As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 20, 2018

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.

Title of Securities Being Registered: Common Stock.

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

If appropriate, check the following box:

CONTENTS OF POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 212

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 state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

Preliminary Prospectus dated April 20, 2018

Subject to Completion

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus.

Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Prospectus

Table of Contents

NOT FDIC OR GOVERNMENT INSURED     MAY LOSE VALUE     NO BANK GUARANTEE

Section 1    Fund Summary

Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund

Investment Objective

The investment objective of the Fund is 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 16 of the Fund’s prospectus, “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge” on page 20 of the prospectus, in the appendix to this prospectus titled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries,” and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page S-58 of the Fund’s statement of additional information.

Shareholder Fees

(fees paid directly from your investment)

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Section 1    Fund Summary

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, that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same and that the fee waivers currently in place are not renewed beyond July 31, 2019. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

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 43% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in common stocks of mid-capitalization companies. Mid-capitalization companies are defined as companies that have market capitalizations within the market capitalization range of the companies in the Russell Midcap^® Index on the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed. Reconstitution of the index currently is completed in June of each year. On June 30, 2017, the range of the index was $1.8 million to $47.2 billion.

In selecting stocks, the Fund’s sub-adviser invests in companies that it believes are undervalued relative to other companies in the same industry or market, exhibit good or improving fundamentals, and exhibit an identifiable catalyst that could close the gap between market value and fair value over the next one to two years. The Fund’s 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.

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.

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. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. 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, listed alphabetically, include:

Active Management Risk—The Fund’s sub-adviser actively manages the Fund’s investments. Consequently, the Fund is subject to the risk that the investment techniques and risk analyses employed by the Fund’s sub-adviser may not produce the desired results. This could cause the Fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives.

Currency Risk—Changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of non-U.S. dollar denominated securities, the value of dividends and interest earned from such securities, gains and losses realized on the sale of such securities, and derivative transactions tied to such securities. A strong U.S. dollar relative to these other currencies will adversely affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.

Section 1    Fund Summary

3

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity risk is the risk of an unauthorized breach and access to Fund assets, customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or the risk of an incident occurring that causes the Fund, its investment adviser or sub-adviser, custodian, transfer agent, distributor or other service provider or a financial intermediary to suffer a data breach, data corruption or lose operational functionality. Successful cyber-attacks or other cyber-failures or events affecting the Fund or its service providers may adversely impact the Fund or its shareholders. Additionally, a cybersecurity breach could affect the issuers in which the Fund invests, which may cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

Derivatives Risk—The use of derivatives involves additional risks and transaction costs which could leave the Fund in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. Derivative instruments can be used to acquire or to transfer the risk and returns of a security or other asset without buying or selling the security or asset. These instruments may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives can result in losses that greatly exceed the original investment. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value. An over-the-counter derivative transaction between the Fund and a counterparty that is not cleared through a central counterparty also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make required payments. The payment obligation for a cleared derivative transaction is guaranteed by a central counterparty, which exposes the Fund to the creditworthiness of the central counterparty.

Equity Security Risk—Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

Mid-Cap Stock Risk—Stocks of mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

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 as such countries may have a higher degree of economic instability, unsettled securities laws and inconsistent regulatory systems.

Value Stock Risk—The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level.

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 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 Return*

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Section 1    Fund Summary

During the ten-year period ended December 31, 2017, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 18.57% and -21.15%, respectively, for the quarters ended September 30, 2009 and September 30, 2011.

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 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 had not been in place, returns would have been reduced.

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

Performance is not shown for Class T shares, which have not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus.

Management

Investment Adviser

Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC

Sub-Adviser

Nuveen Asset Management, LLC

Portfolio Manager

Section 1    Fund Summary

5

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You 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. You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or other financial intermediary or directly from the Fund. Class A, Class C and Class T shares may not be purchased directly from the Fund. In addition, the availability of Class A, Class C and Class T shares through a financial intermediary will depend on the policies of the intermediary. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although certain financial intermediaries may impose their own investment minimums and 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 (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

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 investment company clients. Nuveen Fund Advisors has overall responsibility for management of the Fund, 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, LLC, the investment management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”). TIAA is a life insurance company founded in 1918 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and is the companion organization of College Retirement Equities Fund. As of December 31, 2017, Nuveen, LLC managed approximately $970 billion in assets, of which approximately $139 billion was managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors.

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.

The portfolio manager for the Fund is Karen L. Bowie. The portfolio manager’s business experience for the last five years is set forth below.

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

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.

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

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

The complex-level fee rate is determined by taking the current overall complex-level fee rate, which is based on the aggregate amount of the “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.” The maximum overall complex-level fee rate is 0.2000% of the Fund’s average daily net assets, which is based upon complex-level eligible assets of $55 billion, with the complex-level fee rate decreasing incrementally for eligible assets above that level. Fund-specific complex-level fee rates will not exceed the maximum overall complex-level fee rate of 0.2000%. As of December 31, 2017, the effective complex-level fee was 0.2000% of the Fund’s average daily net assets.

For the most recent fiscal year, the Fund paid Nuveen Fund Advisors 0.65% of its average daily net assets in management fees (net of fee waivers and expense reimbursements).

Nuveen Fund Advisors has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses through July 31, 2019 so that the total annual operating expenses (excluding 12b-1 distribution and/or service fees, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 0.92% of the average daily net assets of any class of Fund shares. However, because Class R6 shares are not subject to sub-transfer agent and similar fees, the total annual operating expenses for the Class R6 shares will be less than the expense limitation. The expense limitation expiring July 31, 2019 may be terminated or modified prior to that date only with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Fund.

Information regarding the Board of Directors’ approval of the investment management agreements is available in the Fund’s annual reports for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2017.

The Fund’s investment objective, which is described in the “Fund Summary” section, may be changed without shareholder approval. If the Fund’s investment objective changes, you will be notified at least 60 days in advance.

The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy (the “Name Policy”) whereby the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for

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Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

investment purposes in common stocks of mid-capitalization companies. The Fund will consider both direct investments and indirect investments (e.g., investments in other investment companies, derivatives and synthetic instruments with economic characteristics similar to the direct investments that meet the Name Policy) when determining compliance with the Name Policy. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Fund will value eligible derivatives at fair value or market value instead of notional value. As a result of having the Name Policy, the Fund must provide shareholders with a notice at least 60 days prior to any change of the Fund’s Name Policy.

The Fund’s 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 Fund’s 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. The strategies described below are principal investment strategies unless otherwise noted. 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.

Non-U.S. Investments

The Fund will classify an issuer of a security as being a U.S. or non-U.S. issuer based on the determination of an unaffiliated, recognized financial data provider. Such determinations are based on a number of criteria, such as the issuer’s country of domicile, the primary exchange on which the security trades, the location from which the majority of the issuer’s revenue comes, and the issuer’s reporting currency. The Fund’s investment in non-U.S. equity securities may include direct investment in securities of non-U.S. companies traded overseas as well as American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) and other types of depositary receipts.

The Fund may invest in issuers located in emerging markets. 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, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom).

Securities Lending

The Fund may lend securities representing up to one-third of the value of its total assets to broker-dealers, banks, and other institutions to generate additional income. When the Fund loans its portfolio securities, it will receive, at the inception of each loan, cash collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the loaned securities. Under the Fund’s securities lending agreement, the securities lending agent will generally bear the risk that a borrower may default on its obligation to return loaned securities. The Fund, however, will be responsible for the risks associated with the investment of cash collateral. The Fund may lose money on its investment of cash collateral or may fail to earn sufficient income on its investment to meet its obligations to the borrower.

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

9

When a dividend is paid on a security that is out on loan, the borrower receives the dividend and in turn makes a payment of the same amount to the Fund. Dividends, if they constitute “qualified dividends,” are taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains. These payments made by borrowers, however, are not qualified dividends, and are taxable at higher ordinary income rates. As a result, some of the distributions received by shareholders who hold Fund shares in taxable accounts may be subject to taxation at a higher rate than if the Fund had not loaned its portfolio securities.

Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments

As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may invest in cash and in U.S. dollar-denominated high-quality money market instruments and other short-term securities, including money market funds, in such proportions as warranted by prevailing market conditions and the Fund’s principal investment strategies. The Fund may temporarily invest without limit in such holdings for liquidity purposes, or in an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions. Being invested in these securities may keep the Fund from participating in a market upswing and prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.

ETFs and Other Investment Companies

As a non-principal investment strategy, the Fund may invest in securities of other open-end or closed-end investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), that invest primarily in securities of the types in which the Fund may invest directly.

An ETF is an investment company that holds a portfolio of securities generally designed to track the performance of a securities index, including industry, sector, country and region indexes. ETFs trade on a securities exchange and their shares may, at times, trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value.

As a shareholder in an investment company, the Fund will bear its ratable share of that vehicle’s expenses, and would remain subject to payment of the Fund’s advisory and administrative fees with respect to assets so invested. Shareholders would therefore be subject to duplicative expenses to the extent the Fund invests in an investment company. In addition, the Fund will incur brokerage costs when purchasing and selling shares of ETFs. The Fund will not invest in leveraged ETFs.

Generally, investments in other investment companies (including ETFs) are subject to statutory limitations prescribed by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). These limitations include a prohibition on the Fund acquiring more than 3% of the voting shares of any other investment company, and a prohibition on investing more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets in the securities of any one investment company or more than 10% of its total assets, in the aggregate, in investment company securities. Subject to certain conditions, the Fund may invest in money market funds beyond the statutory limits described above.

Disclosure of 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. A list of the Fund’s portfolio holdings is available on the Fund’s website—www.nuveen.com/mutual-funds—by navigating to the Fund’s web page and clicking on the “Characteristics” link. By

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Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

following this link, 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 ten business days after the end of the month. 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.

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

Active management risk: The Fund’s sub-adviser actively manages the Fund’s investments. Consequently, the Fund is subject to the risk that the investment techniques and risk analyses employed by the Fund’s sub-adviser may not produce the desired results. This could cause the Fund to lose value or its investment results to lag relevant benchmarks or other funds with similar objectives. Additionally, legislative, regulatory or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to the Fund’s sub-adviser in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment goal.

Currency risk: Changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of non-U.S. securities, the value of dividends and interest earned from such securities, gains and losses realized on the sale of such securities, and derivative transactions tied to such securities, and hence will affect the net asset value of the Fund that invests in such securities. A strong U.S. dollar relative to these other currencies will adversely affect the value of the Fund to the extent it invests in such non-U.S. securities.

Cybersecurity risk: Intentional cybersecurity breaches include: unauthorized access to systems, networks or devices (such as through “hacking” activity); infection from computer viruses or other malicious software code; and attacks that shut down, disable, slow, or otherwise disrupt operations, business processes, or website access or functionality. In addition, unintentional incidents can occur, such as the inadvertent release of confidential information (possibly resulting in the violation of applicable privacy laws).

A cybersecurity breach could result in the loss or theft of customer data or funds, the inability to access electronic systems (“denial of services”), loss or theft of proprietary information or corporate data, physical damage to a computer or network system, or costs associated with system repairs. Such incidents could cause the Fund, the Fund’s adviser or sub-adviser, a financial intermediary, or other service providers to incur regulatory penalties, reputational damage, additional compliance costs or financial loss. In addition, such incidents could affect issuers in which the Fund invests, and thereby cause the Fund’s investments to lose value.

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Derivatives risk: The use of derivatives presents risks different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in traditional securities. 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 asset, index or rate underlying the derivative contract.

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 contract. A derivative transaction also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make required payments. 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 engages in certain derivative transactions, it is effectively leveraging its investments, which could result in exaggerated changes in the net asset value of the Fund’s 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 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 notional amount of the instrument).

Futures contracts are subject to the risk that an exchange may impose price fluctuation limits, which may make it difficult or impossible for the Fund to close out a position when desired.

Equity security risk: Equity securities in the Fund’s portfolio 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. From time to time, the Fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related sectors or industries which would make the Fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting such sectors or industries.

Mid-cap stock risk: While stocks of mid-cap companies may be slightly less volatile than those of small-cap companies, they still involve substantial risk. Mid-cap companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, and they may be dependent on a limited management group. Stocks of mid-cap companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general.

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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 or different than those of issuers that are located in or principally operated 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 invests 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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Value stock risk: The intrinsic value of a stock with value characteristics in which the Fund invests may not be fully recognized by the market for a long time or a stock judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced at a low level. Value investing has gone in and out of favor during past market cycles and when value investing is out of favor the securities of value companies may underperform the securities of other companies.

Non-Principal Risks

Global economic risk: Global economies and financial markets are becoming increasingly interconnected, which increases the possibilities that conditions in one country, region or market might adversely impact issuers in a different country, region or market. Changes in legal, political, regulatory, tax and economic conditions may cause fluctuations in markets and securities prices around the world, which could negatively impact the value of the Fund’s investments. For example, the United Kingdom’s referendum to leave the European Union resulted in the depreciation in value of the British pound, short term declines in the stock markets and ongoing economic and political uncertainty concerning the consequences of the exit. Similar major economic or political disruptions, particularly in large economies like China’s, may have global negative economic and market repercussions. Additionally, geopolitical events, such as war, terrorism, natural and environmental disasters, and market manipulation, may disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economics and markets. Examples of such events include recent hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea and southern United States and heightened concerns regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile programs. Governmental and quasi-governmental authorities and regulators throughout the world have responded to turmoil with a variety of significant fiscal and monetary policy changes, including but not limited to, direct capital infusions into companies, new monetary programs and dramatically lower interest rates. An unexpected or quick reversal of these policies, or the ineffectiveness of these policies, could increase volatility in securities markets, which could adversely affect the Fund’s investments.

Large transactions risk: The Fund may experience adverse effects due to large purchases or redemptions of Fund shares. A large redemption by an individual shareholder, or an increase in redemptions generally by Fund shareholders, may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which may negatively impact the Fund’s net asset value and liquidity. If the Fund has difficulty selling portfolio securities in a timely manner to meet redemption requests, the Fund may have to borrow money to do so. In such an instance, the Fund’s remaining shareholders would bear the costs of such borrowings, and such costs could reduce the Fund’s returns. In addition, until the Fund is able to sell securities to meet redemption requests, the Fund’s market exposure may be greater than it ordinarily would be, which would magnify the impact of any market movements on the Fund’s performance. Similarly, large Fund share purchases may adversely affect the Fund’s performance to the extent that the Fund is delayed in investing new cash and is required to maintain a larger cash position than it ordinarily would, reducing the Fund’s market exposure. Increased redemption activity may also result in unexpected taxable distributions to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in

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gains and thereby accelerated the realization of taxable income. In addition, large redemptions could result in the Fund’s current expenses being allocated over a smaller asset base, leading to an increase in the Fund’s expense ratio.

Other investment companies risk: When the Fund invests in other investment companies, including ETFs, shareholders bear both their proportionate share of Fund expenses and, indirectly, the expenses of the other investment companies. Furthermore, the Fund is exposed to the risks to which the other investment companies may be subject. For index-based ETFs, while such ETFs seek to achieve the same returns as a particular market index, the performance of an ETF may diverge from the performance of such index (commonly known as tracking error).

Section 2    How We Manage Your Money

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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. Because the prospectus and the statement of additional information are available free of charge on Nuveen’s website at www.nuveen.com, we do not disclose the following share class information separately on the website.

The different share classes offered by the Fund are described below. You will pay up-front or contingent deferred sales charges on some of these share classes. In addition, some share classes are subject to annual distribution and/or service fees in the amounts described below, which are paid out of the Fund’s assets. These fees are paid to Nuveen Securities, LLC (the “Distributor”), a subsidiary of Nuveen, LLC and the distributor of the Fund, and are used primarily for providing compensation to financial intermediaries in connection with the distribution of Fund shares and for providing ongoing account services to shareholders. The Fund has adopted a distribution and service plan under Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act that allows the Fund to pay these distribution and service fees. More information on this plan can be found under “Distribution and Service Payments—Distribution and Service Plan.” Because fees paid under the plan 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.

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. The Distributor retains the service fee on accounts with no financial intermediary of record. The up-front Class A sales charges for the Fund are as follows:

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

Investors may purchase Class A shares only for Fund accounts held with a financial advisor or other financial intermediary, and not directly with the Fund. In addition, Class A shares may not be available through certain financial intermediaries. Please consult with your financial intermediary to determine whether their policies allow for an investment in Class A 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 1.00% 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 1.00% 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. You may qualify for a reduced CDSC, or the CDSC may be waived, as described in “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge” below.

Investors purchasing Class C shares should consider whether they would qualify for a reduced or eliminated sales charge on Class A shares that would make purchasing Class A shares a better choice. Class A share sales charges can be reduced or eliminated based on the size of the purchase, or pursuant to a letter of intent or rights of accumulation. See “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge” below.

Class C share purchase orders equaling or exceeding $1,000,000 will not be accepted. In addition, the Fund limits the cumulative amount of Class C shares that may be purchased by a single purchaser. Your financial intermediary may set lower maximum purchase limits for Class C shares. See the statement of additional information for more information.

Effective July 2018, Class C shares will automatically convert to Class A shares after 10 years, thus reducing future annual expenses. Conversions will occur during the month in which the 10-year anniversary of the purchase occurs. Class C shares that have been held for longer than 10 years as of July 1, 2018 will also convert to Class A shares in July 2018. The automatic conversion will be based on the relative net asset values of the two share classes without the imposition of a sales charge or fee. The automatic conversion of Class C shares to Class A shares will not apply to shares held through group retirement plan recordkeeping platforms of certain financial intermediaries who hold such shares in an omnibus account and do not track participant level share lot aging to facilitate such a conversion.

Investors may purchase Class C shares only for Fund accounts held with a financial advisor or other financial intermediary, and not directly with the Fund. In addition, Class C shares may not be available through certain financial intermediaries. Please consult with your financial intermediary to determine whether their policies allow for an investment in Class C shares.

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.

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

17

Investors may purchase Class R3 shares only for Fund accounts held with a financial advisor or other financial intermediary, and not directly with the Fund.

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

Eligible investors can purchase Class R6 shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share without any up-front sales charge. As Class R6 shares are not subject to sales charges or ongoing service or distribution fees, they have lower ongoing expenses than the other classes.

Class R6 shares are available to certain qualified retirement plans and other investors. 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. Class R6 shares are also 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 waived for clients of financial intermediaries that have accounts holding Class R6 shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000. The Distributor may also waive the minimum for clients of financial intermediaries anticipated to reach this Class R6 share holdings level. All other eligible investors must meet a minimum initial investment of at least $1 million in the Fund. Such minimum investment requirement may be applied collectively to affiliated accounts, in the discretion of the Distributor. Class R6 shares may be purchased through financial intermediaries only if such intermediaries 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. Provided they meet the minimum investment and other eligibility requirements, eligible investors include:

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

Class R6 shares are not available directly to traditional or Roth IRAs, Coverdell Savings Accounts, Keoghs, SEPs, SARSEPs, or SIMPLE IRAs.

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:

Class T Shares

You can purchase Class T shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value per share plus an up-front sales charge. Class T 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

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

19

providing ongoing service to you. The Distributor retains the service fee on accounts with no financial intermediary of record. The up-front Class T sales charges for the Fund are as follows:

Class T shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions from the same Fund are not subject to a sales charge. In addition, Class T shares may be available at net asset value without a sales charge under certain other circumstances, as determined by the policies and procedures of your financial intermediary. See the appendix to this Prospectus, “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries,” for information on available Class T share sales charge waivers.

Investors may purchase Class T shares only for Fund accounts held with a financial advisor or other financial intermediary, and not directly with the Fund. In addition, Class T shares may not be available through certain financial intermediaries. Please consult with your financial intermediary to determine whether their policies allow for an investment in Class T shares.

Please refer to the statement of additional information for more information about Class A, Class C, Class R3, Class R6, Class I and Class T 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.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

If you redeem Class A or Class C shares that are subject to a CDSC, you may be assessed a CDSC upon redemption. When you redeem Class A 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 below under “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares—How to Reduce Your Sales Charge—CDSC Waivers and Reductions,” in the appendix to this prospectus titled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries,” and in the statement of additional information.

The Fund offers a number of ways to reduce or eliminate the up-front sales charge on Class A shares. In addition, under certain circumstances, the Fund will waive or reduce the CDSC imposed on redemptions of Class C shares and certain Class A shares purchased at net asset value. The availability of

20

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

the sales charge reductions and waivers discussed below will depend on the policies of the financial intermediary through which you purchase your shares. Information on intermediaries’ variations from the reductions and waivers discussed below are disclosed in the appendix to this prospectus, “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries.” In all instances, it is your responsibility to notify your financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying you for sales charge waivers or discounts. In order to obtain waivers and discounts that are not available through your intermediary, you will have to purchase Fund shares through another intermediary.

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:

For this purpose, ESRPs include, but are not limited to, 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing and money purchase pension plans, health savings accounts, defined benefit plans, participant directed non-qualified deferred compensation plans, Roth 401(k) plans and Roth 403(b) plans, and do not include SEPs, SAR-SEPs,

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

21

SIMPLE IRAs (other than SIMPLE IRAs opened before January 1, 2011 where the Distributor is the broker of record), SIMPLE 401(k) plans, Solo 401(k) plans, KEOGH plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and single defined benefit plans.

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

CDSC Waivers and Reductions

The CDSC payable upon the redemption of Class C shares, and on Class A shares that were purchased at net asset value without a sales charge because the purchase amount exceeded $1 million, may be waived or reduced under certain circumstances, including the following:

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

More information on these and other available CDSC waivers and reductions can be found in the appendix to this prospectus, “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries,” and in the statement of additional information.

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 other financial intermediary or (2) directly from the Fund. Class A, Class C and Class T shares may not be purchased directly from the Fund. In addition, the availability of Class A, Class C and Class T shares through a financial intermediary will depend on the policies of the intermediary.

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

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

23

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.

Purchase orders and redemption requests are not processed until received in proper form 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.

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Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

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.

The Fund may cancel your participation in its systematic investment plan if it is unable to deliver a current prospectus to you because of an incorrect or invalid mailing address.

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, except that there are no exchange privileges for Class T shares. 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. In the event that the Fund rejects an exchange request, neither the redemption nor the purchase side of the exchange will be processed. If you would like the redemption request to be processed even if the purchase order is rejected, you may submit a separate redemption request (see “How to Sell Shares” below). Shareholders will be provided with at least 60 days’ notice of any material revision to or termination of the exchange privilege.

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

25

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 Class A, Class C or Class I 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, any shares purchased pursuant to the reinstatement privilege will not be subject to a CDSC. You may use this reinstatement privilege only once for any redemption.

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 (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

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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.

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 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.

Section 3    How You Can Buy and Sell Shares

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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 Fund 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 for shareholders to bring their accounts up to the account balance minimum prior to any fee assessment or account liquidation. You will not be assessed a CDSC if your account is liquidated.

Meeting Redemption Requests

The Fund typically will pay redemption proceeds using cash reserves maintained in the Fund’s portfolio, or using the proceeds from sales of portfolio securities. The Fund also may meet redemption requests through overdrafts at the Fund’s custodian, by borrowing under a credit agreement to which the Fund is a party, or by borrowing from another Nuveen Fund under an inter-fund lending program maintained by the Nuveen Funds pursuant to exemptive relief granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. See “Investment Policies and Techniques—Borrowing” in the statement of additional information. These additional methods are more likely to be used to meet large redemption requests or in times of stressed market conditions.

Although the Fund generally pays redemption proceeds in cash, 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. In this situation, you would generally receive a proportionate distribution of each security held by the Fund to the extent practicable. 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. Until they are sold, any securities or other assets distributed to you as part of a redemption in-kind may be subject to market risk.

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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 net investment income, if any, are normally declared and paid annually. 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.

If the Fund has 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, the Fund may, for such taxable year, elect to pass its non-U.S. tax credits through to shareholders.

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). Distributions from the Fund’s long-term capital gains are generally taxable as capital gains, while distributions 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 gain distribution depends generally on how long the Fund has held the portfolio securities it sold and not on how long you have owned your Fund shares. Distributions 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 distributions that you were paid during the prior year. If you

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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 directly with the Fund, the Distributor will send you the statement. The tax status of your distributions is the same whether you reinvest them 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 distribution may be taxable to you even though a portion of the distribution effectively represents a return of your purchase price.

Non-U.S. Investors

The Fund is offered for sale in the United States and is not widely available outside the United States. Non-U.S. investors should be aware that U.S. withholding and estate taxes and certain U.S. tax reporting requirements may apply to any investment in the Fund.

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. The average cost basis method generally calculates cost basis by determining the average price paid for Fund shares that may have been purchased at different times for different prices. Financial intermediaries choose their own default cost basis method.

Distribution and Service Plan

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

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Section 4    General Information

(the “Plan”). See “How You Can Buy and Sell Shares—What Share Classes We Offer” for a description of the distribution and service fees paid under the Plan.

Under the Plan, the Distributor receives a distribution fee for 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 C, Class R3 and Class T 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. Fees paid under the Plan 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 fees paid under the Plan 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 C and Class R3 shares may pay more in distribution and service fees and CDSCs (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 by the Fund

In addition to the distribution and service fees the Fund pays under the Plan and fees the Fund pays to its transfer agent, the Distributor or Nuveen Fund Advisors, on behalf of the Fund, may enter into non-Plan agreements with financial intermediaries pursuant to which the Fund will pay financial intermediaries for administrative, networking, recordkeeping, sub-transfer agency and shareholder services. These non-Plan payments are generally based on either (1) a percentage of the average daily net assets of Fund shareholders serviced by a financial intermediary or (2) a fixed dollar amount for each account serviced by a financial intermediary. The aggregate amount of these payments may be substantial and may vary significantly among intermediaries.

Other Payments by the Distributor and Nuveen Fund Advisors

In addition to the sales commissions and payments from distribution and service fees made to financial intermediaries as previously described, the Distributor and Nuveen Fund Advisors may from time to time make additional payments, out of their 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 and/or Nuveen Fund Advisors 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 Nuveen Mutual Fund shares and provide services to Nuveen Mutual Fund shareholders, and the asset class of the Nuveen Mutual Funds for which these payments are provided. The

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31

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 at certain financial intermediaries, the Distributor and Nuveen Fund Advisors also make payments out of their 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 through these platforms or programs. These payments are in addition to the service fee and any applicable sub-transfer agency or similar 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. The Fund’s latest net asset value per share is available on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com. 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.

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. 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. For example, when available, pricing services may utilize inputs such as benchmark yields, reported trades, broker-dealer quotes, spreads, 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. Pricing service valuations of non-exchange-traded instruments represent the service’s good faith opinion as to what the holder of an instrument would receive in an orderly transaction for an institutional round lot position under current market conditions. It is possible that these

32

Section 4    General Information

valuations could be materially different from the value that the Fund realizes upon the sale of an instrument. 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, in the judgment of Nuveen Fund Advisors, a price is unreliable, a portfolio instrument will be valued at its fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors or its appointee. Nuveen Fund Advisors may determine that a price is unreliable in various circumstances. For example, a price may be deemed unreliable if it has not changed for an identified period of time, or has changed from the previous day’s price by more than a threshold amount, and recent transactions and/or broker dealer price quotations differ materially from the price in question.

The Board of Directors has adopted valuation procedures for the Fund and has appointed the Nuveen Fund Advisors’ Valuation Committee with the day-to-day responsibility for fair value determinations. All fair value determinations made by the Valuation Committee are subject to review and ratification by the Board of Directors. 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. However, fair valuation involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a portfolio instrument may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that instrument.

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

Section 4    General Information

33

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. Pursuant to these agreements, financial intermediaries may disclose to the Fund an investor’s taxpayer identification number and a record of the investor’s transactions at the request of the Fund. 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 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

34

Section 4    General Information

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, 1555 North RiverCenter Drive, Suite 302, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. The Fund’s transfer, shareholder services and dividend paying agent, DST Asset Manager Solutions, Inc., P.O. Box 8530, Boston, Massachusetts 02266-8530, performs bookkeeping, data processing and administrative services for the maintenance of shareholder accounts. U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202, provides certain accounting services to the Fund.

Section 4    General Information

35

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 or, if shorter, the period of operations for the class of shares. 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 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report for the most recent fiscal year, along with the Fund’s financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

Nuveen Small Cap Select Fund

36

Section 5    Financial Highlights

                , 2018

Appendix to the Prospectus of

Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund

VARIATIONS IN SALES CHARGE REDUCTIONS AND WAIVERS

AVAILABLE THROUGH CERTAIN INTERMEDIARIES

A-1

The Fund offers a number of ways to reduce or eliminate the up-front sales charge on Class A and Class T shares, which are set forth in the Prospectus. The Prospectus also sets forth certain circumstances under which the Fund will waive or reduce the contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) imposed on redemptions of Class C shares and certain Class A shares purchased at net asset value. The availability of the sales charge reductions and waivers discussed in the Prospectus will depend on the policies of the financial intermediary through which you purchase your shares, which are set forth below.

Class A and Class C Share Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Merrill Lynch

Effective April 10, 2017, shareholders purchasing Fund shares through a Merrill Lynch platform or account will be eligible only for the following load waivers (front-end sales charge waivers and contingent deferred sales charge waivers) and discounts, which may differ from those disclosed in the Fund’s prospectus or SAI. Shareholders should contact Merrill Lynch to determine their eligibility for these waivers and discounts.

Front-End Sales Load Waivers on Class A Shares Available at Merrill Lynch

CDSC Waivers on A and C Shares Available at Merrill Lynch

A-2

Front-End Load Discounts Available at Merrill Lynch: Breakpoints, Rights of Accumulation & Letters of Intent

Class A Sales Charge Waivers Available Only Through Specified Intermediaries

As described in the Prospectus, Class A shares may be purchased at net asset without a sales charge by employer-sponsored retirement plans (“ESRPs”) as defined in the prospectus, except that, in the case of ESRPs held through a brokerage account, Class A shares will be available at net asset value without a sales charge only if the broker-dealer has entered into an agreement with the Distributor that allows for such purchases.

The following intermediaries have entered into such an agreement:

Baker & Co., Inc.

Cetera Advisor Networks LLC

Cetera Advisors LLC

Cetera Financial Specialists LLC

Cetera Investment Services LLC

Country Club Financial Services, Inc.

Cutter & Co. Brokerage Inc.

Davenport & Co. LLC

Devenir Investment Advisors, LLC

Fintrust Brokerage Services

First Kentucky Securities Corp.

First Western Securities

Gold Coast Securities, Inc.

Hewitt Financial Services LLC

Hilltop Securities Inc.

Infinex Investments, Inc.

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

KMS Financial Services, Inc.

Mid-Atlantic Capital Corp.

OFG Financial Services, Inc.

Principal Securities Inc.

Raymond James & Associates Inc.

RDM Investment Services, Inc.

Register Financial Associates, Inc.

Shareholders Service Group Inc.

Southeast Investments, NC, Inc.

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.

Waddell & Reed Inc.

As described in the Prospectus, Class A shares may be purchased at net asset value without a sales charge through a financial intermediary that has entered into an agreement with the Distributor to offer the Fund’s shares to self-directed investment brokerage accounts and that may or may not charge a transaction fee to its customers.

A-3

The following intermediaries have entered into such an agreement:

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.

TD Ameritrade, Inc.

TD Ameritrade Clearing, Inc.

Class T Share Sales Charge Waivers Available Only Through Specified Intermediaries

As set forth in the Prospectus, Class T shares are generally subject to an up-front sales charge, except for shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions from the same fund. However, Class T shares may be available at net asset value without a sales charge under limited circumstances through certain financial intermediaries. Currently no intermediaries are offering such waivers.

A-4

Nuveen Mutual Funds

Nuveen offers a variety of mutual funds designed to help you reach your financial goals. The funds below are grouped by category.

Several additional sources of information are available to you, including the codes of ethics adopted by the Fund, Nuveen, LLC, Nuveen Fund Advisors and Nuveen Asset Management. The appendix to this prospectus, “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries,” contains information on sales charge reductions and waivers available through certain financial intermediaries that differ from the sales charge reductions and waivers disclosed in this prospectus and the related statement of additional information. The statement of additional information, incorporated by reference into this prospectus, contains detailed information on the policies and operation of the Fund included in this prospectus. Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund’s annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. The Fund’s most recent statement of additional information, annual and semi-annual reports and certain other information are available, free of charge, by calling Nuveen Investor Services at (800) 257-8787, on the Fund’s website at www.nuveen.com, or through your financial advisor. Shareholders may call the toll free number above with any inquiries.

You may also obtain this and other Fund information directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov or in person at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Call the SEC at (202) 551-8090 for room hours and operation. You may also request Fund information by sending an e-mail request to publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing to the SEC’s Public Reference Section at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520. The SEC may charge a copying fee for this information.

The Fund is a series of Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc., whose Investment Company Act file number is 811-05309.

Distributed by

Nuveen Securities, LLC

333 West Wacker Drive

Chicago, Illinois 60606

(800) 257-8787

www.nuveen.com

MPR-FMCV-0618D

The Information in this Statement of Additional Information 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 Statement of Additional Information is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted

Preliminary Statement of Additional Information dated April 20, 2018

Subject to Completion

                    , 2018

Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund

Ticker Symbols: Class A—FASEX, Class C—FACSX, Class R3—FMVSX, Class R6—    , Class I—FSEIX, Class T—FACUX

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus. This SAI relates to, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus dated                     , 2018 for Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund (the “Fund”), a series of Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc. A Prospectus may be obtained without charge from certain securities representatives, banks and other financial institutions that have entered into sales agreements with Nuveen Securities, LLC (the “Distributor”), or from the Fund, by written request to the Nuveen Mid Cap Value Fund, c/o Nuveen Investor Services, P.O. Box 8530, Boston, Massachusetts 02266-8530, or by calling (800) 257-8787.

The audited financial statements for the Fund’s most recent fiscal year appear in the Fund’s Annual Report dated October 31, 2017, which is incorporated herein by reference and is available without charge by calling (800) 257-8787.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S-2

GENERAL INFORMATION

Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc. (“NIF”) was incorporated in the State of Maryland on August 20, 1987 under the name “SECURAL Mutual Funds, Inc.” The Board of Directors and shareholders, at meetings held January 10, 1991, and April 2, 1991, respectively, approved amendments to the Articles of Incorporation providing that the name “SECURAL Mutual Funds, Inc.” be changed to “First American Investment Funds, Inc.” At a meeting held February 27, 2011, the Board of Directors approved the name “First American Investment Funds, Inc.” be changed to “Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc.”

NIF is organized as a series fund and currently issues its shares in 21 series. Each series of shares represents a separate investment portfolio with its own investment objective and policies (in essence, a separate mutual fund).

The Fund is a diversified open-end management investment companies. The Fund’s investment adviser is Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (“Nuveen Fund Advisors” or the “Adviser”). The Fund’s sub-adviser is Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“Nuveen Asset Management” or the “Sub-Adviser”).

Shareholders may purchase shares of the Fund through separate classes, Class A, Class C, Class R3, Class R6, Class I and Class T shares. The different share classes provide for variations in distribution costs, shareholder servicing fees, voting rights and dividends. To the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), the Fund may also provide for variations in other costs among the classes. In addition, a sales load is imposed on the sale of Class A and Class C shares of the Fund. Except for the foregoing differences among the classes pertaining to costs and fees, each share of the Fund represents an equal proportionate interest in the Fund.

The Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws of NIF provide that meetings of shareholders be held as determined by the Board of Directors and as required by the 1940 Act. Maryland corporation law requires a meeting of shareholders to be held upon the written request of shareholders holding 10% or more of the voting shares of NIF, with the cost of preparing and mailing the notice of such meeting payable by the requesting shareholders. The 1940 Act requires a shareholder vote for, among other things, all amendments to fundamental investment policies and restrictions, for approval of investment advisory contracts and amendments thereto, and for amendments to Rule 12b-1 distribution plans.

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

In addition to the investment objectives and policies set forth in the Prospectus and under “Investment Policies and Techniques” below, the Fund is subject to the investment restrictions set forth below. The investment restrictions set forth in numbers (1) through (7) below are fundamental and cannot be changed with respect to the Fund without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund as defined in the 1940 Act, i.e., by the lesser of the vote of (a) 67% of the shares of the Fund present at a meeting where more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

The Fund will not:

(1) Concentrate its investments in a particular industry. For purposes of this limitation, the U.S. government is not considered a member of any industry. Whether the Fund is concentrating in an industry shall be determined in accordance with the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified from time to time by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction.

(2) Borrow money or issue senior securities, except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified from time to time by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction.

(3) With respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase securities of an issuer (other than (i) securities issued by other investment companies, (ii) securities issued by the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or authorities, or (iii) repurchase agreements fully collateralized by U.S. government securities) if (a) such purchase would, at the time, cause more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets taken at market value to be invested in the securities of such issuer; or (b) such purchase would, at the time, result in more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer being held by the Fund.

S-3

(4) Purchase or sell physical commodities, unless acquired as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments; but this restriction shall not prohibit the Fund from investing in options on commodity indices, commodity futures contracts and options thereon, commodity-related swap agreements, other commodity-related derivative instruments, and investment companies that provide exposure to commodities.

(5) Purchase or sell real estate unless as a result of ownership of securities or other instruments, but this shall not prevent the Fund from investing in securities or other instruments backed by real estate or interests therein or in securities of companies that deal in real estate or mortgages.

(6) Act as an underwriter of securities of other issuers, except to the extent that, in connection with the disposition of portfolio securities, it may be deemed an underwriter under applicable laws.

(7) Make loans except as permitted under the 1940 Act, as interpreted or modified from time to time by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction.

Except with respect to the limitation set forth in number (2) above, the foregoing restrictions and limitations will apply only at the time of purchase of securities, and the percentage limitations will not be considered violated unless an excess or deficiency occurs or exists immediately after and as a result of an acquisition of securities, unless otherwise indicated.

For purposes of applying the limitation set forth in number (1) above, according to the current interpretation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Fund would be concentrated in an industry if 25% or more of its net assets, based on current market value at the time of purchase, were invested in that industry. For purposes of this limitation, issuers of the following securities will not be considered to be members of any industry: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; except as set forth in the following sentence, tax-exempt securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. To the extent that the income from a municipal bond is derived principally from the assets and revenues of non-governmental users, the securities will be deemed to be from the industry of that non-governmental user. To the extent the Fund invests in other investment companies, it will consider the investments of the underlying investment companies when determining compliance with the limitation set forth in number (1) above, to the extent the Fund has sufficient information about such investments. For purposes of this limitation, all sovereign debt of a single country will be considered investments in a single industry.

Where a security is guaranteed by a governmental entity or some other facility, such as a bank guarantee or letter of credit, such a guarantee or letter of credit would be considered a separate security and would be treated as an issue of such government, other entity or bank.

For purposes of applying the limitation set forth in number (2) above, under the 1940 Act as currently in effect, the Fund is not permitted to issue senior securities, except that the Fund may borrow from any bank if immediately after such borrowing the value of the Fund’s total assets is at least 300% of the principal amount of all of the Fund’s borrowings (i.e., the principal amount of the borrowings may not exceed 33 ¹/₃% of the Fund’s total assets). In the event that such asset coverage shall at any time fall below 300%, the Fund shall, within three calendar days thereafter (not including Sundays and holidays), reduce the amount of its borrowings to an extent that the asset coverage of such borrowing shall be at least 300%.

For purposes of applying the limitation set forth in number (7) above, there are no limitations with respect to unsecured loans made by the Fund to an unaffiliated party. However, if the Fund loans its portfolio securities, the obligation on the part of the Fund to return collateral upon termination of the loan could be deemed to involve the issuance of a senior security within the meaning of Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act. In order to avoid violation of Section 18(f), the Fund may not make a loan of portfolio securities if, as a result, more than one-third of its total asset value (at market value computed at the time of making a loan) would be on loan.

S-4

The following restrictions are non-fundamental and may be changed by NIF’s Board of Directors without a shareholder vote:

The Fund may not:

(1) Invest more than 15% of its net assets in all forms of illiquid investments.

(2) Acquire any securities of registered open-end investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on subparagraph (F) or subparagraph (G) of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act.

(3) Invest directly in futures and options on futures to the extent that the Adviser would be required to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) as a commodity pool operator. See “Investment Policies and Techniques—Derivatives—Limitations on the Use of CFTC-Regulated Futures and Options on Futures.”

For purposes of number (1) above, the Fund will monitor portfolio liquidity on an ongoing basis and, in the event more than 15% of the Fund’s net assets are invested in illiquid investments, the Fund will reduce its holdings of illiquid investments in an orderly fashion in order to maintain adequate liquidity. The term “illiquid investments” will have the same meaning as given in guidance provided by the staff of the SEC.

The Board of Directors has adopted guidelines and procedures under which the Adviser is to determine whether the following types of securities which may be held by the Fund are “liquid” and to report to the Board concerning its determinations: (i) securities eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”); (ii) commercial paper issued in reliance on the “private placement” exemption from registration under Section 4(2) of the Securities Act, whether or not it is eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A; (iii) interest-only and principal-only, inverse floating and inverse interest-only securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; and (iv) municipal leases and securities that represent interests in municipal leases.

The Fund has adopted a non-fundamental investment policy pursuant to Rule 35d-1 under the 1940 Act (a “Name Policy”) whereby the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in common stocks of mid-capitalization companies. As a result, the Fund must provide shareholders with a notice meeting the requirements of Rule 35d-1(c) at least 60 days prior to any change of its Name Policy. The Fund will consider both direct investments and indirect investments (e.g., investments in other investment companies, derivatives and synthetic instruments with economic characteristics similar to the direct investments that meet the Name Policy) when determining compliance with the Name Policy. For purposes of the Name Policy, the Fund will value eligible derivatives at fair value or market value instead of notional value.

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND TECHNIQUES

The following information supplements the discussion of the Fund’s investment objective, principal investment strategies, policies and techniques that appears in the Prospectus for the Fund. Additional information concerning principal investment strategies of the Fund, and other investment strategies that may be used by the Fund, is set forth below in alphabetical order. Additional information concerning the Fund’s investment restrictions is set forth above under “Investment Restrictions.”

If a percentage limitation on investments by the Fund stated in this SAI or its Prospectus is adhered to at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from changes in asset value will not be deemed to violate the limitation except in the case of the limitations on borrowing. To the extent the Fund is limited to investing in securities with specified ratings or of a certain credit quality, the Fund is not required to sell a security if its rating is reduced or its credit quality declines after purchase, but may consider doing so. Descriptions of the rating categories of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“Standard & Poor’s”), Fitch, Inc. (“Fitch”) and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) are contained in Appendix A.

S-5

References in this section to the Adviser also apply, to the extent applicable, to the Sub-Adviser of the Fund.

Asset Coverage Requirements

Consistent with SEC staff guidance, the Fund will only engage in transactions that expose it to an obligation to another party if it owns either (a) an offsetting position for the same type of financial asset or (b) cash or liquid securities, designated on the Fund’s books or held in a segregated account, with a value sufficient at all times to cover its potential obligations not covered as provided in (a). Examples of transactions governed by these asset coverage requirements include, for example, options written by the Fund, futures contracts and options on futures contracts, forward currency contracts, swaps and when-issued and delayed delivery transactions. Assets used as offsetting positions, designated on the Fund’s books, or held in a segregated account cannot be sold while the positions requiring cover are open unless replaced with other appropriate assets. As a result, the commitment of a large portion of assets to be used as offsetting positions or to be designated or segregated in such a manner could impede portfolio management or the ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.

In the case of futures contracts or forward contracts that are not contractually required to cash settle, the Fund must set aside liquid assets equal to such contracts’ full notional value (generally, the total numerical value of the asset underlying a futures contract or forward contract at the time of valuation) while the positions are open. With respect to futures contracts or forward contracts that are contractually required to cash settle, however, the Fund is permitted to set aside liquid assets in an amount equal to the Fund’s daily mark-to-market net obligation (i.e., the Fund’s daily net liability) under the contracts, if any, rather than such contracts’ full notional value. By setting aside assets equal to only its net obligations under cash-settled futures and forward contracts, the Fund may employ leverage to a greater extent than if the Fund were required to segregate assets equal to the full notional value of such contracts.

Borrowing

Joint Credit Agreement

The Fund, along with certain other funds managed by the Adviser (“Participating Funds”), is a party to a 364-day, approximately $3 billion credit agreement with a group of lenders (the “Credit Agreement”), which expires in July 2018, unless extended or renewed. The Fund may borrow under the Credit Agreement to meet shareholder redemptions and for other lawful purposes. Borrowing results in interest expense and being a Participating Fund results in other fees and expenses, which may increase the Fund’s net expenses and reduce the Fund’s return. In addition, borrowing by the Fund may create leverage by increasing the Fund’s investment exposure. This will result in any changes in the Fund’s net asset value, either positive or negative, being greater than they would have been if the Fund had not borrowed. Participating Funds have been allocated different portions of the committed amount of the Credit Facility based primarily on the expected likelihood and extent of the need to borrow under the Credit Agreement. Commitment and undrawn fees under the Credit Agreement are allocated among Participating Funds based upon portions of the aggregate commitment available to them and other factors deemed relevant by the Adviser and the Board of each Participating Fund, while fees on any amounts drawn by a Participating Fund under the Credit Agreement are borne by that Participating Fund.

Inter-Fund Borrowing and Lending

The SEC has granted an exemptive order permitting registered open-end and closed-end Nuveen Funds to participate in an inter-fund lending facility whereby the Nuveen Funds may directly lend to and borrow money from each other for temporary purposes (e.g., to satisfy redemption requests or when a sale of securities “fails,” resulting in an unanticipated cash shortfall) (the “Inter-Fund Program”). The closed-end Nuveen Funds will participate only as lenders, and not as borrowers, in the Inter-Fund Program because such closed-end funds rarely, if ever, need to borrow cash to meet redemptions. The Inter-Fund Program is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, the requirements that (1) no Nuveen Fund may borrow or lend money through the Inter-Fund Program unless it receives a more favorable interest rate than is typically available from a bank or

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other financial institution for a comparable transaction; (2) no Nuveen Fund may borrow on an unsecured basis through the Inter-Fund Program unless the Nuveen Fund’s outstanding borrowings from all sources immediately after the inter-fund borrowing total 10% or less of its total assets; provided that if the borrowing Nuveen Fund has a secured borrowing outstanding from any other lender, including but not limited to another Nuveen Fund, the inter-fund loan must be secured on at least an equal priority basis with at least an equivalent percentage of collateral to loan value; (3) if a Nuveen Fund’s total outstanding borrowings immediately after an inter-fund borrowing would be greater than 10% of its total assets, the Nuveen Fund may borrow through the inter-fund loan on a secured basis only; (4) no Nuveen Fund may lend money if the loan would cause its aggregate outstanding loans through the Inter-Fund Program to exceed 15% of its net assets at the time of the loan; (5) a Nuveen Fund’s inter-fund loans to any one Nuveen Fund shall not exceed 5% of the lending Nuveen Fund’s net assets; (6) the duration of inter-fund loans will be limited to the time required to receive payment for securities sold, but in no event more than seven days; and (7) each inter-fund loan may be called on one business day’s notice by a lending Nuveen Fund and may be repaid on any day by a borrowing Nuveen Fund. In addition, a Nuveen Fund may participate in the Inter-Fund Program only if and to the extent that such participation is consistent with the Nuveen Fund’s investment objective and investment policies. The Board of Directors of the Nuveen Funds is responsible for overseeing the Inter-Fund Program.

The limitations detailed above and the other conditions of the SEC exemptive order permitting the Inter-Fund Program are designed to minimize the risks associated with Inter-Fund Program for both the lending fund and the borrowing fund. However, no borrowing or lending activity is without risk. When the Fund borrows money from another Nuveen Fund, there is a risk that the loan could be called on one day’s notice or not renewed, in which case the Fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher rate or take other actions to payoff such loan if an inter-fund loan is not available from another Nuveen Fund. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.

Common Stocks

Common stocks represent units of ownership in a company. Common stocks usually carry voting rights and earn dividends. Unlike preferred securities, dividends on common stocks are not prescribed in advance but are declared at the discretion of a company’s board.

While investing in stocks allows shareholders to participate in the benefits of owning a company, such shareholders must accept the risks of ownership. Unlike bondholders, who have preference to a company’s earnings and cash flow, common stockholders are entitled only to the residual amount after a company meets its other obligations. For this reason, the value of a company’s stock will usually react more strongly to actual or perceived changes in the company’s financial condition or prospects than its debt obligations. Stockholders of a company that fares poorly can lose money.

Stock markets tend to move in cycles with short or extended periods of rising and falling stock prices. The value of a company’s stock may fall because of:

An investment in common stocks of issuers with small or medium market capitalizations generally involves greater risk and price volatility than an investment in common stocks of larger, more established companies. This increased risk may be due to the greater business risks of their small or medium size, limited markets and financial resources, narrow product lines and frequent lack of management depth. The securities of small and medium capitalization companies are often traded in the over-the-counter market, and might not be traded in volumes typical of securities traded on a national securities exchange. Thus, the securities of small and medium capitalization companies are likely to be less liquid and subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than securities of larger, more established companies.

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Convertible Securities

Convertible securities, which are considered “equity securities” for purposes of the Fund’s investment policies, are bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stock or other securities that may be converted or exchanged (by the holder or by the issuer) into shares of the underlying common stock (or cash or securities of equivalent value) at a stated exchange ratio. A convertible security may also be called for redemption or conversion by the issuer after a particular date and under certain circumstances (including a specified price) established upon issue. If a convertible security held by the Fund is called for redemption or conversion, the Fund could be required to tender it for redemption, convert it into the underlying common stock, or sell it to a third party.

Convertible securities generally have less potential for gain or loss than common stocks. Convertible securities generally provide yields higher than the underlying common stocks, but generally lower than comparable non-convertible securities. Because of this higher yield, convertible securities generally sell at prices above their “conversion value,” which is the current market value of the stock to be received upon conversion. The difference between this conversion value and the price of convertible securities will vary over time depending on changes in the value of the underlying common stocks and interest rates. When the underlying common stocks decline in value, convertible securities will tend not to decline to the same extent because of the interest or dividend payments and the repayment of principal at maturity for certain types of convertible securities. However, securities that are convertible other than at the option of the holder generally do not limit the potential for loss to the same extent as securities convertible at the option of the holder. When the underlying common stocks rise in value, the value of convertible securities may also be expected to increase. At the same time, however, the difference between the market value of convertible securities and their conversion value will narrow, which means that the value of convertible securities will generally not increase to the same extent as the value of the underlying common stocks. Because convertible securities may also be interest-rate sensitive, their value may increase as interest rates fall and decrease as interest rates rise. Convertible securities are also subject to credit risk, and are often lower-quality securities.

Debt Securities

In addition to the debt securities described under “Short-Term Temporary Investments,” the Fund may invest in the debt securities described below. The Fund may invest up to 5% of its total assets in debt securities (provided that this limitation does not apply to debt securities described under “Short-Term Temporary Investments”). These securities are subject to (i) interest rate risk (the risk that increases in market interest rates will cause declines in the value of debt securities held by the Fund); (ii) credit risk (the risk that the issuers of debt securities held by the Fund default in making required payments); and (iii) call or prepayment risk (the risk that a borrower may exercise the right to prepay a debt obligation before its stated maturity, requiring the Fund to reinvest the prepayment at a lower interest rate).

U.S. Government Securities

The Fund may invest in U.S. government securities. The U.S. government securities in which the Fund may invest are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities. The U.S. government securities in which the Fund may invest are:

U.S. Treasury obligations include separately traded interest and principal component parts of such obligations, known as Separately Traded Registered Interest and Principal Securities (“STRIPS”),

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which are transferable through the Federal book-entry system. STRIPS are sold as zero coupon securities, which means that they are sold at a substantial discount and redeemed at face value at their maturity date without interim cash payments of interest or principal. This discount is accreted over the life of the security, and such accretion will constitute the income earned on the security for both accounting and tax purposes. Because of these features, such securities may be subject to greater interest rate volatility than interest paying U.S. Treasury obligations.

The government securities in which the Fund may invest are backed in a variety of ways by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities. Some of these securities, such as Government National Mortgage Association (“GNMA”) mortgage-backed securities, are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Other securities, such as obligations of the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”) are backed by the credit of the agency or instrumentality issuing the obligations but not the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. No assurances can be given that the U.S. government will provide financial support to these other agencies or instrumentalities because it is not obligated to do so. See “Agency Pass-Through Certificates” below for a description of these securities.

Agency Pass-Through Certificates

The Fund may invest in Agency Pass-Through Certificates. Agency Pass-Through Certificates are mortgage pass-through certificates representing undivided interests in pools of residential mortgage loans. Distribution of principal and interest on the mortgage loans underlying an Agency Pass-Through Certificate is an obligation of or guaranteed by GNMA, FNMA or FHLMC. GNMA is a wholly owned corporate instrumentality of the United States within the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The guarantee of GNMA with respect to GNMA certificates is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, and GNMA is authorized to borrow from the U.S. Treasury in an amount which is at any time sufficient to enable GNMA, with no limitation as to amount, to perform its guarantee.

FNMA is a federally chartered and privately owned corporation organized and existing under federal law. Although the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States has discretionary authority to lend funds to FNMA, neither the United States nor any agency thereof is obligated to finance FNMA’s operations or to assist FNMA in any other manner.

FHLMC is a federally chartered corporation organized and existing under federal law, the common stock of which is owned by the Federal Home Loan Banks. Neither the United States nor any agency thereof is obligated to finance FHLMC’s operations or to assist FHLMC in any other manner.

On September 6, 2008, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (“FHFA”) placed FNMA and FHLMC into conservatorship. As the conservator, FHFA succeeded to all rights, titles, powers and privileges of FNMA and FHLMC and of any stockholder, officer or director of FNMA and FHLMC with respect to FNMA and FHLMC and the assets of FNMA and FHLMC. FHFA selected a new chief executive officer and chairman of the board of directors for each of FNMA and FHLMC. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department agreed to provide FNMA and FHLMC with up to $100 billion of capital each to ensure that they are able to continue to provide ongoing liquidity to the U.S. home mortgage market. FNMA and FHLMC are continuing to operate as going concerns while in conservatorship and each remain liable for all of its obligations, including its guaranty obligations, associated with its mortgage-backed securities.

The mortgage loans underlying GNMA certificates are partially or fully guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration or the Veterans Administration, while the mortgage loans underlying FNMA certificates and FHLMC certificates are conventional mortgage loans which are, in some cases, insured by private mortgage insurance companies. Agency Pass-Through Certificates may be issued in a single class with respect to a given pool of mortgage loans or in multiple classes.

The residential mortgage loans evidenced by Agency Pass-Through Certificates generally are secured by first mortgages on one- to four-family residential dwellings. Such mortgage loans generally have final maturities ranging from 15 to 40 years and generally provide for monthly payments in amounts sufficient to amortize their original principal amounts by the maturity dates. Each monthly payment on such mortgage loans generally includes both an interest component and a principal component, so that the holder of the mortgage loans receives both interest and a partial return of

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principal in each monthly payment. In general, such mortgage loans can be prepaid by the borrowers at any time without any prepayment penalty. In addition, many such mortgage loans contain a “due-on-sale” clause requiring the loans to be repaid in full upon the sale of the property securing the loans. Because residential mortgage loans generally provide for monthly amortization and may be prepaid in full at any time, the weighted average maturity of a pool of residential mortgage loans is likely to be substantially shorter than its stated final maturity date. The rate at which a pool of residential mortgage loans is prepaid may be influenced by many factors and is not predictable with precision.

Corporate Debt Securities

The Fund may invest in corporate debt securities. Corporate debt securities are fully taxable debt obligations issued by corporations. These securities fund capital improvements, expansions, debt refinancing or acquisitions that require more capital than would ordinarily be available from a single lender. Investors in corporate debt securities lend money to the issuing corporation in exchange for interest payments and repayment of the principal at a set maturity date. Rates on corporate debt securities are set according to prevailing interest rates at the time of the issue, the credit rating of the issuer, the length of the maturity and other terms of the security, such as a call feature. Corporate debt securities are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligations and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as market interest rates, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity. In addition, corporate restructurings, such as mergers, leveraged buyouts, takeovers or similar corporate transactions are often financed by an increase in a corporate issuer’s debt securities. As a result of the added debt burden, the credit quality and market value of an issuer’s existing debt securities may decline significantly.

Preferred Stock

Preferred stock, unlike common stock, offers a stated dividend rate payable from the issuer’s earnings. Preferred stock dividends may be cumulative or non-cumulative, participating, or auction rate. As with all equity securities, the price of preferred stock fluctuates based on changes in a company’s financial condition and on overall market and economic conditions. If interest rates rise, the fixed dividend on preferred stocks may be less attractive, causing the price of preferred stocks to decline. Preferred stock may have mandatory sinking fund provisions, as well as call/redemption provisions prior to maturity, a negative feature when interest rates decline.

Debt Obligations Rated Less Than Investment Grade

The Fund may invest in both investment grade and non-investment grade debt obligations. Investment-grade securities are defined as securities which are rated at the time of purchase by two of Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch not less than Baa, BBB and BBB (or the equivalent short-term ratings), respectively, unless only one of those rating agencies provides a rating, in which case that rating must be at least Baa or BBB, or which are of comparable quality in the judgment of the Sub-Adviser. Debt obligations rated less than “investment grade” are sometimes referred to as “high yield securities” or “junk bonds.” The Fund’s non-investment grade debt obligations are limited to securities rated at least B by two of Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, unless only one of those rating agencies rates the security, in which case that rating must be at least B, or in unrated securities determined to be of comparable quality.

The “equity securities” in which the Fund invests may include debt obligations which are convertible into common stock (see “Convertible Securities” above). The Fund may invest in convertible securities that are rated less than investment grade, provided that the Fund may invest more than 5% of its net assets in less than investment grade convertible securities.

Yields on non-investment grade debt obligations will fluctuate over time. The prices of such obligations have been found to be less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher rated obligations, but more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments. Also, during an economic downturn or period of rising interest rates, highly leveraged issuers may experience financial stress which could adversely affect their ability to service principal and interest payment obligations, to meet projected business goals, and to obtain additional financing. In

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addition, periods of economic uncertainty and changes can be expected to result in increased volatility of market prices of non-investment grade debt obligations. If the issuer of a security held by the Fund defaulted, the Fund might incur additional expenses to seek recovery.

In addition, the secondary trading market for non-investment grade debt obligations may be less developed than the market for investment grade obligations. This may make it more difficult for the Fund to value and dispose of such obligations. Adverse publicity and investor perceptions, whether or not based on fundamental analysis, may decrease the values and liquidity of non-investment grade obligations, especially in a thin secondary trading market.

Certain risks also are associated with the use of credit ratings as a method for evaluating non-investment grade debt obligations. For example, credit ratings evaluate the safety of principal and interest payments, not the market value risk of such obligations. In addition, credit rating agencies may not timely change credit ratings to reflect current events. Thus, the success of the Fund’s use of non-investment grade debt obligations may be more dependent on the Sub-Adviser’s own credit analysis than is the case with investment grade obligations.

Variable, Floating, and Fixed Rate Debt Obligations

The debt obligations in which the Fund invests may have variable, floating, or fixed interest rates. Variable rate securities provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate. Floating rate securities are generally offered at an initial interest rate which is at or above prevailing market rates. The interest rate paid on floating rate securities is then reset periodically (commonly every 90 days) to an increment over some predetermined interest rate index. Commonly utilized indices include the three-month Treasury bill rate, the 180-day Treasury bill rate, the one-month or three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the prime rate of a bank, the commercial paper rates, or the longer-term rates on U.S. Treasury securities. Variable and floating rate securities are relatively long-term instruments that often carry demand features permitting the holder to demand payment of principal at any time or at specified intervals prior to maturity plus accrued interest. In order to most effectively use these securities, the Sub-Adviser must correctly assess probable movements in interest rates. If the Sub-Adviser incorrectly forecasts such movements, the Fund could be adversely affected by use of variable and floating rate securities.

Fixed rate securities pay a fixed rate of interest and tend to exhibit more price volatility during times of rising or falling interest rates than securities with variable or floating rates of interest. The value of fixed rate securities will tend to fall when interest rates rise and rise when interest rates fall. The value of variable or floating rate securities, on the other hand, fluctuates much less in response to market interest rate movements than the value of fixed rate securities. This is because variable and floating rate securities behave like short-term instruments in that the rate of interest they pay is subject to periodic adjustments according to a specified formula, usually with reference to some interest rate index or market interest rate. Fixed rate securities with short-term characteristics are not subject to the same price volatility as fixed rate securities without such characteristics. Therefore, they behave more like variable or floating rate securities with respect to price volatility.

Derivatives

Subject to the limitations set forth below under “Limitations on the Use of CFTC-Regulated Futures and Options on Futures,” the Fund may use derivative instruments as described below. Generally, a derivative is a financial contract the value of which depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. Derivatives generally take the form of contracts under which the parties agree to payments between them based upon the performance of a wide variety of underlying references, such as stocks, bonds, loans, commodities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, and various domestic and foreign indices.

The Fund may use derivatives for a variety of reasons, including as a substitute for investing directly in securities, as part of a hedging strategy (that is, for the purpose of reducing risk to the Fund), or for other purposes related to the management of the Fund. Derivatives permit the Fund to increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, to which its portfolio is exposed in much the same way as the Fund can increase or decrease the level of risk, or change the character of the risk, of its portfolio by making investments in specific securities. However, derivatives

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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 the Fund’s performance.

While transactions in some derivatives may be effected on established exchanges, many other derivatives are privately negotiated and entered into in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) market with a single counterparty. When exchange-traded derivatives are purchased and sold, a clearing agency associated with the exchange stands between each buyer and seller and effectively guarantees performance of each contract, either on a limited basis through a guaranty fund or to the full extent of the clearing agency’s balance sheet. Transactions in OTC derivatives not subject to a clearing requirement have no such protection. Each party to an uncleared OTC derivative bears the risk that its direct counterparty will default. In addition, OTC derivatives are generally less liquid than exchange-traded derivatives because they often can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction.

The use of derivative instruments is subject to applicable regulations of the SEC, the CFTC, various state regulatory authorities and, with respect to exchange-traded derivatives, the several exchanges upon which they are traded. As discussed above under “Asset Coverage Requirements,” in order to engage in certain transactions in derivatives, the Fund may be required to hold offsetting positions or to hold cash or liquid securities in a segregated account or designated on the Fund’s books. In addition, the Fund’s ability to use derivative instruments may be limited by tax considerations.

The particular derivative instruments the Fund can use are described below. The Fund’s portfolio manager may decide not to employ some or all of these instruments, and there is no assurance that any derivatives strategy used by the Fund will succeed. The Fund may employ new derivative instruments and strategies when they are developed, if those investment methods are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and are permissible under applicable regulations governing the Fund.

Options Transactions

The Fund may purchase put and call options on specific securities (including groups or “baskets” of specific securities), interest rates, stock indices, bond indices and/or foreign currencies. In addition, the Fund may write put and call options on such financial instruments.

Options on Securities. The Fund may purchase put and call options on securities. A put option on a security gives the purchaser of the option the right (but not the obligation) to sell, and the writer of the option the obligation to buy, the underlying security at a stated price (the “exercise price”) at any time before the option expires. A call option on a security gives the purchaser the right (but not the obligation) to buy, and the writer the obligation to sell, the underlying security at the exercise price at any time before the option expires. The purchase price for a put or call option is the “premium” paid by the purchaser for the right to sell or buy.

The Fund may purchase put options to hedge against a decline in the value of its portfolio. By using put options in this way, the Fund would reduce any profit it might otherwise have realized in the underlying security by the amount of the premium paid for the put option and by transaction costs. In similar fashion, the Fund may purchase call options to protect against an increase in the price of securities that the Fund anticipates purchasing in the future, a practice sometimes referred to as “anticipatory hedging.” The premium paid for the call option plus any transaction costs will reduce the benefit, if any, realized by the Fund upon exercise of the option, and, unless the price of the underlying security rises sufficiently, the option may expire unexercised.

Options on Interest Rates and Indices. The Fund may purchase put and call options on interest rates and on stock and bond indices. An option on interest rates or on an index gives the holder the right to receive, upon exercise of the option, an amount of cash if the closing value of the underlying interest rate or index is greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. This amount of cash is equal to the difference between the exercise-settlement value of the interest rate option or the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple (the “multiplier”). The writer of the option is obligated, for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. Settlements for interest rate and index options are always in cash.

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Options on Currencies. The Fund may purchase put and call options on foreign currencies. A foreign currency option provides the option buyer with the right to buy or sell a stated amount of foreign currency at the exercise price at a specified date or during the option period. A call option gives its owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy the currency, while a put option gives its owner the right, but not the obligation, to sell the currency. The option seller (writer) is obligated to fulfill the terms of the option sold if it is exercised. However, either seller or buyer may close its position during the option period in the secondary market for such options at any time prior to expiration.

A foreign currency call option rises in value if the underlying currency appreciates. Conversely, a foreign currency put option rises in value if the underlying currency depreciates. While purchasing a foreign currency option may protect the Fund against an adverse movement in the value of a foreign currency, it would limit the gain which might result from a favorable movement in the value of the currency. For example, if the Fund were holding securities denominated in an appreciating foreign currency and had purchased a foreign currency put to hedge against a decline in the value of the currency, it would not have to exercise its put. In such an event, however, the amount of the Fund’s gain would be offset in part by the premium paid for the option. Similarly, if the Fund entered into a contract to purchase a security denominated in a foreign currency and purchased a foreign currency call to hedge against a rise in the value of the currency between the date of purchase and the settlement date, the Fund would not need to exercise its call if the currency instead depreciated in value. In such a case, the Fund could acquire the amount of foreign currency needed for settlement in the spot market at a lower price than the exercise price of the option.

Writing Options. The Fund may write (sell) put and call options. These transactions would be undertaken principally to produce additional income. The Fund receives a premium from writing options which it retains whether or not the option is exercised. The Fund may write straddles consisting of a combination of a call and a put written on the same underlying instrument.

The Fund will write a call option on a security only if (a) the Fund owns the security underlying the call, (b) the Fund has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration (or, if additional cash consideration is required, cash or other liquid assets in such amount are segregated), or (c) the Fund holds a call on the same security where the exercise price of the call is (i) equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written, or (ii) greater than the exercise price of the call written, provided the difference is maintained by the Fund in segregated liquid assets.

The Fund will write a call option on a basket of securities, an index or currency only if (a) the Fund segregates liquid assets in an amount equal to the contract value of the index, basket or currency, or (b) the Fund holds a call on the same index, basket or currency as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is (i) equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written, or (ii) greater than the exercise price of the call written, provided the difference is maintained by the Fund in segregated liquid assets.

The Fund will write a put option on a security, basket of securities, index or currency only if (a) the Fund segregates liquid assets equal to the exercise price or (b) the Fund holds a put on the same security, basket of securities, index or currency as the put written where the exercise price of the put held is (i) equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written, or (ii) less than the exercise price of the put written, provided the difference is maintained by the Fund in segregated liquid assets.

When the Fund writes a straddle, sufficient assets will be segregated to meet the Fund’s immediate obligations. The Fund may segregate the same liquid assets for both the call and put options in a straddle where the exercise price of the call and put are the same, or the exercise price of the call is higher than that of the put. In such cases, the Fund will also segregate liquid assets equivalent to the amount, if any, by which the put is “in the money.”

Expiration or Exercise of Options. If an option purchased by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a capital loss equal to the premium paid. If an option written by the Fund expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a capital gain equal to the premium received at the time the option was written. Prior to the earlier of exercise or expiration, an exchange traded option may be closed out by an offsetting purchase or sale of an option of the same series (type, exchange, underlying security, currency or index, exercise price, and expiration). There can be no assurance, however, that a closing purchase or sale transaction can be effected when the Fund desires.

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The Fund may sell put or call options it has previously purchased, which could result in a net gain or loss depending on whether the amount realized on the sale is more or less than the premium and other transaction costs paid on the put or call option which is sold. Prior to exercise or expiration, an option may be closed out by an offsetting purchase or sale of an option of the same series. The Fund will realize a capital gain from a closing purchase transaction if the cost of the closing option is less than the premium received from writing the option, or, if it is more, the Fund will realize a capital loss. If the premium received from a closing sale transaction is more than the premium paid to purchase the option, the Fund will realize a capital gain or, if it is less, the Fund will realize a capital loss. The principal factors affecting the market value of a put or a call option include supply and demand, interest rates, the current market price of the underlying security, currency or index in relation to the exercise price of the option, the volatility of the underlying security, currency or index, and the time remaining until the expiration date.

Futures

The Fund may engage in futures transactions. The Fund may buy and sell futures contracts that relate to (1) interest rates, (2) debt securities, (3) bond indices, (4) foreign currencies, (5) stock indices, and (6) individual stocks. The Fund may only enter into futures contracts which are standardized and traded on a U.S. or foreign exchange, board of trade or similar entity, or quoted on an automated quotation system.

A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security, index, interest rate or currency (each a “financial instrument”) for a set price on a future date. Certain futures contracts, such as futures contracts relating to individual securities, call for making or taking delivery of the underlying financial instrument. However, these contracts generally are closed out before delivery by entering into an offsetting purchase or sale of a matching futures contract. Other futures contracts, such as futures contracts on interest rates and indices, do not call for making or taking delivery of the underlying financial instrument, but rather are agreements pursuant to which two parties agree to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to the difference between the value of the financial instrument at the close of the last trading day of the contract and the price at which the contract was originally written. These contracts also may be settled by entering into an offsetting futures contract.

Unlike when the Fund purchases or sells a security, no price is paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, the Fund will be required to deposit with its futures broker (also known as a futures commission merchant (“FCM”)) an amount of cash or securities equal to a specified percentage of the contract amount. This amount is known as initial margin. The margin deposit is intended to ensure completion of the contract. Minimum initial margin requirements are established by the futures exchanges and may be revised. In addition, FCMs may establish margin deposit requirements that are higher than the exchange minimums. Cash held as margin is generally invested by the FCM in high-quality instruments permitted under CFTC regulations, with returns retained by the FCM and interest paid to the Fund on the cash at an agreed-upon rate. The Fund will also receive any interest paid from coupon-bearing securities, such as Treasury securities, held in margin accounts. Subsequent payments to and from the FCM, called variation margin, will be made on a daily basis as the price of the underlying financial instrument fluctuates, making the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as marking the contract to market. Changes in variation margin are recorded by the Fund as unrealized gains or losses. At any time prior to expiration of the futures contract, the Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position that will operate to terminate its position in the futures contract. A final determination of variation margin is then made, additional cash is required to be paid by or released to the Fund, and the Fund realizes a gain or loss. In the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of an FCM that holds margin on behalf of the Fund, the Fund may be entitled to the return of margin owed to it only in proportion to the amount received by the FCM’s other customers, potentially resulting in losses to the Fund. Futures transactions also involve brokerage costs.

Most U.S. futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of futures contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during

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a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses.

Options on Futures

The Fund may also purchase or write put and call options on futures contracts and enter into closing transactions with respect to such options to terminate an existing position. A futures option gives the holder the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a long position (call) or short position (put) in a futures contract at a specified exercise price prior to the expiration of the option. Upon exercise of a call option, the holder acquires a long position in the futures contract and the writer is assigned the opposite short position. In the case of a put option, the opposite is true. Prior to exercise or expiration, a futures option may be closed out by an offsetting purchase or sale of a futures option of the same series.

The Fund may use options on futures contracts in connection with hedging strategies. The writing of a call option or the purchasing of a put option on a futures contract constitutes a partial hedge against declining prices of the securities which are deliverable upon exercise of the futures contract. If the futures price at expiration of a written call option is below the exercise price, the Fund will retain the full amount of the option premium which provides a partial hedge against any decline that may have occurred in the Fund’s holdings of securities. If the futures price when the option is exercised is above the exercise price, however, the Fund will incur a loss, which may be offset, in whole or in part, by the increase in the value of the securities held by the Fund that were being hedged. Writing a put option or purchasing a call option on a futures contract serves as a partial hedge against an increase in the value of the securities the Fund intends to acquire.

When writing a call option, the Fund must either segregate liquid assets with a value equal to the fluctuating market value of the optioned futures contract, or the Fund must own an option to purchase the same futures contract having an exercise price that is (i) equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written, or (ii) greater than the exercise price of the call written, provided the difference is maintained by the Fund in segregated liquid assets.

When writing a put option, the Fund must segregate liquid assets in an amount not less than the exercise price, or own a put option on the same futures contract where the exercise price of the put held is (i) equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written, or (ii) less than the exercise price of the put written, provided the difference is maintained by the Fund in segregated liquid assets.

As with investments in futures contracts, the Fund is required to deposit and maintain margin with respect to put and call options on futures contracts written by it.

Forward Currency Contracts and other Foreign Currency Transactions

The Fund may enter into forward currency contracts. A forward currency contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are traded directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. Unlike futures contracts, which are standardized contracts, forward contracts can be specifically drawn to meet the needs of the parties that enter into them. The parties to a forward currency contract may agree to offset or terminate the contract before its maturity, or may hold the contract to maturity and complete the contemplated exchange. Because forward contracts are not traded on an exchange, the Fund is subject to the credit and performance risk of the counterparties to such contracts.

The following, among others, are types of currency management strategies involving forward contracts that may be used by the Fund. The Fund also may use currency futures contracts and options thereon and put and call options on foreign currencies for the same purposes.

Transaction Hedges. When the Fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a foreign currency, or when it anticipates receiving dividend payments in a foreign currency, the Fund might wish to lock in the U.S. dollar price of the security or the U.S. dollar

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equivalent of the dividend payments. To do so, the Fund could enter into a forward contract for the purchase or sale of the amount of foreign currency involved in the underlying transaction at a fixed amount of U.S. dollars per unit of the foreign currency. This is known as a “transaction hedge.” A transaction hedge will protect the Fund against a loss from an adverse change in the currency exchange rate during the period between the date on which the security is purchased or sold or on which the payment is declared, and the date on which the payment is made or received. Forward contracts to purchase or sell a foreign currency may also be used by the Fund in anticipation of future purchases or sales of securities denominated in a foreign currency, even if the specific investments have not yet been selected by the Sub-Adviser. This strategy is sometimes referred to as “anticipatory hedging.”

Position Hedges. The Fund could also use forward contracts to lock in the U.S. dollar value of portfolio positions. This is known as a “position hedge.” When the Fund believes that a foreign currency might suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, it could enter into a forward contract to sell an amount of that foreign currency approximating the value of some or all of the Fund’s portfolio securities denominated in that foreign currency. When the Fund believes that the U.S. dollar might suffer a substantial decline against a foreign currency, it could enter into a forward contract to buy that foreign currency for a fixed dollar amount. Alternatively, the Fund could enter into a forward contract to sell a different foreign currency for a fixed U.S. dollar amount if the Fund’s portfolio manager believes that the U.S. dollar value of that foreign currency will fall whenever there is a decline in the U.S. dollar value of the currency in which portfolio securities of the Fund are denominated. This is referred to as a “cross hedge.”

Shifting Currency Exposure. The Fund may also enter into forward contracts to shift its investment exposure from one currency into another. This may include shifting exposure from U.S. dollars to foreign currency or from one foreign currency to another foreign currency. This strategy tends to limit exposure to the currency sold, and increase exposure to the currency that is purchased, much as if the Fund had sold a security denominated in one currency and purchased an equivalent security denominated in another currency.

Limitations on the Use of CFTC-Regulated Futures and Options on Futures

The Fund will limit its direct investments in CFTC-regulated futures and options on futures (“CFTC Derivatives”) to the extent necessary for the Adviser to claim the exclusion from regulation as a commodity pool operator with respect to the Fund under CFTC Rule 4.5, as such rule may be amended from time to time. Under Rule 4.5 as currently in effect, the Fund will limit its trading activity in CFTC Derivatives (excluding activity for “bona fide hedging purposes,” as defined by the CFTC) such that it meets one of the following tests:

With respect to the Fund, the Adviser has filed a notice of eligibility for exclusion from the definition of the term commodity pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool operator thereunder.

The requirements for qualification as a regulated investment company may also limit the extent to which the Fund may invest in CFTC Derivatives. See “Tax Matters—Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company.”

Federal Income Tax Treatment of Futures Contracts and Options

The Fund’s transactions in futures contracts and options will be subject to special provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital, or short-term or long-term), may accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and

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may defer Fund losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out) and (b) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement for qualifying to be taxed as a regulated investment company and the distribution requirement for avoiding excise taxes.

Risks and Special Considerations Concerning Derivatives

The use of derivative instruments involves certain general risks and considerations as described below.

(1) Market Risk. Market risk is the risk that the value of the underlying assets may go up or down. Adverse movements in the value of an underlying asset can expose the Fund to losses. The successful use of derivative instruments depends upon a variety of factors, particularly the portfolio manager’s ability to predict movements in the relevant markets, which may require different skills than predicting changes in the prices of individual securities. There can be no assurance that any particular strategy adopted will succeed.

(2) Counterparty Risk. Counterparty risk is the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of a counterparty to comply with the terms of a derivative instrument. The counterparty risk for exchange-traded derivatives is generally less than for OTC derivatives, since generally a clearing agency, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded instrument, provides a guarantee of performance. For many OTC instruments, there is no similar clearing agency guarantee and there is less regulation or supervision of transactions. In all transactions, the Fund will bear the risk that the counterparty will default, and this could result in a loss of the expected benefit of the derivative transactions and possibly other losses to the Fund. The Fund will enter into derivatives transactions only with counterparties that its portfolio manager reasonably believes are capable of performing under the contract.

(3) Correlation Risk. Correlation risk is the risk that there might be an imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between price movements of a derivative instrument and price movements of investments being hedged. When a derivative transaction is used to completely hedge another position, changes in the market value of the combined position (the derivative instrument plus the position being hedged) result from an imperfect correlation between the price movements of the two instruments. With a perfect hedge, the value of the combined position remains unchanged with any change in the price of the underlying asset. With an imperfect hedge, the value of the derivative instrument and its hedge are not perfectly correlated. For example, if the value of a derivative instrument used in a short hedge (such as writing a call option, buying a put option or selling a futures contract) increased by less than the decline in value of the hedged investments, the hedge would not be perfectly correlated. This might occur due to factors unrelated to the value of the investments being hedged, such as speculative or other pressures on the markets in which these instruments are traded. The effectiveness of hedges using instruments on indices will depend, in part, on the degree of correlation between price movements in the index and the price movements in the investments being hedged.

(4) Liquidity Risk. Liquidity risk is the risk that a derivative instrument cannot be sold, closed out or replaced quickly at or very close to its fundamental value. Generally, exchange contracts are very liquid because the exchange clearinghouse is the counterparty of every contract. OTC transactions are less liquid than exchange-traded derivatives since they often can only be closed out with the other party to the transaction. The Fund might be required by applicable regulatory requirements to maintain assets as “cover,” maintain segregated accounts, and/or make margin payments when it takes positions in derivative instruments involving obligations to third parties (i.e., instruments other than purchase options). If the Fund is unable to close out its positions in such instruments, it might be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the position expires, matures or is closed out. These requirements might impair the Fund’s ability to sell a security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require that the Fund sell a portfolio security at a disadvantageous time. The Fund’s ability to sell or close out a position in an instrument prior to

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expiration or maturity depends upon the existence of a liquid secondary market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the counterparty to enter into a transaction closing out the position. There is no assurance that any derivatives position can be sold or closed out at a time and price that is favorable to the Fund.

(5) Legal Risk. Legal risk is the risk of loss caused by the unenforceability of a party’s obligations under the derivative. While a party seeking price certainty agrees to surrender the potential upside in exchange for downside protection, the party taking the risk is looking for a positive payoff. Despite this voluntary assumption of risk, a counterparty that has lost money in a derivative transaction may try to avoid payment by exploiting various legal uncertainties about certain derivative products.

(6) Systemic or “Interconnection” Risk. Systemic or interconnection risk is the risk that a disruption in the financial markets will cause difficulties for all market participants. In other words, a disruption in one market will spill over into other markets, perhaps creating a chain reaction. Much of the OTC derivatives market takes place among the OTC dealers themselves, thus creating a large interconnected web of financial obligations. This interconnectedness raises the possibility that a default by one large dealer could create losses for other dealers and destabilize the entire market for OTC derivative instruments.

(7) Leverage Risk. Leverage risk is the risk that the Fund may be more volatile than if it had not been leveraged due to leverage’s tendency to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s portfolio securities. The use of leverage may also cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet segregation requirements.

(8) Regulatory Risk. The Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) has initiated a dramatic revision of the U.S. financial regulatory framework and covers a broad range of topics, including (among many others) a reorganization of federal financial regulators; a process intended to improve financial systemic stability and the resolution of potentially insolvent financial firms; and new rules for derivatives trading. Instruments in which the Fund may invest, or the issuers of such instruments, may be affected by the new legislation and regulation in ways that are unforeseeable. Many of the implementing regulations have not yet been finalized. Accordingly, the ultimate impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, including on the derivative instruments in which the Fund may invest, is not yet certain.

Exchange-Traded Funds

The Fund may invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”). ETFs are a type of index fund bought and sold on a securities exchange. An ETF trades like common stock and represents a portfolio of securities designed to track a particular market index. The Fund could purchase an ETF to gain exposure to all or a portion of the U.S. market, a foreign market, a region, a commodity, a currency, or to any other index that an ETF tracks. The risks of owning an ETF generally reflect the risks of owning the underlying securities they are designed to track, although lack of liquidity in an ETF could result in it being more volatile and ETFs have management fees that increase their costs. An ETF may fail to accurately track the returns of the market segment or index that it is designed to track, and the price of an ETF’s shares may fluctuate. In addition, because they, unlike traditional mutual funds, are traded on an exchange, ETFs are subject to the following risks: (i) the performance of the ETF may not replicate the performance of the underlying index that it is designed to track; (ii) the market price of the ETF’s shares may trade at a premium or discount to the ETF’s net asset value; (iii) an active trading market for an ETF may not develop or be maintained; and (iv) there is no assurance that the requirements of the exchange necessary to maintain the listing of the ETF will continue to be met or remain unchanged. Trading in an ETF may be halted if the trading in one or more of the ETF’s underlying securities is halted, which could result in the ETF being more volatile. In the event substantial market or other disruptions affecting ETFs should occur in the future, the liquidity and value of the Fund’s shares could also be substantially and adversely affected.

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Exchange-Traded Notes

The Fund may invest in exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”). ETNs are a type of senior, unsecured, unsubordinated debt security issued by financial institutions that combines both aspects of bonds and ETFs. An ETN’s returns are based on the performance of a market index minus fees and expenses. Similar to ETFs, ETNs are listed on an exchange and traded in the secondary market. However, unlike an ETF, an ETN can be held until the ETN’s maturity, at which time the issuer will pay a return linked to the performance of the market index to which the ETN is linked minus certain fees.

Unlike regular bonds, ETNs do not make periodic interest payments and principal is not protected. ETNs are subject to credit risk and the value of an ETN may drop due to a downgrade in the issuer’s credit rating, despite the underlying market benchmark or strategy remaining unchanged. The value of an ETN may also be influenced by time to maturity, level of supply and demand for the ETN, volatility and lack of liquidity in underlying assets, changes in the applicable interest rates, changes in the issuer’s credit rating, and economic, legal, political, or geographic events that affect the referenced underlying asset. When the Fund invests in ETNs it will bear its proportionate share of any fees and expenses borne by the ETN. The Fund’s decision to sell its ETN holdings may be limited by the availability of a secondary market. In addition, although an ETN may be listed on an exchange, the issuer may not be required to maintain the listing and there can be no assurance that a secondary market will exist for an ETN.

ETNs are also subject to tax risk. No assurance can be given that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) will accept, or a court will uphold, how the Fund characterizes and treats ETNs for tax purposes. Further, the IRS and Congress have considered proposals that would change the timing and character of income and gains from ETNs.

An ETN that is tied to a specific market benchmark or strategy may not be able to replicate and maintain exactly the composition and relative weighting of securities, commodities or other components in the applicable market benchmark or strategy. Some ETNs that use leverage can, at times, be relatively illiquid and, thus, they may be difficult to purchase or sell at a fair price. Leveraged ETNs are subject to the same risk as other instruments that use leverage in any form.

The market value of ETN shares may differ from their market benchmark or strategy. This difference in price may be due to the fact that the supply and demand in the market for ETN shares at any point in time is not always identical to the supply and demand in the market for the securities, commodities or other components underlying the market benchmark or strategy that the ETN seeks to track. As a result, there may be times when an ETN share trades at a premium or discount to its market benchmark or strategy.

Foreign Securities

General. Foreign securities may include debt securities of governmental and corporate issuers, preferred stock, common stock, and convertible securities of corporate issuers, rights and warrants to buy common stocks, depositary receipts evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer, and exchange traded funds and other investment companies that provide exposure to foreign issuers.

Investment in foreign securities is subject to special investment risks that differ in some respects from those related to investments in securities of U.S. domestic issuers. These risks include political, social or economic instability in the country of the issuer, the difficulty of predicting international trade patterns, the possibility of the imposition of exchange controls, expropriation, limits on removal of currency or other assets, nationalization of assets, foreign withholding and income taxation, and foreign trading practices (including higher trading commissions, custodial charges and delayed settlements). Foreign securities also may be subject to greater fluctuations in price than securities issued by U.S. corporations. The principal markets on which these securities trade may have less volume and liquidity, and may be more volatile, than securities markets in the United States.

In addition, there may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than about a U.S. domiciled company. Foreign companies generally are not subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards comparable to those applicable to U.S. domestic companies. There is also generally less government regulation of securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies abroad than in the United States. Confiscatory taxation or diplomatic developments

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could also affect investment in those countries. In addition, foreign branches of U.S. banks, foreign banks and foreign issuers may be subject to less stringent reserve requirements and to different accounting, auditing, reporting, and record keeping standards than those applicable to domestic branches of U.S. banks and U.S. domestic issuers.

Emerging Markets. The Fund may invest in securities issued by governmental and corporate issuers that are located in emerging market countries. Investments in securities of issuers in emerging market countries may be subject to potentially higher risks than investments in developed countries. These risks include (i) less social, political and economic stability; (ii) the small current size of the markets for such securities and the currently low or nonexistent volume of trading, which may result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (iii) certain national policies which may restrict the Fund’s investment opportunities, including restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests; (iv) foreign taxation; (v) the absence of developed structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress for injury to private property; (vi) the limited development and recent emergence, in certain countries, of a capital market structure or market-oriented economy; and (vii) the possibility that recent favorable economic developments in certain countries may be slowed or reversed by unanticipated political or social events in such countries. All of the risks of investing in non-U.S. securities described above are heightened by investing in emerging markets countries.

Certain countries, which do not have market economies, are characterized by an absence of developed legal structures governing private and foreign investments and private property. Certain countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons, or limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular company, or limit the investment of foreign persons to only a specific class of securities of a company that may have less advantageous terms than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals.

Authoritarian governments in certain countries may require that a governmental or quasi-governmental authority act as custodian of the Fund’s assets invested in such country. To the extent such governmental or quasi-governmental authorities do not satisfy the requirements of the 1940 Act to act as foreign custodians of the Fund’s cash and securities, the Fund’s investment in such countries may be limited or may be required to be effected through intermediaries. The risk of loss through governmental confiscation may be increased in such countries.

Depositary Receipts. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities may include investment in depositary receipts, including American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”). U.S. dollar-denominated ADRs, which are traded in the United States on exchanges or over-the-counter, are issued by domestic banks. ADRs represent the right to receive securities of foreign issuers deposited in a domestic bank or a correspondent bank. ADRs do not eliminate all the risk inherent in investing in the securities of foreign issuers. However, by investing in ADRs rather than directly in foreign issuers’ stock, the Fund can avoid currency risks during the settlement period for either purchases or sales. In general, there is a large, liquid market in the United States for many ADRs. The information available for ADRs is subject to the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards of the domestic market or exchange on which they are traded, which standards are more uniform and more exacting than those to which many foreign issuers may be subject. The Fund may also invest in EDRs, GDRs and in other similar instruments representing securities of foreign companies. EDRs and GDRs are securities that are typically issued by foreign banks or foreign trust companies, although U.S. banks or U.S. trust companies may issue them. EDRs and GDRs are structured similarly to the arrangements of ADRs. EDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets and are not necessarily denominated in the currency of the underlying security.

Certain depositary receipts, typically those denominated as unsponsored, require the holders thereof to bear most of the costs of the facilities while issuers of sponsored facilities normally pay more of the costs thereof. The depository of an unsponsored facility frequently is under no obligation to distribute shareholder communications received from the issuer of the deposited securities or to pass through the voting rights to facility holders in respect to the deposited securities, whereas the depository of a sponsored facility typically distributes shareholder communications and passes through voting rights.

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Foreign Securities Exchanges. Fixed commissions on foreign securities exchanges are generally higher than negotiated commissions on U.S. exchanges. Foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in some markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when a portion of the assets of the Fund is uninvested. In addition, settlement problems could cause the Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities or to incur losses due to an inability to sell or deliver securities in a timely fashion. In the event of a default by an issuer of foreign securities, it may be more difficult for the Fund to obtain or to enforce a judgment against the issuer.

Lending of Portfolio Securities

In order to generate additional income, the Fund may lend portfolio securities representing up to one-third of the value of its total assets to broker-dealers, banks or other institutional borrowers of securities. As with other extensions of credit, there may be risks of delay in recovery of the securities or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower of the securities fail financially. However, the Fund will only enter into domestic loan arrangements with broker-dealers, banks, or other institutions which the Sub-Adviser, in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Directors, has determined are creditworthy. The Fund will pay a portion of the income earned on other lending transactions to the placing broker and may pay administrative and custodial fees in connection with these loans.

In these loan arrangements, the Fund will receive cash collateral equal to at least 102% of the value of the securities loaned as determined at the time of loan origination. If the market value of the loaned securities increases, the borrower must furnish additional collateral to the lending Fund. During the time portfolio securities are on loan, the borrower pays the lending Fund any dividends or interest paid on the securities. Loans are subject to termination at any time by the lending Fund or the borrower. While the Fund does not have the right to vote securities on loan, it would terminate the loan and regain the right to vote if that were considered important with respect to the investment.

When the Fund lends portfolio securities to a borrower, payments in lieu of dividends made by the borrower to the Fund will not constitute “qualified dividends” taxable at the same rate as long-term capital gains, even if the actual dividends would have constituted qualified dividends had the Fund held the securities. See “Taxation.” However, the Fund currently recalls all loaned securities from the borrower so that they may receive dividends paid on the securities.

Master Limited Partnerships

Equity securities in which the Fund may invest include master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). An MLP is an entity, most commonly a limited partnership, that is taxed as a partnership, publicly traded and listed on a national securities exchange. Holders of common units of MLPs typically have limited control and limited voting rights as compared to holders of a corporation’s common shares. Preferred units issued by MLPs are not typically listed or traded on an exchange. Holders of preferred units can be entitled to a wide range of voting and other rights. MLPs are limited by the Code to only apply to enterprises that engage in certain businesses, mostly pertaining to the use of natural resources, such as petroleum and natural gas extraction and transportation, although some other enterprises may also qualify as MLPs.

There are certain tax risks associated with investments in MLPs. The benefit derived from an investment in an MLP is largely dependent on the MLP being treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. A change to current tax law, or a change in the underlying business mix of a given MLP, could result in an MLP being treated as a corporation for federal income tax purposes. If an MLP were treated as a corporation, the MLP would be required to pay federal income tax on its taxable income. This would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution by the MLP, which could result in a reduction of the value of the Fund’s investment in the MLP and lower income to the Fund. Additionally, since MLPs generally conduct business in multiple states, the Fund may be subject to income or franchise tax in each of the states in which the partnership does business. The additional cost of preparing and filing the tax returns and paying the related taxes may adversely impact the Fund’s return on its investment in MLPs.

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Investments held by MLPs may be relatively illiquid, limiting the MLPs’ ability to vary their portfolios promptly in response to changes in economic or other conditions, and MLPs may have limited financial resources. Securities of MLPs may trade infrequently and in limited volume, and they may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than common shares of larger or more broadly-based companies. The Fund’s investment in MLPs also subjects the Fund to the risks associated with the specific industry or industries in which the MLPs invest. MLPs are generally considered interest-rate sensitive investments, and during periods of interest rate volatility, may not provide attractive returns.

Other Investment Companies

The Fund may invest in other investment companies, including open-end funds, closed-end funds, unit investment trusts, and ETFs registered under the 1940 Act that invest primarily in Fund-eligible investments. Under the 1940 Act, the Fund’s investment in such securities is generally limited to 3% of the total voting stock of any one investment company; 5% of the Fund’s total assets with respect to any one investment company; and 10% of the Fund’s total assets in the aggregate. The Fund’s investments in other investment companies may include money market mutual funds. Investments in money market funds are not subject to the percentage limitations set forth above.

If the Fund invests in other investment companies, Fund shareholders will bear not only their proportionate share of the Fund’s expenses, but also, indirectly, the similar expenses of the underlying investment companies. Shareholders would also be exposed to the risks associated not only with the Fund, but also with the portfolio investments of the underlying investment companies. Shares of certain closed-end funds may at times be acquired at market prices representing premiums to their net asset values. Shares acquired at a premium to their net asset value may be more likely to subsequently decline in price, resulting in a loss to the Fund and its shareholders.

Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) Securities

REITs are publicly traded corporations or trusts that specialize in acquiring, holding, and managing residential, commercial or industrial real estate. A REIT is not taxed at the entity level on income distributed to its shareholders or unitholders if it distributes to shareholders or unitholders at least 90% of its taxable income for each taxable year and complies with regulatory requirements relating to its organization, ownership, assets and income.

REITs generally can be classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs and hybrid REITs. An equity REIT invests the majority of its assets directly in real property and derives its income primarily from rents and from capital gains on real estate appreciation which are realized through property sales. A mortgage REIT invests the majority of its assets in real estate mortgage loans and services its income primarily from interest payments. A hybrid REIT combines the characteristics of an equity REIT and a mortgage REIT.

Investing in REITs would subject the Fund to risks associated with the real estate industry. 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. Real property values and income 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 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 such companies, and companies which service the real estate industry.

The Fund is also subject to risks associated with direct investments in REITs. Equity REITs will be affected by changes in the values of and income from the properties they own, while mortgage REITs may be affected by the credit quality of the mortgage loans they hold. In addition, REITs are dependent on specialized management skills and on 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 risks associated with obtaining financing for real property, as well as to the risk of self-liquidation. REITs also can be adversely affected by their failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through treatment of their income under the Code or their failure to maintain an exemption from

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registration under the 1940 Act. By investing in REITs indirectly through the Fund, a shareholder bears not only a proportionate share of the expenses of the Fund, but also may indirectly bear similar expenses of some of the REITs in which it invests.

Repurchase Agreements

The Fund may invest in repurchase agreements. Ordinarily, the Fund does not expect its investment in repurchase agreements to exceed 10% of its total assets. However, because the Fund may invest without limit in cash and short-term securities for temporary defensive purposes, there is no limit on the Fund’s ability to invest in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement involves the purchase by the Fund of securities with the agreement that after a stated period of time, the original seller will buy back the same securities (“collateral”) at a predetermined price or yield. Repurchase agreements involve certain risks not associated with direct investments in securities. If the original seller defaults on its obligation to repurchase as a result of its bankruptcy or otherwise, the purchasing Fund will seek to sell the collateral, which could involve costs or delays. Although collateral (which may consist of any fixed income security which is an eligible investment for the Fund entering into the repurchase agreement) will at all times be maintained in an amount equal to the repurchase price under the agreement (including accrued interest), the Fund would suffer a loss if the proceeds from the sale of the collateral were less than the agreed-upon repurchase price. The Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of the firms with which the Fund enters into repurchase agreements.

The Fund’s custodian will hold the securities underlying any repurchase agreement, or the securities will be part of the Federal Reserve/Treasury Book Entry System. The market value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will be determined on each business day. If at any time the market value of the collateral falls below the repurchase price under the repurchase agreement (including any accrued interest), the Fund will promptly receive additional collateral (so the total collateral is an amount at least equal to the repurchase price plus accrued interest).

Royalty Trusts

The Fund may invest in publicly-traded royalty trusts. Royalty trusts are income-oriented equity investments that indirectly, through the ownership of trust units, provide investors (called “unit holders”) with exposure to energy sector assets such as coal, oil and natural gas. Royalty trusts are structured similarly to REITs. A royalty trust generally acquires an interest in natural resource companies or chemical companies and distributes the income it receives to the investors of the royalty trust. A sustained decline in demand for crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products could adversely affect income and royalty trust revenues and cash flows. Factors that could lead to a decrease in market demand include a recession or other adverse economic conditions, an increase in the market price of the underlying commodity, higher taxes or other regulatory actions that increase costs, or a shift in consumer demand for such products. A rising interest rate environment could adversely impact the performance of royalty trusts. Rising interest rates could limit the capital appreciation of royalty trusts because of the increased availability of alternative investments at more competitive yields.

Short-Term Temporary Investments

In an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, the Fund may temporarily invest without limit in a variety of short-term instruments such as commercial paper and variable amount master demand notes; U.S. dollar-denominated time and savings deposits (including certificates of deposit); bankers’ acceptances; obligations of the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities; repurchase agreements collateralized by eligible investments of the Fund; securities of other mutual funds that invest primarily in debt obligations with remaining maturities of 13 months or less (which investments also are subject to an advisory fee); and other similar high-quality short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective.

The Fund may also invest in Eurodollar certificates of deposit issued by foreign branches of U.S. or foreign banks; Eurodollar time deposits, which are U.S. dollar-denominated deposits in foreign branches of U.S. or foreign banks; and Yankee certificates of deposit, which are U.S. dollar-denominated certificates of deposit issued by U.S. branches of foreign banks and held in the United States. In each instance, the Fund may only invest in bank instruments issued by an institution which

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has capital, surplus and undivided profits of more than $100 million or the deposits of which are insured by the Bank Insurance Fund or the Savings Association Insurance Fund.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions

The Fund may purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis. When such a transaction is negotiated, the purchase price is fixed at the time the purchase commitment is entered, but delivery of and payment for the securities take place at a later date. The Fund will not accrue income with respect to securities purchased on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis prior to their stated delivery date.

The purchase of securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis exposes the Fund to risk because the securities may decrease in value prior to delivery. In addition, the Fund’s purchase of securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis while remaining substantially fully invested could increase the amount of the Fund’s total assets that are subject to market risk, resulting in increased sensitivity of net asset value to changes in market prices. A seller’s failure to deliver securities to the Fund could prevent the Fund from realizing a price or yield considered to be advantageous.

When the Fund agrees to purchase securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, the Fund will segregate cash or liquid securities in an amount sufficient to meet the Fund’s purchase commitments. It may be expected that the Fund’s net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash. In addition, because the Fund will set aside cash or liquid securities to satisfy its purchase commitments, its liquidity and the ability of the Sub-Adviser to manage it might be affected in the event its commitments to purchase when-issued or delayed delivery securities ever became significant. Under normal market conditions, however, the Fund’s commitments to purchase when-issued or delayed delivery securities will not exceed 25% of the value of its total assets.

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MANAGEMENT

The management of NIF, including general supervision of the duties performed for the Fund by the Adviser under the Management Agreement, is the responsibility of the Board of Directors. The number of directors of NIF is eleven, one of whom is an “interested person” (as the term “interested person” is defined in the 1940 Act) and ten of whom are not interested persons (referred to herein as “independent directors”). None of the independent directors has ever been a trustee, director or employee of, or consultant to, the Adviser or its affiliates. The names, business addresses and years of birth of the directors and officers of the Fund, their principal occupations and other affiliations during the past five years, the number of portfolios each oversees and other directorships they hold are set forth below. Except as noted in the table below, the directors of NIF are directors or trustees, as the case may be, of 175 Nuveen-sponsored registered investment companies (the “Nuveen Funds”), which include 89 open-end mutual funds (the “Nuveen Mutual Funds”), 75 closed-end funds and 11 exchange-traded funds.

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