CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nuveen Asset Management, a multi-asset class affiliate of Nuveen Investments, today announced Chief Equity Strategist and Senior Portfolio Manager Bob Doll has released his mid-year investment outlook. Though the U.S. economy continues to face pressure and is coming off of a bumpy first quarter, there are more elements of the economy contributing to growth, which should help promote additional equity market gains.

Doll believes that volatility should rise, but that equities can still make gains with U.S. economic growth in the process of broadening and deepening. “There are signs that economic growth has begun to accelerate,” Doll said in his mid-year outlook, “household net worth is improving, corporations are spending more money and even the deficit is shrinking faster than expected. Also, jobs appear to be coming back to the U.S., especially in the manufacturing and energy sectors, and employment is now at a new all-time high. While the pace of jobs growth has been uneven during the recovery (and the labor force participation rate has been struggling), it is impossible to deny that there are more jobs today than there were at the prior peak in 2007.”

While Doll believes corporate earnings growth should accelerate, near-term risks may be rising as volatility should pick up with liquidity being taken away by the Federal Reserve. From a positioning perspective, Doll notes that the primary investment theme is a focus on free cash flow, which provides companies with the ability to be flexible, to invest in their businesses and to focus on long-term strategic planning.

To view the entire mid-year outlook, please visit http://www.nuveen.com/Commentary/BobDoll/TenPredictions.aspx.

Large Cap Equity Series

In the year since the new suite of large cap equity mutual funds managed by Bob Doll was introduced, these diversified offerings have helped to meet the needs of investors looking to access the equity market. Celebrating their one-year anniversary, the funds in the series are off to a solid start in terms of absolute and relative performance. The outperformance can be attributed to a combination of strong stock selection and positioning the portfolios for the continued strengthening of the U.S. economy.

“Obtaining a one-year track record is a significant milestone for any fund, and we are proud of the results we have achieved so far,” Doll said. “As we look towards the second half of 2014, we remain positioned for an improving economy with more emphasis on cyclical sectors and stocks that may benefit from a positive shift in economic sentiment that was absent thus far in 2014,” he added.

With funds in the traditional, specialty, and alternative styles, the series of strategies seek to offer investors quality alpha generation and outperform their benchmarks over time. Highlights from funds in each of the three styles include:

Nuveen Large Cap Core Fund (NLACX)– A large-cap strategy that may serve as an equity anchor to an investor’s portfolio while seeking capital appreciation over full market cycles.

Nuveen Concentrated Core Fund (NCADX) – Best ideas approach in large-cap stock of U.S. companies.

Nuveen Equity Market Neutral Fund (NMAEX) – A flexible alternative equity strategy that seeks to provide absolute returns independent of market direction.

The investment process for the suite of strategies is based on a balance of fundamental and quantitative inputs. Doll is supported by a team of Nuveen Asset Management analysts that perform in-depth company-specific and quantitative analysis. This approach has allowed the team to focus on taking what it believes are the right risks on behalf of investors as they strive to deliver consistent long-term investment outperformance. "The cornerstone to our one- year track record in NLACX, NCADX and NMAEX is our consistent and disciplined investment philosophy and process which has provided enhanced returns over their respective passive benchmarks,” Doll said.

For complete information on these mutual funds—many of which are also available as a retail managed account and as an institutional account—visit http://www.nuveen.com/MutualFunds/LCES/Large-Cap-Equity-Series.aspx.

Additionally, investors and advisors looking to keep up-to-date with and subscribe to Bob Doll’s week commentary and special market reports can visit http://www.nuveen.com/Commentary/BobDoll/WeeklyCommentary.aspx.

Nuveen Investments provides high-quality investment services designed to help secure the long-term goals of institutional and individual investors as well as the consultants and financial advisors who serve them. Nuveen Investments markets a wide range of specialized investment solutions which provide investors access to capabilities of its high-quality boutique investment affiliates—Nuveen Asset Management, LLC, Symphony Asset Management LLC, NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC, Santa Barbara Asset Management, LLC, Tradewinds Global Investors, LLC, Winslow Capital Management, LLC and Gresham Investment Management LLC, all of which are registered investment advisers and subsidiaries of Nuveen Investments, Inc. Funds are distributed by Nuveen Securities, LLC, a subsidiary of Nuveen Investments, Inc. In total, Nuveen Investments managed nearly $225 billion as of March 31, 2014. For more information, please visit the Nuveen Investments website at www.nuveen.com.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. The views and opinions expressed are for informational and educational purposes only as of the date of writing and may change at any time based on market or other conditions and may not come to pass. This material is not intended to be relied upon as investment advice or recommendations, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities and should not be considered specific legal, investment or tax advice. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives, financial situation, or particular needs of any specific person. Certain information contained herein is based upon third-party sources, which we believe to be reliable, but is not guaranteed for accuracy or completeness. Nuveen Asset Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser and an affiliate of Nuveen Investments, Inc.

Mutual fund investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. There is no guarantee a Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved, including income from dividends. The value of equity securities may decline significantly over short or extended periods of time. More information on these risks considerations, as well as information on other risks to which the Fund is subject, such as futures contract and large cap stock risks, are included in the Fund’s prospectus. The Nuveen Concentrated Core Fund is non-diversified, meaning it may invest a larger portion of its assets in the securities of a limited number of issuers and may be more sensitive to any single economic, business, political or regulatory occurrence than a diversified fund. The Nuveen Equity Market Neutral Fund sells securities that it has borrowed but does not own (“short sales”), which is a speculative technique. The Fund will suffer a loss when the price of a security that it holds long decreases or the price of a security that it has sold short increases. Because the Fund attempts to generate returns that are primarily due to stock selection (long and short), rather than the returns of the stock market, performance will be more dependent on the portfolio manager acumen than is the case for other equity funds. Losses on short sales arise from increases in the value of the security sold short, and therefore are theoretically unlimited. Because the Fund invests in both long and short equity positions, the Fund has overall exposure to changes in value of equity securities that is far greater than its net asset value. This may magnify gains and losses and increase the volatility of the Fund’s returns. In addition, the use of short sales will increase the Fund’s expenses. More information on these risks considerations, as well as information on other risks to which the Fund is subject, such as frequent trading, futures contract, and large cap stock risks, are included in the Fund’s prospectus.

Before investing, carefully consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For this and other information that should be read carefully, please request a prospectus or summary prospectus from your financial advisor or Nuveen Investments at 800.257.8787 or visit nuveen.com.

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