Strategy. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in securitized credit investments. Securitized credit investments include secured loans backed by commercial real estate, residential real estate, commercial or consumer loans, and securitizations such as agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities (including commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations ( CMOs )), asset-backed securities (including collateralized debt obligations ( CDOs ) and collateralized loan obligations ( CLOs )) and other similar securities and related instruments. Securitized credit investments are also referred to as structured product securities or structured products. A mortgage-backed security is a type of pass-through security backed by an ownership … Show more… Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in securitized credit investments. Securitized credit investments include secured loans backed by commercial real estate, residential real estate, commercial or consumer loans, and securitizations such as agency and non-agency mortgage-backed securities (including commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations ( CMOs )), asset-backed securities (including collateralized debt obligations ( CDOs ) and collateralized loan obligations ( CLOs )) and other similar securities and related instruments. Securitized credit investments are also referred to as structured product securities or structured products. A mortgage-backed security is a type of pass-through security backed by an ownership interest in a pool of mortgage loans. Agency mortgage-backed securities are guaranteed by, or secured by collateral that is guaranteed by, the U.S. government, its agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored corporations, which include the Government National Mortgage Association ( GNMA or Ginnie Mae ), the Federal National Mortgage Association ( FNMA or Fannie Mae ) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ( FHLMC or Freddie Mac ). Non-agency mortgage-backed securities are privately issued; these include commercial mortgage-backed securities. CMOs are obligations that are fully collateralized directly or indirectly by a pool of mortgages from which payments of principal and interest are dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on the CMO. Asset-backed securities are securities issued by trusts and special purpose entities that are backed by pools of assets, such as automobile loans and credit-card receivables, and which pass through the payments on the underlying obligations to the security holders (less servicing fees paid to the originator or fees for any credit enhancement). Typically, the originator of the loan or accounts receivable transfers it to a specially created trust, which repackages it as securities with a minimum denomination and a specific term. The securities are then privately placed or publicly offered. CDOs are debt obligations typically issued by a private special-purpose entity and collateralized principally by debt securities. CLOs are similar to CDOs, but are typically collateralized principally by a pool of loans, which may include, among others, senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans. The Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its assets in securities rated lower than investment grade or unrated securities of comparable quality as determined by the Portfolios sub-adviser (securities commonly referred to as high-yield securities or junk bonds). The Portfolio may invest in securities of any maturity or duration. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets, in the aggregate, in corporate debt securities and U.S. government securities (including securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. government agencies and instrumentalities). The Portfolio may also use an investment strategy called mortgage rolls (also referred to as dollar rolls), in which the Portfolio sells securities for delivery in the current month and simultaneously contracts with a counterparty to repurchase similar (same type, coupon and maturity) but not identical securities on a specified future date. The Portfolio loses the right to receive principal and interest paid on the securities sold. However, the Portfolio would benefit to the extent of any price received for the securities sold and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the drop) plus the interest earned on the short-term investment awaiting the settlement date of the forward purchase. If such benefits exceed the income and gain or loss due to mortgage repayments that would have been realized on the securities sold as part of the mortgage roll, the use of this technique will enhance the investment performance of the Portfolio compared with what such performance would have been without the use of mortgage rolls. Realizing benefits from the use of mortgage rolls depends upon the ability of the sub-adviser of the Portfolio to correctly predict mortgage prepayments and interest rates. The Portfolio may invest in securities that have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, but that may be resold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with the provisions of Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 ( Rule 144A securities ). The Portfolio may purchase and sell futures, options, swaps, forwards and other derivative instruments. The sub-adviser may use these derivatives in an attempt to manage market risk, credit risk and interest rate risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the portfolio or for speculative purposes in an effort to increase the Portfolios yield or to enhance returns. The use of a derivative is speculative if the sub-adviser is primarily seeking to enhance returns, rather than offset the risk of other positions. Developed exclusively for use within separately managed accounts advised or sub-advised by Nuveen Asset Management, LLC, the Portfolio is a specialized fixed-income portfolio to be used in combination with selected individual securities to effectively model institutional-level investment strategies. The Portfolio enables certain Nuveen separately managed account investors to achieve greater diversification and return potential than might otherwise be achieved by investing in additional fixed-income classes, including those that have a lower credit quality and potentially higher yielding securities. Show less