity market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market.

Non-Diversification Risk—As a non-diversified fund, the Fund may invest a larger portion of its assets in the securities of a limited number of issuers and may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund.

Non-U.S./Emerging Markets Risk—Non-U.S. issuers or U.S. issuers with significant non-U.S. operations may be subject to risks in addition to those of issuers located in or that principally operate in the United States as a result of, among other things, political, social and economic developments abroad and different legal, regulatory and tax environments. These additional risks may be heightened for securities of issuers located in, or with significant operations in, emerging market countries. Also, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the Fund’s net asset value, the value of dividends and interest earned, and gains and losses realized on the sale of securities.

Real Estate Investment Risk—The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Also, the value of a REIT can be hurt by economic downturns or by changes in real estate values, rents, property taxes, interest rates, tax treatment, regulations, or the legal structure of the REIT.

Smaller Company Risk—Small-cap stocks involve substantial risk. Prices of small-cap stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements, and to wider fluctuations, than stock prices of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. It may be difficult to sell small-cap stocks at the desired time and price. While mid-cap stocks may be slightly less volatile than small-cap stocks, they still involve similar risks.

Fund Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling (800) 257-8787.

The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund’s performance from year to year for Class A shares. The performance of the other share classes will differ due to their different expense structures. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.

Class A Annual Total Returns

During the ten-year period ended December 31, 2012, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were         % and         %, respectively, for the quarters ended                      and                     .

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and an index of funds with similar investment objectives. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax

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Section 1    Fund Summary

returns for other share classes will vary. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. Performance reflects fee waivers, if any, in effect during the periods presented. If any such waivers were not in place, returns would be reduced.

Prior to July 1, 2004, Class R shares were designated Class S shares, which had lower fees and expenses. The performance information in the table prior to July 1, 2004 is based on the performance of the Class S shares. If current fees and expenses had been in effect, performance would have been lower.

Performance is not shown for Class R6 shares, which have not been offered for a full calendar year.

Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Nuveen Asset Management, LLC

Portfolio Managers

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund has suspended offering its shares to new investors, except as follows:

Section 1    Fund Summary

5

The Fund reserves the right to modify the extent to which sales of shares are limited and may, in its sole discretion, permit purchases of shares where, in the judgment of management, such purchases do not have a detrimental effect on the portfolio management of the Fund.

Eligible investors may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any business day, which is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. Eligible investors may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the fund either through a financial advisor or other financial intermediary or directly from the Fund. Class B shares are available only through exchanges and dividend reinvestments by current Class B shareholders. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:

Tax Information

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an IRA or 401(k) plan.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund, its distributor or its investment adviser may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

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Section 1    Fund Summary

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

To help you better understand the Fund, this section includes a detailed discussion of the Fund’s investment and risk management strategies. For a more complete discussion of these matters, please see the statement of additional information, which is available by calling (800) 257-8787 or by visiting Nuveen’s website at www.nuveen.com.

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (“Nuveen Fund Advisors”), the Fund’s investment adviser, offers advisory and investment management services to a broad range of mutual fund clients. Nuveen Fund Advisors has overall responsibility for management of the Funds, oversees the management of the Fund’s portfolio, manages the Fund’s business affairs and provides certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services. Nuveen Fund Advisors is located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606. Nuveen Fund Advisors is a subsidiary of Nuveen Investments, Inc. (“Nuveen Investments”). On November 13, 2007, Nuveen Investments was acquired by investors led by Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC, which is a private equity investment firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The Nuveen family of advisers has been providing advice to investment companies since 1976, and had $220 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2012.

Nuveen Fund Advisors has selected its affiliate, Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“Nuveen Asset Management”), located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, to serve as sub-adviser to the Fund. Nuveen Asset Management manages the investment of the Fund’s assets on a discretionary basis, subject to the supervision of Nuveen Fund Advisors.

John G. Wenker, Jay L. Rosenberg and Scott C. Sedlak are the portfolio managers of the Fund.

Additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities in the Fund is provided in the statement of additional information.

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

7

Management Fees

The management fee schedule for the Fund consists of two components: a Fund-level fee, based only on the amount of assets within the Fund, and a complex-level fee, based on the aggregate amount of all eligible fund assets managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

The annual Fund-level fee, payable monthly, is based upon the average daily net assets of the Fund as follows:

The overall complex-level fee begins at a maximum rate of 0.2000% of the Fund’s average daily net assets, based upon complex-level assets of $55 billion, with breakpoints for eligible assets above that level. Therefore, the maximum management fee rate for the Fund is the fund-level fee plus 0.2000%. The complex-level fee rate for the Fund is determined by taking the current overall complex-level fee rate, which is based on the aggregate amount of “eligible assets” of all Nuveen Funds, and making, as appropriate, an upward adjustment to that rate based upon the percentage of the Fund’s assets that are not “eligible assets.” As of December 31, 2012, the Fund’s complex-level fee rates was     % of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

For the most recent fiscal year, the Fund paid Nuveen Fund Advisors     % in management fees (net of fee waivers and expense reimbursements) as a percentage of average daily net assets.

For Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund, Nuveen Fund Advisors has agreed to reimburse management fees across all share classes through December 31, 2012 to the extent necessary to maintain Class I share total annual operating expenses, not including any acquired fund fees and expenses, at 0.99% of daily net assets, provided that in no event will Nuveen Fund Advisors be required to make any reimbursements that would result in an annualized net management fee of less than 0.81% of daily net assets.

Information regarding the Board of Directors’ approval of the investment management agreements is available in the Fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.

The Fund’s investment objective, which is described in the “Fund Summary” section, may be changed without shareholder approval. If a Fund’s investment objective changes, you will be notified at least 60 days in advance. The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy pursuant to Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act (the “Name Policy”) whereby the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in income-producing common stocks of publicly traded companies engaged in the real estate industry. As a result, the Fund must provide shareholders with a notice meeting the requirement of Rule 35d-1(c) at least 60 days prior to

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Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

any change of the Fund’s Name Policy. The Funds’ investment policies may be changed by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval unless otherwise noted in this prospectus or the statement of additional information.

The Funds’ principal investment strategies are discussed in the “Fund Summary” section. These are the strategies that the Fund’s investment adviser and sub-adviser believe are most likely to be important in trying to achieve the Fund’s investment objective. This section provides more information about these strategies, as well as information about some additional strategies that the Fund’s sub-adviser uses, or may use, to achieve the Fund’s objective. You should be aware that the Fund may also use strategies and invest in securities that are not described in this prospectus, but that are described in the statement of additional information. For a copy of the statement of additional information, call Nuveen Investor Services at (800) 257-8787 or visit Nuveen’s website at www.nuveen.com.

Common Stock

Common stock represents units of ownership in a company. Owners typically are entitled to vote on the selection of directors and other important matters as well as to receive dividends on their holdings. In the event that a company is liquidated, the claims of secured and unsecured creditors and owners of bonds and preferred stock take precedence over the claims of those who own common stock. The price of common stock is generally determined by the company’s earnings, type of products or services offered, projected growth rates, experience of management, liquidity, and general market conditions for the markets on which the stock trades.

REITs

REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that invest in residential or commercial real estate. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types:

The funds can invest in common stock, preferred stock and convertible securities issued by REITs.

Non-U.S. Issuers

The Fund can invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers through the direct investment in securities of non-U.S. issuers and through depositary receipts. Non-U.S. issuers are those (i) whose securities are traded principally on an exchange or over-the-counter in a non-U.S. country, (ii) that are organized under the laws of and have a principal office(s) in a non-U.S. country, or (iii) that have at least 50% of their revenues, profits or assets in non-U.S. countries.

Emerging Markets Issuers

Emerging markets issuers are those (i) whose securities are traded principally on a stock exchange or over-the-counter in an emerging market country,

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

9

(ii) that are organized under the laws of and have a principal office(s) in an emerging market country or (iii) that have at least 50% of their revenues, profits or assets in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries include any country other than Canada, the United States and the countries comprising the MSCI EAFE^® Index (currently, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).

Derivatives

The Fund may utilize options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. The Fund may enter into standardized derivatives contracts traded on domestic or non-U.S. securities exchanges, boards of trade, or similar entities, and non-standardized derivatives contracts traded in the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The Fund may use these derivatives in an attempt to manage market or business risk, credit risk and yield curve risk, to hedge against adverse movements in currency exchange rates, to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Fund’s portfolio or for speculative purposes in an effort to increase the Fund’s yield or to enhance returns. The Fund may also use derivatives to gain exposure to non-dollar denominated securities to the extent it does not do so through direct investments.

Temporary Investments

In an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may temporarily invest without limit in cash and in U.S. dollar-denominated high-quality money market instruments and other short-term securities, including money market funds. Being invested in these securities may keep the Fund from participating in a market upswing and prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.

Portfolio Holdings

A description of the Fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the Fund’s statement of additional information. Certain portfolio holdings information for the Fund is available on the Fund’s website—www.nuveen.com/mf—by navigating to the Fund using the “Mutual Fund Finder” and clicking on the “Holdings & Detail” tab. By following these links, you can obtain a list of the Fund’s top ten holdings as of the end of the most recent month. A complete list of portfolio holdings information is generally made available on the Fund’s website following the end of each month with an approximately one-month lag. This information will remain available on the website until the Fund files with the Securities and Exchange Commission its annual, semi-annual or quarterly holdings report for the fiscal period that includes the date(s) as of which the website information is current.

In selecting securities for the Fund, Nuveen Asset Management utilizes a team-based investment philosophy and primarily employs a bottom-up approach that relies on fundamental research. The security selection process starts by identifying securities that fit the key characteristics of the asset class. From that group, Nuveen Asset Management assesses each security’s total return potential by employing a number of relative value screens based

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Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

on proprietary as well as third party research. Some characteristics of a company that are incorporated in these screens include: the value of its assets, its profitability, its cash flow, the sustainability of its earnings, and its management team.

Nuveen Asset Management generally sells a security from the portfolio of the Fund if any of the following has occurred:

Risk is inherent in all investing. Investing in a mutual fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment or even that you may lose part or all of your investment. Therefore, before investing you should consider carefully the principal risks and certain other risks that you assume when you invest in the Fund. These risks are listed alphabetically below. Because of these risks, you should consider an investment in the Fund to be a long-term investment.

Principal Risks

Derivatives risk: The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities and other instruments. Among the risks presented are market risk, credit risk, management risk and liquidity risk. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value, and there is the risk that changes in the value of a derivative held by the Fund will not correlate with the underlying instruments or the Fund’s other investments.

The use of derivatives can lead to losses because of adverse movements in the price or value of the underlying asset, index or rate, which may be magnified by certain features of the derivatives. Derivative instruments also involve the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the derivative instruments to make required payments or otherwise comply with the derivative instruments’ terms. These risks are heightened when the management team uses derivatives to enhance the Fund’s return or as a substitute for a position or security, rather than solely to hedge (or offset) the risk of a position or security held by the Fund.

In addition, when the Fund invests in certain derivative securities, including, but not limited to, when-issued securities, forward commitments, futures contracts and swaps, it is effectively leveraging its investments, which could result in exaggerated changes in the net asset value of the Funds’ shares and can result in losses that exceed the amount originally invested. The success of the Fund’s derivatives strategies will depend on the sub-adviser’s ability to assess and predict the impact of market or economic developments on the

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

11

underlying asset, index or rate and the derivative itself, without the benefit of observing the performance of the derivative under all possible market conditions. The Fund may also enter into over-the-counter (OTC) transactions in derivatives. Transactions in the OTC markets generally are conducted on a principal-to-principal basis. The terms and conditions of these instruments generally are not standardized and tend to be more specialized or complex, and the instruments may be harder to value. In general, there is less governmental regulation and supervision of transactions in the OTC markets than of transactions entered into on organized exchanges. In addition, certain derivative instruments and markets may not be liquid, which means the Fund may not be able to close out a derivatives transaction in a cost-efficient manner.

Short positions in derivatives may involve greater risks than long positions, as the risk of loss on short positions is theoretically unlimited (unlike a long position, in which the risk of loss may be limited to the amount invested).

Recent legislation requires the development of a new regulatory framework for the derivatives market. The impact of the new regulations is still unknown, but has the potential to increase the costs of using derivatives, may limit the availability of some forms of derivatives or the Fund’s ability to use derivatives, and may adversely affect the performance of some derivative instruments used by the Fund as well as the Fund’s ability to pursue its investment objectives through the use of such instruments.

Equity security risk: Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time. Price changes may occur in the market as a whole, or they may occur in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. In addition, the types of securities in which the Fund invests, such as value stocks, growth stocks, large-capitalization stocks, mid-capitalization stocks, small-capitalization stocks and/or micro-capitalization stocks, may underperform the market as a whole.

Non-diversification risk: The Fund is a non-diversified fund and may invest a larger portion of its assets in a fewer number of issuers than a diversified fund. Because a relatively high percentage of the Fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of a limited number of issuers, and because those issuers generally will be in the real estate industry, the Fund’s portfolio may be more susceptible to any single economic, political or regulatory occurrence than the portfolio of a diversified fund.

Non-U.S./emerging markets risk: Non-U.S. issuers or U.S. issuers with significant non-U.S. operations may be subject to risks in addition to those of issuers located in or that principally operate in the United States due to political, social and economic developments abroad, different regulatory environments and laws, potential seizure by the government of company assets, higher taxation, withholding taxes on dividends and interest and limitations on the use or transfer of portfolio assets. To the extent the Fund is allowed to invest in depositary receipts, the Fund will be subject to many of the same risks as when investing directly in non-U.S. securities. The holder of an unsponsored depositary receipt may have limited voting rights and may not receive as much information about the issuer of the underlying securities as would the holder of a sponsored depositary receipt.

Other non-U.S. investment risks include the following:

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Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

Real estate investment risk: Real estate companies are subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past and may continue to be in the future. Real property values and incomes from real property may decline due to general and local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition, increases in property taxes and operating expenses, changes in zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, changes in neighborhoods and in

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

13

demographics, increases in market interest rates, or other factors. Factors such as these may adversely affect companies which own and operate real estate directly, companies which lend to them, and companies which service the real estate industry.

Equity REITs will be affected by changes in the values of and incomes from the properties they own, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. REITs are subject to other risks as well, including the fact that REITs are dependent on specialized management skills which may affect their ability to generate cash flow for operating purposes and to make distributions to shareholders or unitholders. REITs may have limited diversification and are subject to the risks associated with obtaining financing for real property.

A U.S. domestic REIT can pass its income through to shareholders or unitholders without any tax at the entity level if it complies with various requirements under the Internal Revenue Code. There is the risk that a REIT held by the Fund will fail to qualify for this tax-free pass-through treatment of its income. Similarly, REITs formed under the laws of non-U.S. countries may fail to qualify for corporate tax benefits made available by the governments of such countries.

By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, in addition to bearing a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, shareholders of the Fund will also indirectly bear similar expenses of the REITs in which the Fund invests.

Smaller company risk: The Fund may invest in smaller companies. Prices of small-cap stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements, and to wider fluctuations, than stock prices of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. It may be difficult to sell small-cap stocks at the desired time and price. While mid-cap stocks may be slightly less volatile than small-cap stocks, they still involve similar risks.

Other Risks

Inflation risk: The value of assets or income from investments may be less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money. As inflation increases, the value of the Fund’s assets can decline, as can the value of the Fund’s distributions.

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Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

The Fund offers multiple classes of shares, each with a different combination of sales charges, fees, eligibility requirements and other features. Your financial advisor can help you determine which class is best for you. For further details, please see the statement of additional information.

Class A Shares

You can purchase Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share plus an up-front sales charge. You may qualify for a reduced sales charge, or the sales charge may be waived, as described in “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge.” Class A shares are also subject to an annual service fee of 0.25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets, which compensates your financial advisor or other financial intermediary for providing ongoing service to you. Nuveen Securities, LLC (the ”Distributor”), a subsidiary of Nuveen Investments and the distributor of the Fund, retains the up-front sales charge and the service fee on accounts with no financial intermediary of record. The up-front Class A sales charges for the Fund are as follows:

Class B Shares

The Fund will issue Class B shares upon the exchange of Class B shares from another Nuveen Mutual Fund or for purposes of dividend reinvestment, but Class B shares are not available for new accounts or for additional investment into existing accounts.

Class B shares are subject to annual distribution and service fees of 1% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The annual 0.25% service fee compensates your financial advisor or other financial intermediary for providing ongoing service to you. The annual 0.75% distribution fee compensates the Distributor for paying your financial advisor or other financial intermediary a 4.25% up-front sales commission, which includes an advance of the first year’s service fee. The Distributor retains the service and distribution fees on accounts with no financial intermediary of record. If you redeem your shares within six years of purchase, you will normally pay a CDSC as shown in the schedule below. The CDSC is based on your purchase price or redemption

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

15

proceeds, whichever is lower. You do not pay a CDSC on any Class B shares you purchase by reinvesting dividends.

Class B shares automatically convert to Class A shares eight years after you buy them so that the distribution fees you pay over the life of your investment are limited. You will continue to pay an annual service fee on any converted Class B shares.

Class C Shares

You can purchase Class C shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share without any up-front sales charge. Class C shares are subject to annual distribution and service fees of 1% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The annual 0.25% service fee compensates your financial advisor or other financial intermediary for providing ongoing service to you. The annual 0.75% distribution fee compensates the Distributor for paying your financial advisor or other financial intermediary an ongoing sales commission as well as an advance of the first year’s service and distribution fees. The Distributor retains the service and distribution fees on accounts with no financial intermediary of record. If you redeem your shares within 12 months of purchase, you will normally pay a 1% CDSC, which is calculated on the lower of your purchase price or redemption proceeds. You do not pay a CDSC on any Class C shares you purchase by reinvesting dividends.

The Fund has established a limit to the amount of Class C shares that may be purchased by an individual investor. See the statement of additional information for more information.

Class R3 Shares

You can purchase Class R3 shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share without any up-front sales charge. Class R3 shares are subject to annual distribution and service fees of 0.50% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

Class R3 shares are only available for purchase by eligible retirement plans. Class R3 shares are not available to traditional and Roth IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, SEPs, SAR-SEPs, SIMPLE IRAs or individual 403(b) plans. See the statement of additional information for more information.

Class R6 Shares

Class R6 shares are available to certain qualified retirement plans and other investors as set forth in the statement of additional information. There is no minimum initial investment for qualified retirement plans; however, the shares must be held through plan-level or omnibus accounts held on the books of the Fund. All other eligible investors must meet a minimum initial investment of at least $5 million in the Fund in which they invest. Class R6 shares are only available through financial intermediaries that have entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer Class R6 shares. Class R6 shares are only available in cases where neither the investor nor the intermediary will receive any commission payments, account servicing fees, record keeping fees, 12b-1 fees, sub-transfer agent fees, so called “finder’s fees,” administration fees or similar fees with respect to Class R6 shares. Class R6 shares are not available directly to traditional or Roth IRAs, Coverdell Savings

16

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

Accounts, Keoghs, SEPs, SARSEPs, or SIMPLE IRAs. Class R6 shares also are not available through retail, advisory fee-based wrap platforms.

Class I Shares

You can purchase Class I shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share without any up-front sales charge. As Class I shares are not subject to sales charges or ongoing service or distribution fees, they have lower ongoing expenses than the other classes.

Class I shares are available for purchase by clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. Such clients may include individuals, corporations, endowments and foundations. The minimum initial investment for such clients is $100,000, but this minimum will be lowered to $250 for clients of financial intermediaries that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000. The Distributor may also lower the minimum to $250 for clients of financial intermediaries anticipated to reach this Class I share holdings level.

Class I shares are also available for purchase by family offices and their clients. A family office is a company that provides certain financial and other services to a high net worth family or families. The minimum initial investment for family offices and their clients is $100,000, but this minimum will be lowered to $250 for clients of family offices that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000. The Distributor may also lower the minimum to $250 for clients of family offices anticipated to reach this Class I share holdings level.

Class I shares are also available for purchase, with no minimum initial investment, by the following categories of investors:

Please refer to the statement of additional information for more information about Class A, Class B, Class C, Class R3, Class R6 and Class I shares, including more detailed program descriptions and eligibility requirements. Additional information is also available from your financial advisor, who can also help you prepare any necessary application forms.

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

17

The Fund offers a number of ways to reduce or eliminate the up-front sales charge on Class A shares. See “What Share Classes We Offer” (above) for a discussion of eligibility requirements for purchasing Class I shares.

Class A Sales Charge Reductions

For purposes of calculating the appropriate sales charge as described under Rights of Accumulation and Letter of Intent above, you may include purchases by (i) you, (ii) your spouse or domestic partner and children under the age of 21 years, and (iii) a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship that is 100% owned by any of the persons in (i) or (ii). In addition, a trustee or other fiduciary can count all shares purchased for a single trust, estate or other single fiduciary account that has multiple accounts (including one or more employee benefit plans of the same employer).

Class A Sales Charge Waivers

Class A shares of the Fund may be purchased at net asset value without a sales charge as follows:

In order to obtain a sales charge reduction or waiver, it may be necessary at the time of purchase for you to inform the Fund or your financial advisor of

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

the existence of other accounts in which there are holdings eligible to be aggregated for such purposes. You may need to provide the Fund or your financial advisor information or records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for a sales charge reduction or waiver. This may include account statements of family members and information regarding Nuveen Mutual Fund shares held in accounts with other financial advisors. You or your financial advisor must notify the Distributor at the time of each purchase if you are eligible for any of these programs. The Fund may modify or discontinue these programs at any time.

Fund shares may be purchased on any business day, which is any day the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open for business. Generally, the NYSE is closed on weekends and national holidays. The share price you pay depends on when the Distributor receives your order and on the share class you are purchasing. Orders received before the close of trading on a business day (normally, 4:00 p.m. New York time) will receive that day’s closing share price; otherwise, you will receive the next business day’s price.

You may purchase Fund shares (1) through a financial advisor or (2) directly from the Fund.

Through a Financial Advisor

You may buy shares through your financial advisor, who can handle all the details for you, including opening a new account. Financial advisors can also help you review your financial needs and formulate long-term investment goals and objectives. In addition, financial advisors generally can help you develop a customized financial plan, select investments and monitor and review your portfolio on an ongoing basis to help assure your investments continue to meet your needs as circumstances change. Financial advisors (including brokers or agents) are paid for providing ongoing investment advice and services, either from Fund sales charges and fees or by charging you a separate fee in lieu of a sales charge.

Financial advisors or other dealer firms may charge their customers a processing or service fee in connection with the purchase or redemption of Fund shares. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to customers by each individual dealer. Processing or service fees typically are fixed, nominal dollar amounts and are in addition to the sales and other charges described in this prospectus and the statement of additional information. Your dealer will provide you with specific information about any processing or service fees you will be charged. Shares you purchase through your financial advisor or other intermediary will normally be held with that firm. For more information, please contact your financial advisor.

Directly from the Fund

Eligible investors may purchase shares directly from the Fund.

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

19

The Fund does not consider the U.S. Postal Service or other independent delivery services to be its agents. Therefore, deposit in the mail or with such services, or receipt at the post office box above, of purchase orders or redemption requests does not constitute receipt by the transfer agent of the Fund.

To help make your investing with us easy and efficient, we offer you the following services at no extra cost. Your financial advisor can help you complete the forms for these services, or you can call Nuveen Investor Services at (800) 257-8787 for copies of the necessary forms.

Systematic Investing

Once you have opened an account satisfying the applicable investment minimum, systematic investing allows you to make regular additional investments through automatic deductions from your bank account, directly from your paycheck or from exchanging shares from another mutual fund account. The minimum automatic deduction is $100 per month. There is no charge to participate in the Fund’s systematic investment plan. You can stop the deductions at any time by notifying the Fund in writing.

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

Systematic Withdrawal

If the value of your Fund account is at least $10,000, you may request to have $50 or more withdrawn automatically from your account. You may elect to receive payments monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually, and may choose to receive a check, have the monies transferred directly into your bank account (see “Fund Direct” below), paid to a third party or sent payable to you at an address other than your address of record. You must complete the appropriate section of the account application or Account Update Form to participate in the Fund’s systematic withdrawal plan.

You should not establish systematic withdrawals if you intend to make concurrent purchases of Class A or Class C shares because you may unnecessarily pay a sales charge or CDSC on these purchases.

Exchanging Shares

You may exchange Fund shares into an identically registered account for the same class of another Nuveen Mutual Fund available in your state. Your exchange must meet the minimum purchase requirements of the fund into which you are exchanging. You may also, under certain limited circumstances, exchange between certain classes of shares of the same fund, subject to the payment of any applicable CDSC. Please consult the statement of additional information for details.

The Fund reserves the right to revise or suspend the exchange privilege, limit the amount or number of exchanges, or reject any exchange. Shareholders will be provided with at least 60 days’ notice of any material revision to or termination of the exchange privilege.

Because an exchange between funds is treated for tax purposes as a purchase and sale, any gain may be subject to tax. An exchange between classes of shares of the same fund may not be considered a taxable event. You should consult your tax advisor about the tax consequences of exchanging your shares.

Fund Direct^SM

The Fund Direct Program allows you to link your Fund account to your bank account, transfer money electronically between these accounts and perform a variety of account transactions, including purchasing shares by telephone and investing through a systematic investment plan. You may also have dividends, distributions, redemption payments or systematic withdrawal plan payments sent directly to your bank account.

Reinstatement Privilege

If you redeem Fund shares, you may reinvest all or part of your redemption proceeds up to one year later without incurring any additional charges. You may only reinvest into the same share class you redeemed. If you paid a CDSC, your Fund will refund your CDSC and reinstate your holding period

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

21

for purposes of calculating the CDSC. You may use this reinstatement privilege only once for any redemption. The reinstatement privilege is not available for Class B shares.

You may sell (redeem) your shares on any business day, which is any day the NYSE is open for business. You will receive the share price next determined after the Fund has received your properly completed redemption request. Your redemption request must be received before the close of trading on the NYSE (normally, 4:00 p.m. New York time) for you to receive that day’s price. The Fund will normally mail your check the next business day after a redemption request is received, but in no event more than seven days after your request is received. If you are selling shares purchased recently with a check, your redemption proceeds will not be mailed until your check has cleared, which may take up to ten business days from your purchase date.

You may sell your shares (1) through a financial advisor or (2) directly to the Fund.

Through a Financial Advisor

You may sell your shares through your financial advisor, who can prepare the necessary documentation. Your financial advisor may charge for this service.

Directly to the Fund

After you have established your account, signatures on a written request must be guaranteed if:

Non-financial transactions, including establishing or modifying certain services such as changing bank information on an account, will require a signature guarantee or signature verification from a Medallion Signature Guarantee Program member or other acceptable form of authentication

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

An Important Note About Telephone Transactions

Although Nuveen Investor Services has certain safeguards and procedures to confirm the identity of callers, it will not be liable for losses resulting from following telephone instructions it reasonably believes to be genuine. Also, you should verify your trade confirmations immediately upon receipt.

from a financial institution source. In addition to the situations described above, the Fund reserves the right to require a signature guarantee, or another acceptable form of signature verification, in other instances based on the circumstances of a particular situation.

A signature guarantee assures that a signature is genuine and protects shareholders from unauthorized account transfers. Banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, credit unions, broker-dealers and member firms of a national securities exchange may guarantee signatures. Call your financial intermediary to determine if it has this capability. A notary public is not an acceptable signature guarantor. Proceeds from a written redemption request will be sent to you by check unless another form of payment is requested.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

If you redeem Class A, Class B or Class C shares that are subject to a CDSC, you may be assessed a CDSC upon redemption. When you redeem Class A, Class B or Class C shares subject to a CDSC, the Fund will first redeem any shares that are not subject to a CDSC, and then redeem the shares you have owned for the longest period of time, unless you ask the Fund to redeem your shares in a different order. No CDSC is imposed on shares you buy through the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. The CDSC holding period is calculated on a monthly basis and begins on the first day of the month in which the purchase was made. When you redeem shares subject to a CDSC, the CDSC is calculated on the lower of your purchase price or redemption proceeds, deducted from your redemption proceeds, and paid to the Distributor. The CDSC may be waived under certain special circumstances as described in the statement of additional information.

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

23

Accounts with Low Balances

The Fund reserves the right to liquidate or assess a low balance fee on any account (other than accounts holding Class R3 or Class R6 shares) held directly with the Funds that has a balance that has fallen below the account balance minimum of $1,000 for any reason, including market fluctuations.

If the Fund elects to exercise the right to assess a low balance fee, then annually the Fund will assess a $15 low balance account fee on certain accounts with balances under the account balance minimum that are IRAs, Coverdell Education Savings Accounts or accounts established pursuant to the UTMA or UGMA. At the same time, other accounts with balances under the account balance minimum will be liquidated, with proceeds being mailed to the address of record. Prior to the assessment of any low balance fee or liquidation of low balance accounts, affected shareholders will receive a communication notifying them of the pending action, thereby providing time to ensure that balances are at or above the account balance minimum prior to any fee assessment or account liquidation. You will not be assessed a CDSC if your account is liquidated.

Redemptions In-Kind

The Fund generally pays redemption proceeds in cash. However, if the Fund determines that it would be detrimental to its remaining shareholders to make payment of a redemption order wholly in cash, the Fund may pay a portion of your redemption proceeds in securities or other Fund assets. Although it is unlikely that your shares would be redeemed in-kind, you would probably have to pay brokerage costs to sell the securities or other assets distributed to you, as well as taxes on any capital gains from that sale.

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

Section 4    General Information

To help you understand the tax implications of investing in the Fund, this section includes important details about how the Fund makes distributions to shareholders. We discuss some other Fund policies as well. Please consult the statement of additional information and your tax advisor for more information about taxes.

Dividends from the Fund’s net investment income are normally declared and paid quarterly. Any capital gains are normally distributed at least once each year.

Payment and Reinvestment Options

The Fund automatically reinvests your dividends in additional Fund shares unless you request otherwise. You may request to have your dividends paid to you by check, sent via electronic funds transfer through Automated Clearing House network or reinvested in shares of another Nuveen Mutual Fund. For further information, contact your financial advisor or call Nuveen Investor Services at (800) 257-8787. If you request that your distributions be paid by check but those distributions cannot be delivered because of an incorrect mailing address, or if a distribution check remains uncashed for six months, the undelivered or uncashed distributions and all future distributions will be reinvested in Fund shares at the current net asset value.

Non-U.S. Income Tax Considerations

Investment income that the Fund receives from its non-U.S. investments may be subject to non-U.S. income taxes, which generally will reduce Fund distributions. However, the United States has entered into tax treaties with many non-U.S. countries that may entitle you to certain tax benefits.

Taxes and Tax Reporting

The Fund will make distributions that may be taxed as ordinary income (which may be taxable at different rates, depending on the sources of the distributions) or capital gains (which may be taxable at different rates, depending on the length of time the Fund holds its assets). Dividends from the Fund’s long-term capital gains are generally taxable as capital gains, while dividends from short-term capital gains and net investment income are generally taxable as ordinary income. However, certain ordinary income distributions received from the Fund that are determined to be qualified dividend income may be taxed at tax rates equal to those applicable to long-term capital gains. The tax you pay on a given capital gains distribution depends generally on how long the Fund has held the portfolio securities it sold. It does not depend on how long you have owned your Fund shares. Dividends generally do not qualify for a dividends received deduction if you are a corporate shareholder.

Early in each year, you will receive a statement detailing the amount and nature of all dividends and capital gains that you were paid during the prior year. If you hold your investment at the firm where you purchased your Fund shares, you will receive the statement from that firm. If you hold your shares

Section 4    General Information

25

directly with the Fund, the Distributor will send you the statement. The tax status of your dividends is the same whether you reinvest your dividends or elect to receive them in cash. The sale of shares in your account may produce a gain or loss, and is a taxable event. For tax purposes, an exchange of shares between funds is generally the same as a sale.

Please note that if you do not furnish the Fund with your correct Social Security number or employer identification number, you fail to provide certain certifications to the Fund, you fail to certify whether you are a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien, or the Internal Revenue Service notifies the Fund to withhold, federal law requires the Fund to withhold federal income tax from your distributions and redemption proceeds at the applicable withholding rate.

Buying or Selling Shares Close to a Record Date

Buying Fund shares shortly before the record date for a taxable dividend or capital gain distribution is commonly known as “buying the dividend.” The entire dividend may be taxable to you even though a portion of the dividend effectively represents a return of your purchase price.

Foreign Tax Credits

A regulated investment company with more than 50% of the value of its assets in stock or other securities of non-U.S. corporations at the close of a taxable year or that is a qualified fund of funds may, for such taxable year, elect to pass the regulated investment company’s foreign tax credits through to its investors.

Cost Basis Method

For shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, you may elect a cost basis method to apply to all existing and future accounts you may establish. The cost basis method you select will determine the order in which shares are redeemed and how your cost basis information is calculated and subsequently reported to you and to the Internal Revenue Service. Please consult your tax advisor to determine which cost basis method best suits your specific situation. If you hold your account directly with the Fund, please contact Nuveen Investor Services at (800) 257-8787 for instructions on how to make your election. If you hold your account with a financial intermediary, please contact that financial intermediary for instructions on how to make your election. If you hold your account directly with the Fund and do not elect a cost basis method, your account will default to the average cost basis method. For a definition of “average cost basis method,” please see the glossary. Financial intermediaries choose their own default method.

The Distributor serves as the selling agent and distributor of the Fund’s shares. In this capacity, the Distributor manages the offering of the Fund’s shares and is responsible for all sales and promotional activities. In order to reimburse the Distributor for its costs in connection with these activities, including compensation paid to financial intermediaries, the Fund has adopted a distribution and service plan under Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. See “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares—What Share Classes We Offer” for a description of the distribution and service fees paid under this plan.

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Section 4    General Information

Under the plan, the Distributor receives a distribution fee for Class B, Class C and Class R3 shares primarily for providing compensation to financial intermediaries, including the Distributor, in connection with the distribution of shares. The Distributor receives a service fee for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class R3 shares to compensate financial intermediaries, including the Distributor, for providing ongoing account services to shareholders. These services may include establishing and maintaining shareholder accounts, answering shareholder inquiries and providing other personal services to shareholders. These fees also compensate the Distributor for other expenses, including printing and distributing prospectuses to persons other than shareholders, and preparing, printing, and distributing advertising materials, sales literature and reports to shareholders used in connection with the sale of shares. Because these fees are paid out of the Fund’s assets on an ongoing basis, over time these fees will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than paying other types of sales charges. Long- term holders of Class B, Class C and Class R3 shares may pay more in distribution and service fees and CDSCs (Class B and Class C shares only) than the economic equivalent of the maximum front-end sales charge permitted under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Conduct Rules.

Other Payments to Financial Intermediaries

In addition to the sales commissions and certain payments from distribution and service fees to financial intermediaries as previously described, the Distributor may from time to time make additional payments, out of its own resources, to certain financial intermediaries that sell shares of Nuveen Mutual Funds in order to promote the sales and retention of Fund shares by those firms and their customers. The amounts of these payments vary by financial intermediary and, with respect to a given firm, are typically calculated by reference to the amount of the firm’s recent gross sales of Nuveen Mutual Fund shares and/or total assets of Nuveen Mutual Funds held by the firm’s customers. The level of payments that the Distributor is willing to provide to a particular financial intermediary may be affected by, among other factors, the firm’s total assets held in and recent net investments into Nuveen Mutual Funds, the firm’s level of participation in Nuveen Mutual Fund sales and marketing programs, the firm’s compensation program for its registered representatives who sell Fund shares and provide services to Fund shareholders, and the asset class of the Nuveen Mutual Funds for which these payments are provided. For 2012, these payments in the aggregate were approximately 0.060% to 0.063% of the assets in the Nuveen Mutual Funds, although payments to particular financial intermediaries can be significantly higher. The statement of additional information contains additional information about these payments, including the names of the firms to which payments are made. The Distributor may also make payments to financial intermediaries in connection with sales meetings, due diligence meetings, prospecting seminars and other meetings at which the Distributor promotes its products and services.

In connection with the availability of Nuveen Mutual Funds within selected mutual fund no-transaction fee institutional platforms and fee-based wrap programs (together, “Platform Programs”) at certain financial intermediaries, the Distributor also makes payments out of its own assets to those firms as compensation for certain recordkeeping, shareholder communications and other account administration services provided to Nuveen Mutual Fund shareholders who own their Fund shares in these Platform Programs. These payments are in addition to the service fee and any applicable omnibus

Section 4    General Information

27

sub-accounting fees paid to these firms with respect to these services by the Nuveen Mutual Funds out of Fund assets.

The amounts of payments to a financial intermediary could be significant, and may create an incentive for the intermediary or its representatives to recommend or offer shares of the Fund to you. The intermediary may elevate the prominence or profile of the Fund within the intermediary’s organization by, for example, placing the Fund on a list of preferred or recommended funds and/or granting the Distributor and/or its affiliates preferential or enhanced opportunities to promote the Fund in various ways within the intermediary’s organization.

The price you pay for your shares or the amount you receive upon redemption of your shares is based on the Fund’s net asset value per share, which is determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m. New York time) on each day the NYSE is open for business. Net asset value is calculated for each class of the Fund by taking the value of the class’s total assets, including interest or dividends accrued but not yet collected, less all liabilities, and dividing by the total number of shares outstanding. The result, rounded to the nearest cent, is the net asset value per share. All valuations are subject to review by the Fund’s Board of Directors or its designee; however, the Board of Trustees retains oversight responsibility for valuing the Fund’s portfolio securities.

In determining net asset value, portfolio instruments generally are valued using prices provided by independent pricing services or obtained from other sources, such as broker-dealer quotations, all as approved by the Board of Directors. Exchange-traded instruments generally are valued at the last reported sales price or official closing price on an exchange, if available. Independent pricing services typically value non-exchange-traded instruments utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such instruments, cash flows, and transactions for comparable instruments. In pricing certain instruments, the pricing services may consider information about an instrument’s issuer, or market activity provided by the Fund’s investment adviser or sub-adviser. Non-U.S. securities and currency are valued in U.S. dollars based on non-U.S. currency exchange rate quotations supplied by an independent quotation service.

For non-U.S. traded securities whose principal local markets close before the close of the NYSE, the Fund may adjust the local closing price based upon such factors as developments in non-U.S. markets, the performance of U.S. securities markets and the performance of instruments trading in U.S. markets that represent non-U.S. securities. The Fund may rely on an independent fair valuation service in making any such fair value determinations. If the Fund holds portfolio instruments that are primarily listed on non-U.S. exchanges, the value of such instruments may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem the Fund’s shares.

If a price cannot be obtained from a pricing service or other pre-approved source, or if Nuveen Fund Advisors deems such price to be unreliable, a portfolio instrument may be valued by the Fund at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors or its designee. Nuveen

28

Section 4    General Information

Fund Advisors might find a price obtained from a pricing service or other pre-approved source to be unreliable if, for example, the price has not changed for an identified period of time, or because it differs from the previous day’s price by a threshold amount, and Nuveen Fund Advisors determines that recent transactions and/or broker-dealer price quotations differ materially from such price. As a general principle, the fair value of a portfolio instrument is the amount that an owner might reasonably expect to receive upon the instrument’s current sale. A range of factors and analysis may be considered when determining fair value, including relevant market data, interest rates, credit considerations and/or issuer-specific news.

A security that is fair valued may be valued at a price higher or lower than actual market quotations, the last price determined by the pricing service, the last bid or ask price in the market or the value determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures.

The Fund is intended for long-term investment and should not be used for excessive trading. Excessive trading in the Fund’s shares can disrupt portfolio management, lead to higher operating costs, and cause other operating inefficiencies for the Fund. However, the Fund is also mindful that shareholders may have valid reasons for periodically purchasing and redeeming Fund shares.

Accordingly, the Fund has adopted a Frequent Trading Policy that seeks to balance the Fund’s need to prevent excessive trading in Fund shares while offering investors the flexibility in managing their financial affairs to make periodic purchases and redemptions of Fund shares.

The Fund’s Frequent Trading Policy generally limits an investor to two “round trip” trades in a 60-day period. A “round trip” is the purchase and subsequent redemption of Fund shares, including by exchange. Each side of a round trip may be comprised of either a single transaction or a series of closely-spaced transactions.

The Fund primarily receives share purchase and redemption orders through third-party financial intermediaries, some of whom rely on the use of omnibus accounts. An omnibus account typically includes multiple investors and provides the Fund only with a net purchase or redemption amount on any given day where multiple purchases, redemptions and exchanges of shares occur in the account. The identity of individual purchasers, redeemers and exchangers whose orders are aggregated in omnibus accounts, and the size of their orders, will generally not be known by the Fund. Despite the Fund’s efforts to detect and prevent frequent trading, the Fund may be unable to identify frequent trading because the netting effect in omnibus accounts often makes it more difficult to identify frequent traders. The Distributor has entered into agreements with financial intermediaries that maintain omnibus accounts with the Fund’s transfer agent. Under the terms of these agreements, the financial intermediaries undertake to cooperate with the Distributor in monitoring purchase, exchange and redemption orders by their customers in order to detect and prevent frequent trading in the Fund through such accounts. Technical limitations in operational systems at such intermediaries or at the Distributor may also limit the Fund’s ability to detect and prevent frequent trading. In addition, the Fund may permit certain financial intermediaries, including broker-dealer and retirement plan

Section 4    General Information

29

administrators, among others, to enforce their own internal policies and procedures concerning frequent trading. Such policies may differ from the Fund’s Frequent Trading Policy and may be approved for use in instances where the Fund reasonably believes that the intermediary’s policies and procedures effectively discourage inappropriate trading activity. Shareholders holding their accounts with such intermediaries may wish to contact the intermediary for information regarding its frequent trading policy. Although the Fund does not knowingly permit frequent trading, it cannot guarantee that it will be able to identify and restrict all frequent trading activity.

The Fund reserves the right in its sole discretion to waive unintentional or minor violations (including transactions below certain dollar thresholds) if it determines that doing so would not harm the interests of Fund shareholders. In addition, certain categories of redemptions may be excluded from the application of the Frequent Trading Policy, as described in more detail in the statement of additional information. These include, among others, redemptions pursuant to systematic withdrawal plans, redemptions in connection with the total disability or death of the investor, involuntary redemptions by operation of law, redemptions in payment of account or plan fees, and certain redemptions by retirement plans, including redemptions in connection with qualifying loans or hardship withdrawals, termination of plan participation, return of excess contributions, and required minimum distributions. The Fund may also modify or suspend the Frequent Trading Policy without notice during periods of market stress or other unusual circumstances.

The Fund reserves the right to impose restrictions on purchases or exchanges that are more restrictive than those stated above if it determines, in its sole discretion, that a transaction or a series of transactions involves market timing or excessive trading that may be detrimental to Fund shareholders. The Fund also reserves the right to reject any purchase order, including exchange purchases, for any reason. For example, the Fund may refuse purchase orders if the Fund would be unable to invest the proceeds from the purchase order in accordance with the Fund’s investment policies and/or objective, or if the Fund would be adversely affected by the size of the transaction, the frequency of trading in the account or various other factors. For more information about the Fund’s Frequent Trading Policy and its enforcement, see “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares—Frequent Trading Policy” in the statement of additional information.

The custodian of the assets of the Fund is U.S. Bank National Association, 60 Livingston Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55101. The Fund’s transfer, shareholder services and dividend paying agent, Boston Financial Data Services, Inc., P.O. Box 8530, Boston, Massachusetts 02266-8530, performs bookkeeping, data processing and administrative services for the maintenance of shareholder accounts.

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Section 4    General Information

Section  5    Financial Highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the Fund’s financial performance for the past five fiscal years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns in the table represent the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the Fund (assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions).

The information for the most recent fiscal year has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is available upon request. The financial statements for the years ended October 31, 2011 and prior were audited by other independent auditors.

Section 5    Financial Highlights

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Nuveen Real Estate Securities Fund