NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TIAA-CREF announced today the release of its 2014 Responsible Investment Report. The report highlights the responsible investment strategies and approaches developed across the firm, including its expanded focus on fixed income investments. TIAA-CREF has more than $15.7 billion in assets under management in its Social Choice strategies, (as of 3/31/14), making it one of the largest managers of ESG-focused options in the United States.

“As one of the world’s leading institutional investors, TIAA-CREF is committed to improving the financial well-being of our investors while also promoting the well-being of the world in which we live,” said Roger W. Ferguson Jr., president and chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF. “By emphasizing long-term value creation, we seek to deliver economic, social and environmental sustainability alongside robust, long-term investment returns.”

TIAA-CREF has been dedicated to responsible investment principles for over four decades, developing investment strategies and approaches that consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, across asset classes. The firm continues to expand and evolve its program, which is grounded in its commitment to the financial well-being of the remarkable individuals and institutions it serves.

Achievements highlighted in the 2014 Responsible Investment Report include:

• TIAA-CREF received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award for the seventh consecutive year and for the fifth consecutive year at the Sustained Excellence level – the program’s highest honor.
• Last year, TIAA-CREF cut greenhouse-gas emissions across its real estate portfolios by approximately 54,500 metric tons through improved efficiencies, lowering utility costs by an estimated $15 million.
• Over $1 billion was allocated to Proactive Social Investments, which is TIAA-CREF’s proprietary framework for identifying public fixed-income securities that provide potentially competitive risk-adjusted returns alongside measurable social and environmental benefits.
• TIAA-CREF’s Social Impact Investment Program portfolio increased to $700 million, including nearly $66 million in investments focusing on low-income communities that provide investment support in areas such as affordable housing, financial inclusion, and basic services like childcare education, healthcare and environmental improvements.
• Through TIAA-CREF’s $5 billion farmland platform, the company directed capital to land maintenance and development, and integrated sustainable farming best practices into its investment management process.
• TIAA-CREF was awarded the 2013 aiCIO Industry Innovation Award in the category “Strategy & Tactics: SRI/ESG Strategies,” for the company-wide push – from fixed income to real estate – toward responsible investing techniques.

The report also highlights TIAA-CREF’s new and ongoing partnerships with leading international investors to promote responsible investing. Examples include:

• Became a founding member of the Investment Leaders Group, a three-year project in which 11 leading global investment institutions work to further shift investments towards responsible, long-term value creation.
• Joined the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark organization, an international initiative that seeks to evaluate and improve sustainability practices in the global real estate sector.
• Continued its work as a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, the international network of investors seeking to incorporate ESG issues into investment practices. TIAA-CREF has been a UN PRI signatory since 2009.

The full report is available on the TIAA-CREF website and can be accessed at www.tiaa-cref.org/ri2014.

About TIAA-CREF

TIAA-CREF (www.tiaa-cref.org) is a national financial services organization with $613 billion in assets under management (as of 6/30/2014) and is the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877-518-9161, or go to www.tiaa-cref.org for a current prospectus that contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Because its social screens exclude some investments, the Social Choice suite of investment products may not be able to take advantage of the same opportunities or market trends as funds (or accounts) that do not use such criteria.

TIAA-CREF products may be subject to market and other risk factors. See the applicable product literature, or visit www.tiaa-cref.org for details.

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.

TIAA-CREF Asset Management provides investment advice and portfolio management services to the TIAA-CREF group of companies through the following entities: Teachers Advisors, Inc., TIAA-CREF Investment Management, LLC, and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association® (TIAA®). Teachers Advisors, Inc., is a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA).

© 2014 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

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