Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-252077

 

Prospectus

nuveen

Nuveen Global Cities REIT, Inc.

Maximum Offering of $5,000,000,000

 

 

Nuveen Global Cities REIT, Inc. invests primarily in stabilized, income-oriented commercial real estate. We invest in properties in or around certain global cities selected for their resilience, long-term structural performance and ability to deliver an attractive and stable distribution yield. We expect that over time a majority of our real estate investments will be located in the United States and that a substantial but lesser portion of our portfolio will include real properties located in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. We complement our real property investments by investing a smaller portion of our portfolio in real estate-related assets. We are externally managed by our advisor, Nuveen Real Estate Global Cities Advisors, LLC (“Nuveen Real Estate Global Cities Advisors” or the “Advisor”), an investment advisory affiliate of Nuveen Real Estate (“Nuveen Real Estate”). Nuveen Real Estate is the real estate investment management division of our sponsor, Nuveen, LLC (together with its affiliates, “Nuveen”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”). TIAA has purchased $300 million in shares of our Class N common stock. We conduct our operations as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. We are not a mutual fund and do not intend to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).

 

We are offering on a continuous basis up to $5,000,000,000 in shares of common stock, consisting of up to $4,000,000,000 in shares in our primary offering and up to $1,000,000,000 in shares pursuant to our distribution reinvestment plan. We are offering to sell any combination of four classes of shares of our common stock, Class T shares, Class S shares, Class D shares and Class I shares, with a dollar value up to the maximum offering amount. The share classes have different upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees, and different ongoing stockholder servicing fees.

 

The purchase price per share for each class of common stock in this offering varies and is a transaction price that is generally equal to our prior month’s net asset value (“NAV”) per share, as determined monthly, plus applicable upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees. We publish an updated transaction price monthly pursuant to the procedures described in this prospectus. We may offer shares at a price that we believe reflects the NAV per share of such stock more appropriately than the prior month’s NAV per share in cases where we believe there has been a material change (positive or negative) to our NAV per share since the end of the prior month. This is a “best efforts” offering, which means that Nuveen Securities, LLC, the dealer manager for this offering, will use its best efforts to sell shares, but is not obligated to purchase or sell any specific amount of shares.

 

 

This investment involves a high degree of risk. You should purchase these securities only if you can afford the complete loss of your investment. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 31 for risks to consider before buying our shares, including:

 

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the Attorney General of the State of New York nor any other state securities regulator has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete, or determined whether the offering can be sold to any or all purchasers in compliance with existing or future suitability or conduct standards including Regulation Best Interest. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The use of forecasts in this offering is prohibited. Any oral or written predictions about the amount or certainty of any cash benefits or tax consequences that may result from an investment in our common stock is prohibited. No one is authorized to make any statements about this offering different from those that appear in this prospectus.

 

		Price to the Public(1)				Upfront Selling Commissions(2)				Dealer Manager Fees(2)				Proceeds to Us, Before Expenses(3)
Maximum Offering(4)		$	4,000,000,000			$	67,747,079			$	5,797,101			$	3,926,455,820
Class T Shares, per Share		$	13.55				0.39				0.07				13.09
Class S Shares, per Share		$	13.40				0.45			$	—				12.95
Class D Shares, per Share		$	13.32				0.20								13.12
Class I Shares, per Share		$	13.08												13.08
Maximum Distribution Reinvestment Plan		$	1,000,000,000				—				—			$	1,000,000,000

 

(1)	The price per share shown for each class of our common stock is the June 1, 2022 transaction price, which is equal to such class’s NAV per share as of April 30, 2022, plus applicable upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees.

(2)

The table assumes that all shares are sold in the primary offering, with 30% of the gross offering proceeds from the sale of Class T shares, 20% from the sale of Class S shares, 10% from the sale of Class D shares and 40% from the sale of Class I shares, which are estimated based on the proportion of shares per class issued to date in our initial public offering. The number of shares of each class sold and the relative proportions in which the classes of shares are sold are uncertain and may differ significantly from this assumption. For Class T shares sold in the primary offering, investors pay upfront selling commissions of up to 3.0% of the transaction price and upfront dealer manager fees of up to 0.5% of the transaction price; however, such amounts may vary at certain participating broker-dealers, provided that the sum will not exceed 3.5% of the transaction price. For Class S shares sold in the primary offering, investors pay upfront selling commissions of up to 3.5% of the transaction price. For Class D shares sold in the primary offering, investors pay upfront selling commissions of up to 1.5% of the transaction price. We also pay the following selling commissions over time as stockholder servicing fees to the dealer manager, subject to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) limitations on underwriting compensation: (a) for Class T shares only, an advisor stockholder servicing fee of 0.65% per annum, and a dealer stockholder servicing fee of 0.20% per annum, of the aggregate NAV for the Class T shares, however, with respect to Class T shares sold through certain participating broker-dealers, the advisor stockholder servicing fee and the dealer stockholder servicing fee may be other amounts, provided that the sum of such fees will always equal 0.85% per annum of the NAV of such shares, (b) for Class S shares only, a stockholder servicing fee equal to 0.85% per annum of the aggregate NAV for the Class S shares and (c) for Class D shares only, a stockholder servicing fee equal to 0.25% per annum of the aggregate NAV for the Class D shares, in each case, payable monthly. No stockholder servicing fees are paid with respect to the Class I shares. The total amount that will be paid over time for other underwriting compensation depends on the average length of time for which shares remain outstanding, the term over which such amount is measured and the performance of our investments. We also pay or reimburse certain organization and offering expenses, including, subject to FINRA limitations on underwriting compensation. See “Plan of Distribution,” “Estimated Use of Proceeds” and “Compensation.”

(3)	Proceeds are calculated before deducting stockholder servicing fees or organization and offering expenses payable by us, which are paid over time.

(4)	We reserve the right to reallocate shares of common stock between our distribution reinvestment plan and our primary offering.

 

 

The date of this prospectus is May 27, 2022

SUITABILITY STANDARDS

Shares of our common stock are suitable only as a long-term investment for persons of adequate financial means who do not need near-term liquidity from their investment. We do not expect there to be a public market for our shares and thus it may be difficult for you to sell your shares. On a limited basis, you may be able to have your shares repurchased through our share repurchase plan, although we are not obligated to repurchase any shares and may choose to repurchase only some, or even none, of the shares that have been requested to be repurchased in any particular month in our discretion. You should not buy shares of our common stock if you need to sell them in the near future. The minimum initial investment for shares of our Class T, Class S or Class D common stock is $2,500. The minimum initial investment for shares of our Class I common stock is $1,000,000, unless waived by the dealer manager.

In consideration of these factors, we require that a purchaser of shares of our common stock have either:

 

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a net worth of at least $250,000; or

 

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a gross annual income of at least $70,000 and a net worth of at least $70,000.

Certain states have established suitability standards in addition to the minimum income and net worth standards described above. Shares will be sold to investors in these states only if they meet the additional suitability standards set forth below. Certain broker-dealers selling shares in this offering may impose greater suitability standards than the income and net worth standards above and the state-specific suitability standards below. For purposes of determining whether you satisfy the suitability standards, “net worth” is calculated excluding the value of your home, home furnishings and automobiles and “liquid net worth” is defined as that portion of net worth that consists of cash, cash equivalents and readily marketable investments.

Alabama Investors. Investors residing in Alabama may not invest more than 10% of their liquid net worth in us and our affiliates.

Idaho Investors. Investors who reside in the state of Idaho must have either (i) a liquid net worth of $85,000 and annual gross income of $85,000 or (ii) a liquid net worth of $300,000. Additionally, an Idaho investor’s total investment in us, shares of our affiliates and in similar direct participation programs shall not exceed 10% of his or her liquid net worth.

Iowa Investors. Iowa Investors must have either (a) a minimum liquid net worth of at least $100,000 and a minimum annual gross income of not less than $100,000, or (b) a minimum liquid net worth of at least $350,000. In addition, an Iowa investor’s aggregate investment in us, shares of our affiliates and other public, non-listed direct participation programs may not exceed 10% of his or her liquid net worth. Accredited investors in Iowa, as defined in 17 C.F.R. Section 230.501 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) are not subject to the 10% investment limitation.

Kansas Investors. It is recommended by the Office of the Kansas Securities Commissioner that Kansas investors limit their aggregate investment in us and other public, non-listed REITs to not more than 10% of their liquid net worth.

Kentucky Investors. Kentucky investors may not invest more than 10% of their liquid net worth in us or our affiliates’ public, non-listed REITs.

Maine Investors. The Maine Office of Securities recommends that a Maine investor’s aggregate investment in us and similar direct participation investments not exceed 10% of the investor’s liquid net worth.

 

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Massachusetts Investors. Massachusetts investors may not invest more than 10% of their liquid net worth in us and in other illiquid direct participation programs.

Missouri Investors. Missouri investors must limit their aggregate investment in this offering to no more than 10% of any one Missouri investor’s liquid net worth.

Nebraska Investors. Nebraska investors must limit their aggregate investment in this offering and in the securities of other public, non-listed REITs to 10% of such investor’s net worth. Investors who are accredited investors as defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act, are not subject to the foregoing investment concentration limit.

New Jersey Investors. New Jersey investors must have either (a) a minimum liquid net worth of at least $100,000 and a minimum annual gross income of not less than $85,000, or (b) a minimum liquid net worth of $350,000. In addition, a New Jersey investor’s investment in us, our affiliates, and other public, non-listed direct investment programs (including REITs, business development companies, oil and gas programs, equipment leasing programs and commodity pools, but excluding unregistered, federally and state exempt private offerings) may not exceed 10% of his or her liquid net worth.

New Mexico Investors. New Mexico investors may not invest in the aggregate more than 10% of their liquid net worth in our shares, other investment programs sponsored by Nuveen, and in other public, non-listed real estate investment programs.

North Dakota Investors. North Dakota investors must represent that they have a net worth of at least ten times their investment in us.

Ohio Investors. Ohio investors shall not invest more than 10% of their liquid net worth in us, our affiliates, and in any other public, non-listed real estate investment programs.

Oregon Investors. Purchasers residing in Oregon may not invest more than 10% of their liquid net worth in us.

Pennsylvania Investors. Pennsylvania investors may not invest more than 10% of their net worth in us.

Puerto Rico Investors. Puerto Rico investors may not invest more than 10% of their liquid net worth in us, our affiliates, and in other non-traded REITs. For purposes of Puerto Rico’s suitability standard, “liquid net worth” is defined as that portion of net worth (total assets exclusive of primary residence, home furnishings, and automobiles minus total liabilities) consisting of cash, cash equivalents, and readily marketable securities.

Tennessee Investors. Tennessee investors may not invest more than ten percent (10%) of their net worth, as defined herein, in us.

Vermont Investors. Accredited investors in Vermont, as defined in 17 C.F.R. § 230.501, may invest freely in this offering. In addition to the suitability standards described above, non-accredited Vermont investors may not purchase an amount in this offering that exceeds 10% of the investor’s liquid net worth.

Our sponsor and each person selling shares on our behalf must make every reasonable effort to determine that the purchase of shares of our common stock is a suitable and appropriate investment for each investor. In making this determination, our sponsor and the dealer manager will rely upon information provided by the investor to the participating broker-dealer as well as the suitability assessment made by each participating broker-dealer. Before you purchase shares of our common stock, your participating broker-dealer, authorized representative or other person placing shares on your behalf will rely on relevant information provided by you to determine that you:

 

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meet the minimum income and net worth standards established in your state;

 

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are in a financial position appropriate to enable you to realize the potential benefits described in the prospectus; and

 

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are able to bear the economic risk of the investment based on your overall financial situation.

 

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Participating broker-dealers are required to maintain for six years records of the information used to determine that an investment in shares of our common stock is suitable and appropriate for a stockholder.

By signing the subscription agreement required for purchases of our common stock, you represent and warrant to us that you have received a copy of this prospectus and that you meet the net worth and annual gross income requirements described above. These representations and warranties help us to ensure that you are fully informed about an investment in our common stock and that all investors meet our suitability standards. In the event you, another stockholder or a regulatory authority attempt to hold us liable because stockholders did not receive copies of this prospectus or because we failed to adhere to each state’s suitability requirements, we will assert these representations and warranties made by you in any proceeding in which such potential liability is disputed in an attempt to avoid any such liability. By making these representations, you do not waive any rights that you may have under federal or state securities laws.

On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted Regulation Best Interest, which establishes a new standard of conduct for broker-dealers and natural persons who are associated persons of a broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), that enhances the standard beyond suitability. Broker-dealers have been required to comply with Regulation Best Interest since June 30, 2020. Regulation Best Interest includes the general obligation that broker-dealers shall act in the “best interest” of retail customers in making any recommendation of any securities transaction or investment strategy, without putting the financial or other interests of the broker-dealer ahead of the retail customer. The general obligation can be satisfied by the broker-dealer’s compliance with four specified component obligations: (i) provide certain required disclosure before or at the time of the recommendation, about the recommendation and the relationship between the broker-dealer and the retail customer; (ii) exercise reasonable diligence, care, and skill in making the recommendation; (iii) establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to address conflicts of interest; and (iv) establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance with Regulation Best Interest. Like existing suitability obligations, the component obligations of Regulation Best Interest contain a quantitative standard. Such quantitative standard may be more or less restrictive pursuant to Regulation Best Interest than under the suitability standard. In addition to Regulation Best Interest, certain states, including Massachusetts, have adopted or may adopt state-level standards that seek to further enhance the broker-dealer standard of conduct to a fiduciary standard for all broker-dealer recommendations made to retail customers in their states. In comparison to the standards of Regulation Best Interest, the Massachusetts fiduciary standard, for example, requires broker-dealers to adhere to the duties of utmost care and loyalty to customers. The Massachusetts standard requires a broker-dealer to make recommendations without regard to the financial or any other interest of any party other than the retail customer, and that broker-dealers must make all reasonably practicable efforts to avoid conflicts of interest, eliminate conflicts that cannot reasonably be avoided, and mitigate conflicts that cannot reasonably be avoided or eliminated. In addition to Regulation Best Interest and state fiduciary standards of care, broker-dealers are required to provide retail investors a brief relationship summary, or Form CRS, that summarizes for the investor key information about the broker-dealer. Form CRS is different from this prospectus, which contains information regarding this offering and our company.

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

Please carefully read the information in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements, which we refer to collectively as the “prospectus.” You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. This prospectus may only be used where it is legal to sell these securities. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date later than the date hereof or such other dates as are stated herein or as of the respective dates of any documents or other information incorporated herein by reference.

The words “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Nuveen Global Cities REIT, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, including Nuveen Global Cities REIT OP, LP (the “Operating Partnership”), a Delaware limited partnership of which we are the general partner, unless the context requires otherwise.

Unless otherwise noted, numerical information relating to TIAA, Nuveen and its real estate business, Nuveen Real Estate, is approximate, is as of December 31, 2021 and includes activities of Nuveen Real Estate’s public and private portfolio companies.

Citations included herein to industry sources are used only to demonstrate third-party support for certain statements made herein to which such citations relate. Information included in such industry sources that do not relate to supporting the related statements made herein are not part of this prospectus and should not be relied upon.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements about our business, including, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies and objectives. You can generally identify forward-looking statements by our use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “continue” or other similar words. These statements include our plans and objectives for future operations, including plans and objectives relating to future growth and availability of funds, and are based on current expectations that involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Assumptions relating to these statements involve judgments with respect to, among other things, future economic, competitive and market conditions and future business decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to accurately predict and many of which are beyond our control. Although we believe the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements, and the forward- looking statements themselves, are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate and, therefore, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and our actual results, performance and achievements may be materially different from that expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in these forward looking statements, the inclusion of this information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that our objectives and plans, which we consider to be reasonable, will be achieved.

You should carefully review the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that we believe are material to our business, operating results, prospects and financial condition. Except as otherwise required by federal securities laws, we do not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

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RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

The following is only a summary of the principal risks that may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The following should be read in conjunction with the more complete discussion of the risk factors we face, which are set forth more fully in “Risk Factors.”

Risks Related to This Offering and Our Organizational Structure

 

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Other than those investments described in this prospectus, you will not have the opportunity to evaluate our future investments before we make them, and we may not have the opportunity to evaluate or approve investments made by entities in which we invest, such as the International Affiliated Funds (as defined below), which makes your investment more speculative.

 

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We have incurred net losses under United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the past and may incur net losses in the future, and we have an accumulated deficit and may continue to have an accumulated deficit in the future.

 

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There is no public trading market for shares of our common stock; therefore, your ability to dispose of your shares will likely be limited to repurchase by us. If you do sell your shares to us, you may receive less than the price you paid.

 

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Your ability to have your shares repurchased through our share repurchase plan is limited. We may choose to repurchase fewer shares than have been requested to be repurchased, in our discretion at any time, and the amount of shares we may repurchase is subject to caps. Further, our board of directors may modify or suspend our share repurchase plan if it deems such action to be in our best interest and the best interest of our stockholders.

 

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The amount and source of distributions we may make to our stockholders is uncertain, and we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows from our operations to make distributions to our stockholders at any time in the future.

 

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We are dependent on Nuveen Real Estate and its affiliates, including the Advisor, and their key personnel who provide services to us, and we may not find a suitable replacement for the Advisor if the advisory agreement is terminated, or for these key personnel if they leave Nuveen Real Estate or otherwise become unavailable to us.

 

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The Advisor manages our portfolio pursuant to very broad investment guidelines and generally is not required to seek the approval of our board of directors for each investment, financing or asset allocation decision, which may result in our making riskier investments and which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

 

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Purchases and repurchases of shares of our common stock are not made based on the current net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock.

 

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Valuations and appraisals of out properties and real estate-related assets are estimates of fair value and may not necessarily correspond to realizable value.

 

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The continuing coronavirus pandemic may adversely affect our investments and operations.

Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate

 

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Our portfolio may be concentrated in a limited number of asset types, geographies or investments.

 

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Our board of directors may change our investment and operational policies or our investment guidelines without stockholder consent.

 

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We face significant competition in acquiring properties.

 

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We may make a substantial amount of joint venture investments, including with Nuveen’s affiliates and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts (as defined below). Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on the financial condition of our joint venture partners and disputes between us and our joint venture partners.

 

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Our ability to redeem all or a portion of our investment in the International Affiliated Funds is subject to significant restrictions.

 

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In our due diligence review of potential investments, we may rely on third-party consultants and advisors, as well as certain of our joint venture partners, and representations made by sellers of potential portfolio properties, and we or those we rely upon may not identify all relevant facts that may be necessary or helpful in evaluating potential investments.

 

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We rely on property managers to operate our properties and leasing agents to lease vacancies in our properties.

 

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We depend on tenants for our revenue, and therefore our revenue is dependent on the success and economic viability of our tenants. Our reliance on single or significant tenants in certain buildings may decrease our ability to lease vacated space.

 

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We may be unable to renew leases as leases expire.

Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate-Related Assets

 

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We invest in equity of other REITs and other real estate-related companies, which subjects us to certain risks including those risks associated with an investment in our own common stock.

 

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Some of our real estate-related securities investments may become distressed, which securities would have a high risk of default and may be illiquid.

 

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Our investments in debt back principally by real estate face a number of general market-related risks that can affect the creditworthiness of issuers, and modifications to certain loan structures and market terms make it more difficult to monitor and evaluate investments.

Risks Related to International Investments and Debt Financing

 

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We are subject to additional risks from our international investments.

 

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Investments in properties or other real estate-related assets outside the United States subject us to foreign currency risks, which may adversely affect distributions and our REIT status.

 

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We incur mortgage indebtedness and other borrowings, which increases our business risks, could hinder our ability to make distributions and could decrease the value of your investment.

 

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If we draw on the Credit Facility (as defined below) or any future line of credit to fund repurchases or for any other reason, our financial leverage ratio could increase beyond our target.

Risks Related to our Relationship with the Advisor and the Dealer Manager

 

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We depend on the Advisor to select our investments and otherwise conduct our business, and any material adverse change in its financial condition or our relationship with the Advisor could have a material adverse effect on our business and ability to achieve our investment objectives.

 

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The Advisor’s inability to retain the services of key real estate professionals could hurt our performance.

 

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The fees we pay in connection with this offering and the agreements entered into with Nuveen and its affiliates were not determined on an arm’s-length basis and therefore may not be on the same terms we could achieve from a third party.

Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest

 

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The Advisor faces a conflict of interest because the fees it receives for services performed are based in part on our NAV, which the Advisor is ultimately responsible for determining.

 

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Certain Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we will not be allocated certain opportunities and may be allocated only opportunities with lower relative returns.

Risks Related to our REIT Status and Certain Other Tax Items

 

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If we do not qualify as a REIT, we will be subject to tax as a regular corporation and could face a substantial tax liability.

 

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Compliance with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities, which may hinder or delay our ability to meet our investment objectives and reduce your overall return.

 

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Compliance with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate or restructure otherwise attractive investments.

 

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Investments outside the United States may subject us to additional taxes and could present additional complications to our ability to satisfy the REIT qualification requirement.

 

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Our board of directors is authorized to revoke our REIT election without stockholder approval, which may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

 

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We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could increase our tax liability, reduce our operating flexibility and reduce the price of our common stock.

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Suitability Standards			i
About This Prospectus			iv
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements			iv
Risk Factor Summary			v
Prospectus Summary			1
Risk Factors			31
Estimated Use of Proceeds			86
Investment Objectives and Strategies			89
Investments in Real Property and Real Estate-Related Assets			105
Selected Information Regarding Our Operations			114
Management			124
Compensation			140
Conflicts of Interest			146
Net Asset Value Calculation and Valuation Guidelines			152
Stock Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management			160
Description of Capital Stock			161
Certain Provisions of Maryland Law and Our Charter and Bylaws			173
Summary of the Operating Partnership Agreement			177
Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations			180
Certain ERISA Considerations			207
Plan of Distribution			211
How to Subscribe			218
Share Repurchases			221
Supplemental Sales Material			227
Reports to Stockholders			227
Legal Matters			228
Experts			228
Privacy Policy Notice			228
Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference			228
Appendix A: Distribution Reinvestment Plan			A-1
Appendix B: Form of Subscription Agreement			B-1
Appendix C: Privacy Policy Notice			C-1

 

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in shares of our common stock involves risks. You should specifically consider the following material risks in addition to the other information contained in this prospectus before you decide to purchase shares of our common stock. The occurrence of any of the following risks might cause you to lose a significant part of your investment. The risks and uncertainties discussed below are not the only ones we face, but do represent those risks and uncertainties that we believe are most significant to our business, operating results, financial condition, prospects and forward-looking statements.

Risks Related to This Offering and Our Organizational Structure

Other than those investments described in this prospectus, you will not have the opportunity to evaluate our future investments before we make them, and we may not have the opportunity to evaluate or approve investments made by entities in which we invest, such as the International Affiliated Funds, which makes your investment more speculative.

We have not yet acquired or identified all of the investments we may make. We are not able to provide you with any information to assist you in evaluating the merits of any specific properties or real estate-related assets that we may acquire in the future, except for investments that may be described in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We seek to invest substantially all of the net offering proceeds from this offering, after the payment of fees and expenses, in the acquisition of or investment in interests in properties, real estate-related assets and the International Affiliated Funds. However, because you are unable to evaluate the economic merit of our future investments before we make them, you will have to rely entirely on the ability of the Advisor to select suitable and successful investment opportunities. Further, we may not have the opportunity to evaluate or approve properties acquired or other investments made by entities in which we invest, such as the International Affiliated Funds. You will likewise have no opportunity to evaluate future transactions completed and properties acquired by the International Affiliated Funds. The Advisor has broad discretion in selecting the types of properties we will invest in and the tenants of those properties, and you do not have the opportunity to evaluate potential investments. We may be subject to similar risks in relation to investments made by entities in which we acquire an interest but do not control, such as the International Affiliated Funds. These factors increase the risk that your investment may not generate returns comparable to other real estate investment alternatives.

We have incurred net losses under GAAP in the past and may incur net losses in the future, and we have an accumulated deficit and may continue to have an accumulated deficit in the future.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and the year ended December 31, 2021, we had net (loss) income attributable to our stockholders of approximately $(7.8) million and $19.1 million, respectively. As of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $90.8 million and $64.0 million, respectively. These amounts largely reflect the expense of real estate depreciation and amortization in accordance with GAAP, which was $12.4 million and $29.1 million, respectively, during the three months ended March 31, 2022 and the year ended December 31, 2021. We may incur net losses and continue to have an accumulated deficit in the future.

There is no public trading market for shares of our common stock; therefore, your ability to dispose of your shares will likely be limited to repurchase by us. If you do sell your shares to us, you may receive less than the price you paid.

There is no current public trading market for shares of our common stock, and we do not expect that such a market will ever develop. Therefore, repurchase of shares by us will likely be the only way for you to dispose of your shares. We will repurchase shares at a price equal to the transaction price of the class of shares being repurchased on the date of repurchase (which is generally equal to our prior month’s NAV per share, and not based on the price at which you initially purchased your shares). Subject to limited exceptions, shares repurchased within one year of the date of issuance will be repurchased at 95% of the transaction price for the class of shares being repurchased as of the repurchase date. As a result, you may receive less than the price you paid for your shares when you sell them to us pursuant to our share repurchase plan. See “Share Repurchases—Early Repurchase Deduction.”

 

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Your ability to have your shares repurchased through our share repurchase plan is limited. We may choose to repurchase fewer shares than have been requested to be repurchased, in our discretion at any time, and the amount of shares we may repurchase is subject to caps. Further, our board of directors may modify or suspend our share repurchase plan if it deems such action to be in our best interest and the best interest of our stockholders.

We may choose to repurchase fewer shares than have been requested in any particular month to be repurchased under our share repurchase plan, or none at all, in our discretion at any time. We may repurchase fewer shares than have been requested to be repurchased due to lack of readily available funds because of adverse market conditions beyond our control, the need to maintain liquidity for our operations or because we have determined that investing in real property or other illiquid investments is a better use of our capital than repurchasing our shares. In addition, the total amount of shares that we will repurchase is limited, in any calendar month, to shares whose aggregate value (based on the repurchase price per share on the date of the repurchase) is no more than 2% of our aggregate NAV as of the last day of the previous calendar month and, in any calendar quarter, to shares whose aggregate value is no more than 5% of our aggregate NAV as of the last day of the previous calendar quarter. Further, our board of directors may modify or suspend our share repurchase plan if it deems such action to be in our best interest and the best interest of our stockholders. If the full amount of all shares of our common stock requested to be repurchased in any given month are not repurchased, funds are allocated pro rata based on the total number of shares of common stock being repurchased without regard to class and subject to the volume limitation. All unsatisfied repurchase requests must be resubmitted after the start of the next month or quarter, or upon the recommencement of the share repurchase plan, as applicable.

The vast majority of our assets consist of properties that cannot generally be readily liquidated without impacting our ability to realize full value upon their disposition. Therefore, we may not always have a sufficient amount of cash to immediately satisfy repurchase requests. Should repurchase requests, in our judgment, place an undue burden on our liquidity, adversely affect our operations or risk having an adverse impact on the company as a whole, or should we otherwise determine that investing our liquid assets in real properties or other illiquid investments rather than repurchasing our shares is in the best interests of the company as a whole, then we may choose to repurchase fewer shares than have been requested to be repurchased, or none at all. Because we are not required to authorize the recommencement of the share repurchase plan within any specified period of time, we may effectively terminate the plan by suspending it indefinitely. As a result, your ability to have your shares repurchased by us may be limited and at times you may not be able to liquidate your investment. See “Share Repurchases—Repurchase Limitations.”

Economic events that may cause our stockholders to request that we repurchase their shares may materially adversely affect our cash flow and our results of operations and financial condition.

Economic events affecting the U.S. or global economy could cause our stockholders to seek to sell their shares to us pursuant to our share repurchase plan at a time when such events are adversely affecting the performance of our assets, and our cash flow could be materially adversely affected. These economic events could result from war (including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related impact on macroeconomic conditions as a result of such conflict), terrorism, natural and environmental disasters and the spread of infectious illnesses, pandemics or other public health emergencies and may adversely affect the global economy and the securities and local commercial real property markets and issuers in which we invest. Recent examples of such events include the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, if we determine to sell assets to satisfy repurchase requests, we may not be able to realize the return on such assets that we may have been able to achieve had we sold at a more favorable time, and our results of operations and financial condition, including, without limitation, breadth of our portfolio by property type and location, could be materially adversely affected.

 

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Our share repurchase program requires that we follow certain restrictive procedures with respect to new investments if, during any consecutive 24-month period, we do not have at least one month in which we fully satisfy 100% of properly submitted repurchase requests or accept all properly submitted tenders in a self-tender offer for our shares, which may adversely affect our flexibility and our ability to achieve our investment objectives.

Subject to certain exceptions, our share repurchase program generally requires that if, during any consecutive 24-month period, we do not have at least one month in which we fully satisfy 100% of properly submitted repurchase requests or accept all properly submitted tenders in a self-tender offer for our shares, we will not make any new investments (excluding short-term cash management investments under 30 days in duration) and we will use all available investable assets to satisfy repurchase requests (subject to the limitations under the program) until all outstanding repurchase requests have been satisfied. If triggered, this requirement may prevent us from pursuing potentially accretive investment opportunities and may keep us from fully realizing our investment objectives. In addition, this requirement may limit our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

The amount and source of distributions we may make to our stockholders is uncertain, and we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows from our operations to make distributions to our stockholders at any time in the future.

We have not established a minimum distribution payment level, and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders may be adversely affected by a number of factors. We may not generate sufficient income to make distributions to our stockholders. Our board of directors (or a committee of our board of directors) will make determinations regarding distributions based upon, among other factors, our financial performance, debt service obligations, debt covenants, REIT qualification and tax requirements and capital expenditure requirements. Among the factors that could impair our ability to make distributions to our stockholders are:

 

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the limited size of our portfolio in the early stages of our development;

 

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our inability to invest the proceeds from sales of our shares on a timely basis in income-producing properties;

 

•

our inability to realize attractive risk-adjusted returns on our investments;

 

•

high levels of expenses or reduced revenues that reduce our cash flow or non-cash earnings; and

 

•

defaults in our investment portfolio or decreases in the value of our investments.

As a result, we may not be able to make distributions to our stockholders at any time in the future, and the level of any distributions we do make to our stockholders may not increase or even be maintained over time, any of which could materially and adversely affect the value of your investment.

We may pay distributions from sources other than our cash flow from operations, including, without limitation, the sale of assets, borrowings or offering proceeds, and we have no limits on the amounts we may pay from such sources.

We may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations to fully fund distributions to stockholders. Therefore, we may fund distributions to our stockholders from sources other than cash flow from operations, including, without limitation, the sale of assets, borrowings, return of capital or offering proceeds. For the year ended December 31, 2021, we funded our distributions approximately 56% from cash flows from operating activities and 44% from debt proceeds. For the quarter ended March 31, 2022, we funded our distributions 100% from cash flows from operating activities. The extent to which we pay distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations will depend on various factors, including the level of participation in our distribution reinvestment plan and how quickly we invest the proceeds from this and any future offering and the performance of our investments, including our real estate-related assets portfolio. Funding distributions from the sales of assets, borrowings, return of capital or proceeds of this offering will result in us having fewer funds available to acquire

 

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properties or other real estate-related investments. As a result, the return you realize on your investment may be reduced. Doing so may also negatively impact our ability to generate cash flows. Likewise, funding distributions from the sale of additional securities will dilute your interest in us on a percentage basis and may impact the value of your investment especially if we sell these securities at prices less than the price you paid for your shares. We may be required to continue to fund our regular distributions from a combination of some of these sources if our investments fail to perform, if expenses are greater than our revenues or due to numerous other factors. We have not established a limit on the amount of our distributions that may be paid from any of these sources.

To the extent we borrow funds to pay distributions, we would incur borrowing costs and these borrowings would require a future repayment. The use of these sources for distributions and the ultimate repayment of any liabilities incurred could adversely impact our ability to pay distributions in future periods, decrease our NAV, decrease the amount of cash we have available for operations and new investments and adversely impact the value of your investment.

We may also defer operating expenses or pay expenses with shares of our common stock in order to preserve cash flow for the payment of distributions. The ultimate repayment of these deferred expenses could adversely affect our operations and reduce the future return on your investment. The payment of expenses in shares of our common stock will dilute your ownership interest in our portfolio of assets.

We are dependent on Nuveen Real Estate and its affiliates, including the Advisor, and their key personnel who provide services to us, and we may not find a suitable replacement for the Advisor if the advisory agreement is terminated, or for these key personnel if they leave Nuveen Real Estate or otherwise become unavailable to us.

We have no separate facilities and are completely reliant on Nuveen Real Estate and the Advisor. The Advisor has significant discretion as to the implementation of our investment and operating policies and strategies. Accordingly, we believe that our success depends to a significant extent upon the efforts, experience, diligence, skill and network of business contacts of the officers and key personnel of the Advisor and Nuveen Real Estate.

The officers and key personnel of the Advisor evaluate, negotiate, close and monitor our investments; therefore, our success depends on their continued service. The departure of any of the officers or key personnel of the Advisor could have a material adverse effect on our performance.

Neither the Advisor nor Nuveen Real Estate are obligated to dedicate any specific personnel exclusively to us. In addition, none of our officers or the officers of the Advisor are obligated to dedicate any specific portion of their time to our business. Each of them has significant responsibilities for other accounts and funds. As a result, these individuals may not always be able to devote sufficient time to the management of our business. Further, when there are turbulent conditions in the real estate markets or distress in the credit markets, the attention of the Advisor’s personnel and our executive officers and the resources of Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen, will also be required by other accounts and funds. In such situations, we may not receive the level of support and assistance that we may receive if we were internally managed.

In addition, we offer no assurance that the Advisor will remain our advisor or that we will continue to have access to Nuveen Real Estate’s or Nuveen’s officers and key personnel. The advisory agreement is expected to be renewed annually. If the advisory agreement is terminated and no suitable replacement is found, we may not be able to execute our business plan. The International Affiliated Funds are also managed by Nuveen affiliates. Their performance and success are also dependent on Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen and the International Affiliated Funds are likewise subject to these risks.

 

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The Advisor manages our portfolio pursuant to very broad investment guidelines and generally is not required to seek the approval of our board of directors for each investment, financing or asset allocation decision, which may result in our making riskier investments and which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our board of directors approved very broad investment guidelines that delegate to the Advisor the authority to execute acquisitions and dispositions of real estate properties and real estate-related assets on our behalf, in each case so long as such investments are consistent with the investment guidelines and our charter. There can be no assurance that the Advisor will be successful in applying any strategy or discretionary approach to our investment activities. Our board of directors reviews our investment guidelines on an annual basis (or more often as it deems appropriate) and reviews our investment portfolio periodically. The prior approval of our board of directors or a committee of independent directors is required only as set forth in our charter (including for transactions with affiliates of the Advisor) or for the acquisition or disposition of assets that are not in accordance with our investment guidelines. In addition, in conducting periodic reviews, our directors rely primarily on information provided to them by the Advisor.

Furthermore, transactions entered into on our behalf by the Advisor may be costly, difficult or impossible to unwind when they are subsequently reviewed by our board of directors.

Purchases and repurchases of shares of our common stock are not made based on the current NAV per share of our common stock.

Generally, our offering price per share and the price at which we make repurchases of our shares equals the NAV per share of the applicable class as of the last calendar day of the prior month, plus, in the case of our offering price, applicable upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees. The NAV per share as of the date on which you make your subscription request or repurchase request may be significantly different than the offering price you pay or the repurchase price you receive. In addition, we may offer and repurchase shares at a price that we believe reflects the NAV per share of such stock more appropriately than the prior month’s NAV per share, including by updating a previously disclosed transaction price, in cases where we believe there has been a material change (positive or negative) to our NAV per share since the end of the prior month.

We may offer shares at a price that we believe reflects the NAV per share of such stock more appropriately than the prior month’s NAV per share.

While the transaction price for shares of our common stock normally equals the prior month’s NAV, we maintain the flexibility to adjust the transaction price to a price that we believe reflects the NAV per share of such stock more appropriately than the prior month’s NAV per share (including by updating a previously disclosed offering price), or to suspend this offering or our share repurchase plan in cases where we believe there has been a material change (positive or negative) to our NAV per share since the end of the prior month.

We have not set specific materiality thresholds to determine when such transaction price adjustments will be required as the occurrence or magnitude of changes affecting NAV cannot be predicted with any certainty. Factors which may be considered in connection with transaction price adjustments include (but are not limited to) material non-recurring events, including major economic events such as a material adverse change in the business or financial markets, major uninsured losses related to natural disasters, other force majeure events or other factors that in the good faith opinion of the Advisor materially impact the value of our assets and accordingly our NAV share price. Any such adjustments or decision not to make such adjustments to our transaction price will be based on the Advisor’s good faith opinion and estimates regarding the impact of these factors on the valuation of our portfolio. There is a risk that such opinion or estimates may not be fully accurate and that the adjusted transaction price may therefore not reflect the NAV per share more appropriately than the prior month’s NAV per share.

 

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Valuations and appraisals of our properties and real estate-related assets are estimates of fair value and may not necessarily correspond to realizable value.

For purposes of calculating our monthly NAV, our properties are generally initially valued at cost, which we expect to represent fair value at that time. Thereafter, valuations of properties are determined by the independent valuation advisor based on appraisals of each of our properties on a quarterly basis in accordance with valuation guidelines approved by our board of directors. Likewise, our investments in debt backed principally by real estate are valued quarterly by our independent valuation advisor and our investments in other real estate-related assets are valued monthly at fair market value by the Advisor. The valuations of our real properties are based on asset and portfolio level information provided by the Advisor, including historical operating revenues and expenses of the properties, lease agreements on the properties, information regarding recent or planned capital expenditures and any other information relevant to valuing the real estate property, which information is not independently verified by our independent valuation advisor. The valuations of our investments in debt backed principally by real estate may be based, in part, on information provided by the Advisor. In addition, our investments in real estate-related assets other than debt backed principally by real estate, while a component of NAV, are valued by the Advisor based on market quotations or at fair value, and are not reviewed by our independent valuation advisor or appraised. Our investments in the International Affiliated Funds are valued on a quarterly basis.

Within the parameters of our valuation guidelines, the valuation methodologies used to value our properties involve subjective judgments and projections and may not be accurate. Valuation methodologies involve assumptions and opinions about future events, which may or may not turn out to be correct. Valuations and appraisals of our properties and real estate-related assets are only estimates of fair value. Ultimate realization of the value of an asset depends to a great extent on economic, market and other conditions beyond our control and the control of the Advisor and our independent valuation advisor. Further, valuations do not necessarily represent the price at which an asset would sell, since market prices of assets can only be determined by negotiation between a willing buyer and seller. As such, the carrying value of an asset may not reflect the price at which the asset could be sold in the market, and the difference between carrying value and the ultimate sales price could be material. In addition, accurate valuations are more difficult to obtain in times of low transaction volume because there are fewer market transactions that can be considered in the context of the appraisal. There will be no retroactive adjustment in the valuation of such assets, the offering price of our shares of common stock, the price we paid to repurchase shares of our common stock or NAV based fees we paid to the Advisor and the Dealer Manager to the extent such valuations prove to not accurately reflect the realizable value of our assets. Because the price you will pay for shares of our common stock in this offering, and the price at which your shares may be repurchased by us pursuant to our share repurchase plan are generally based on our prior month’s NAV per share, you may pay more than realizable value or receive less than realizable value for your investment.

Our NAV per share amounts may change materially if the appraised values of our properties materially change from prior appraisals or the actual operating results for a particular month differ from what we originally budgeted for that month.

The appraisals of our properties are conducted on a rolling basis, such that properties may be appraised at different times but each property is appraised at least once per quarter. As such, when these appraisals are reflected in our NAV calculations, there may be a material change in our NAV per share amounts for each class of our common stock from those previously reported. These changes in a property’s value may be as a result of property-specific events or as a result of more general changes to real estate values resulting from local, nation or global economic changes, including as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, actual operating results for a given month may differ from what we originally budgeted for that month, which may cause a material increase or decrease in the NAV per share amounts. We do not retroactively adjust the NAV per share of each class reported for the previous month. Therefore, because a new quarterly appraisal may differ materially from the prior appraisal or the actual results from operations may be better or worse than what we previously budgeted for a particular month, the adjustment to reflect the new appraisal or actual operating results may cause the NAV per share for each class of our common stock to increase or decrease, and such increase or decrease will occur on the day the adjustment is made.

 

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It may be difficult to reflect, fully and accurately, material events that may impact our monthly NAV.

The Advisor’s determination of our monthly NAV per share, which is calculated by our fund administrator under the supervision of the Advisor, is based in part on estimates of the values of each of our properties provided periodically by our independent valuation advisor in accordance with valuation guidelines approved by our board of directors. As a result, our published NAV per share on any given month may not fully reflect any or all changes in value that may have occurred since the most recent appraisal, including as a result of economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The Advisor reviews appraisal reports and monitors our properties and real estate-related assets, and is responsible for notifying the independent valuation advisor of the occurrence of any property-specific or market-driven event it believes may cause a material valuation change in the real estate valuation, but it may be difficult to reflect fully and accurately rapidly changing market conditions or material events that may impact the value of our properties and real estate-related assets or liabilities between valuations, or to obtain quickly complete information regarding any such events. For example, an unexpected termination or renewal of a material lease, a material increase or decrease in vacancies or an unanticipated structural or environmental event at a property may cause the value of a property to change materially, yet obtaining sufficient relevant information after the occurrence has come to light or analyzing fully the financial impact of such an event may be difficult to do and may require some time. As a result, the NAV per share may not reflect a material event until such time as sufficient information is available and analyzed, and the financial impact is fully evaluated, such that our NAV may be appropriately adjusted in accordance with our valuation guidelines. Depending on the circumstance, the resulting potential disparity in our NAV may be in favor of either stockholders who submit their shares to us for repurchase, or stockholders who buy new shares, or existing stockholders.

NAV calculations are not governed by governmental or independent securities, financial or accounting rules or standards.

The method for calculating our NAV, including the components used in calculating our NAV, is not prescribed by rules of the SEC or any other regulatory agency. Further, there are no accounting rules or standards that prescribe which components should be used in calculating NAV, and our NAV is not audited by our independent registered public accounting firm. We calculate and publish NAV solely for purposes of establishing the transaction price at which we sell and repurchase shares of our common stock, and you should not view our NAV as a measure of our historical or future financial condition or performance. The components and methodology used in calculating our NAV may differ from those used by other companies now or in the future.

In addition, our NAV calculations, to the extent that they incorporate valuations of our assets and liabilities, are not prepared in accordance with GAAP. These valuations, which are based on market values that assume a willing buyer and seller, may differ from liquidation values that could be realized in the event that we were forced to sell assets.

Additionally, errors may occur in calculating our NAV, which could impact the price at which we sell and repurchase shares of our common stock and the amount of the Advisor’s advisory fee. The Advisor has implemented certain policies and procedures to address such errors in NAV calculations. If such errors were to occur, the Advisor, depending on the circumstances surrounding each error and the extent of any impact the error has on the price at which shares of our common stock were sold or repurchased or on the amount of the Advisor’s advisory fee, may determine in its sole discretion to take certain corrective actions in response to such errors, including, subject to Nuveen’s policies and procedures, making adjustments to prior NAV calculations. You should carefully review the disclosure of our valuation policies and how NAV will be calculated under “Net Asset Value Calculation and Valuation Guidelines.”

The continuing coronavirus pandemic may adversely affect our investments and operations.

The global impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 has been widespread and many countries have reacted by instituting quarantines and restrictions on travel, closing financial markets and/or restricting trading, and limiting

 

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operations of non-essential businesses. Such actions have created disruption in global supply chains and have adversely impacted many industries. Although vaccines are widely available, vaccine rates vary, vaccines may lose effectiveness without boosters, and vaccines may be less effective against new strains of COVID-19. Considerable uncertainty still surrounds the coronavirus and its potential effects, and the extent of and effectiveness of any responses taken on a national and local level. As a result, the pandemic could have a continued adverse impact on economic and market conditions.

As a result of our property investments being located in the United States, the coronavirus has impacted and will continue to impact our properties and operating results to the extent that its continued spread within the United States reduces occupancy, increases the cost of operation or results in limited hours or necessitates the closure of such properties. In addition, quarantines, states of emergencies and other measures taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus may negatively impact the ability of our properties to continue to obtain necessary goods and services or provide adequate staffing, which may also adversely affect our properties and operating results. With respect to our retail properties, individual stores and shopping malls have been, and may continue to be, closed for an extended period of time or only open certain hours of the day. Our office, multifamily and industrial properties may be negatively impacted by tenant bankruptcies and defaults. To the extent we acquire hospitality properties, a variety of factors related to the coronavirus have, and are expected to continue to, cause a decline in business and leisure travel, negatively impacting these properties.

Our investments in the International Affiliated Funds have been and may continue to be similarly and negatively impacted by the coronavirus in the foreign countries where their investments are located.

The extent to which the coronavirus may further impact our investments and operations will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, new information that may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions taken to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, new strains of COVID-19, and the availability of effective therapies or vaccines, among others. COVID-19 and the resulting current financial, economic and capital markets environment, and future developments in these and other areas present uncertainty and risk with respect to our performance, results of operations and ability to pay distributions.

Compliance with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest by participating broker-dealers may negatively impact our ability to raise capital in this offering, which would harm our ability to achieve our investment objectives.

Broker-dealers must comply with Regulation Best Interest, which, among other requirements, establishes a new standard of conduct for broker-dealers and their associated persons when making a recommendation of any securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities to a retail customer. The impact of Regulation Best Interest on participating dealers cannot be determined at this time, and it may negatively impact whether participating dealers and their associated persons recommend this offering to certain retail customers. If Regulation Best Interest reduces our ability to raise capital in this offering, it would harm our ability to create a diversified portfolio of investments and ability to achieve our investment objectives.

Our board of directors may, in the future, adopt certain measures under Maryland law without stockholder approval that may have the effect of making it less likely that a stockholder would receive a “control premium” for his or her shares.

Corporations organized under Maryland law with a class of registered securities and at least three independent directors are permitted to elect to be subject, by a charter or bylaw provision or a board of directors resolution and notwithstanding any contrary charter or bylaw provision, to any or all of five provisions:

 

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staggering the board of directors into three classes;

 

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requiring a two-thirds vote of stockholders to remove directors;

 

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providing that only the board of directors can fix the size of the board;

 

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•

providing that all vacancies on the board, regardless of how the vacancy was created, may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office and for the remainder of the full term of the class of directors in which the vacancy occurred; and

 

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providing for a majority requirement for the calling of a stockholder-requested special meeting of stockholders.

These provisions may discourage an extraordinary transaction, such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, all of which might provide a premium price for stockholders’ shares. In our charter, we have elected that vacancies on our board of directors be filled only by the remaining directors and for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred. Through other provisions in our charter and bylaws, we vest in our board of directors the exclusive power to fix the number of directorships, provided that the number is not less than three. We have not elected to be subject to any of the other provisions described above, but our charter does not prohibit our board of directors from opting into any of these provisions in the future.

Further, under the Maryland Business Combination Act, we may not engage in any merger or other business combination with an “interested stockholder” (which is defined as (1) any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock and (2) an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of our then outstanding stock) or any affiliate of that interested stockholder for a period of five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder. A person is not an interested stockholder if our board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which such person would otherwise have become an interested stockholder. In approving a transaction, our board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms or conditions determined by our board of directors. After the five-year period ends, any merger or other business combination with the interested stockholder or any affiliate of the interested stockholder must be recommended by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:

 

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80% of all votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of our voting stock; and

 

•

two-thirds of all of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of our voting stock other than those shares owned or held by the interested stockholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder unless, among other things, our stockholders receive a minimum payment for their common stock equal to the highest price paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.

The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by our board of directors prior to the time the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Our board of directors has adopted a resolution exempting any business combination involving us and any person, including Nuveen, the Dealer Manager and the Advisor, from the provisions of this law, provided that such business combination is first approved by our board of directors.

Our charter permits our board of directors to authorize us to issue preferred stock ranking senior to our current common stock with respect to distribution rights or rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or on terms that may discourage a third party from acquiring us.

Our board of directors is permitted, subject to certain restrictions set forth in our charter, to authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock without stockholder approval. Further, our board of directors may classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common or preferred stock into other classes or series of stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends and other distributions, qualifications, and terms or conditions of redemption of the stock and may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares or the number of shares of any class or series

 

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that we have authority to issue without stockholder approval. Thus, our board of directors could authorize us to issue shares of preferred stock ranking senior to our common stock with respect to distribution rights and rights upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or with terms and conditions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets, that might provide a premium price for holders of our common stock.

Maryland law limits, in some cases, the ability of a third party to vote shares acquired in a “control share acquisition.”

The Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act provides that “control shares” of a Maryland corporation acquired in a “control share acquisition” have no voting rights except to the extent approved by stockholders by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares of stock owned by the acquirer, by officers or by employees who are directors of the corporation, are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter. “Control shares” are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquirer or in respect of which the acquirer can exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquirer to exercise voting power in electing directors within specified ranges of voting power. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A “control share acquisition” means the acquisition of issued and outstanding control shares. The control share acquisition statute does not apply: (1) to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation or share exchange if the Maryland corporation is a party to the transaction; or (2) to acquisitions approved or exempted by the charter or bylaws of the Maryland corporation. Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Control Share Acquisition Act any and all acquisitions of our stock by any person. There can be no assurance that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.

Maryland law and our organizational documents limit our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover claims against our directors and officers, which could reduce your and our recovery against them if they cause us to incur losses.

Maryland law provides that a director will not have any liability as a director so long as he or she performs his or her duties in accordance with the applicable standard of conduct. In addition, subject to the additional limitations of the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Statement of Policy Regarding Real Estate Investment Trusts, as revised and adopted on May 7, 2007 (the “NASAA REIT Guidelines”), our charter provides that no director or officer shall be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages unless the director or officer (1) actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (2) was actively and deliberately dishonest as established by a final judgment as material to the cause of action. Moreover, our charter generally requires us to indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers for losses they may incur by reason of their service in those capacities unless their act or omission was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, they actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or, in the case of any criminal proceeding, they had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful. Further, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors. As a result, you and we may have more limited rights against our directors or officers than might otherwise exist under common law, which could reduce your and our recovery from these persons if they act in a manner that causes us to incur losses. In addition, we are obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by these persons in some cases. However, our charter provides that we may not indemnify our directors, the Advisor and any of our Advisor’s affiliates, for any liability or loss suffered by them or hold our directors, the Advisor and any of our Advisor’s affiliates harmless for any liability or loss suffered by us, unless they have determined, in good faith, that the course of conduct that caused the loss or liability was in our best interests, they were acting on our behalf or performing services for us, the liability or loss was not the result of negligence or misconduct by our non-independent directors, the Advisor or any of our or the Advisor’s affiliates, or gross negligence or willful misconduct by our independent directors, and the indemnification or agreement to hold harmless is recoverable only out of our net

 

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assets or the proceeds of insurance and not from the stockholders. See “Management— Limited Liability and Indemnification of Directors, Officers, the Advisor and Other Agents.”

Maryland law and our organizational documents limit our stockholders’ ability to amend our charter or dissolve us without the approval of our board of directors.

Although the NASAA REIT Guidelines indicate that stockholders are permitted to amend our charter or terminate us without the necessity for concurrence by our board of directors, we are required to comply with the Maryland General Corporation Law, which provides that any amendment to our charter or any dissolution of our company must first be declared advisable by our board of directors. Therefore, our stockholders may vote to authorize the amendment of our charter or the dissolution of our company, but only after such action has been declared advisable by our board of directors. Accordingly, the only proposals to amend our charter or to dissolve our company that will be presented to our stockholders will be those that have been declared advisable by our board of directors and also require approval by our stockholders.

Your interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares.

Holders of our common stock will not have preemptive rights to any shares we issue in the future. Our charter authorizes us to issue up to 2,200,000,000 shares of capital stock, of which 2,100,000,000 shares are classified as common stock, of which 500,000,000 shares are classified as Class T shares, 500,000,000 shares are classified as Class S shares, 500,000,000 shares are classified as Class D shares, 500,000,000 shares are classified as Class I shares and 100,000,000 shares are classified as Class N shares, and 100,000,000 shares are classified as preferred stock. In addition, our board of directors may amend our charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of capital stock or the number of authorized shares of capital stock of any class or series without stockholder approval. Our board of directors may elect, without stockholder approval, to: (1) sell additional shares in this or future public offerings; (2) issue equity interests in private offerings; (3) issue shares upon the exercise of the options we may grant to our independent directors or future employees; (4) issue shares to the Advisor, or its successors or assigns, in payment of an outstanding obligation to pay fees for services rendered to us; or (5) issue shares to sellers of properties we acquire in connection with an exchange of limited partnership interests of the Operating Partnership. To the extent we issue additional shares after your purchase in this offering, your percentage ownership interest in us will be diluted.

If you purchase shares of common stock in this offering, you may experience immediate dilution in the net tangible book value per share.

Net tangible book value is used as a measure of net worth that reflects certain dilution in the value of our common stock from the issue price as a result of (i) accumulated depreciation and amortization of real estate investments, (ii) fees paid in connection with this offering and (iii) the fees and expenses paid in connection with the selection, acquisition, management and sale of our investments. Net tangible book value does not reflect our estimated value per share nor does it necessarily reflect the value of our assets upon an orderly liquidation of the company in accordance with our investment objectives.

Our UPREIT structure may result in potential conflicts of interest with limited partners in the Operating Partnership whose interests may not be aligned with those of our stockholders.

Our directors and officers have duties to our corporation under Maryland law and our charter in connection with their management of the corporation. At the same time, we, as general partner, have fiduciary duties under Delaware law to the Operating Partnership and to the limited partners in connection with the management of the Operating Partnership. Our duties as general partner of the Operating Partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to the corporation. Under Delaware law, a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership owes its limited partners the duties of good faith and fair dealing. Other duties, including fiduciary duties, may be modified or eliminated in the partnership’s partnership agreement. The

 

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partnership agreement of the Operating Partnership provides that, for so long as we own a controlling interest in the Operating Partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners may be resolved in favor of our stockholders.

Additionally, the partnership agreement expressly limits our liability by providing that we and our officers, directors, agents and employees will not be liable or accountable to the Operating Partnership for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived if we or our officers, directors, agents or employees acted in good faith. In addition, the Operating Partnership is required to indemnify us and our officers, directors, employees, agents and designees to the extent permitted by applicable law from and against any and all claims arising from operations of the Operating Partnership, unless it is established that: (1) the act or omission was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty; (2) the indemnified party received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services; or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.

The provisions of Delaware law that allow the fiduciary duties of a general partner to be modified by a partnership agreement have not been tested in a court of law, and we have not obtained an opinion of counsel covering the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement that purport to waive or restrict our fiduciary duties.

Our business is subject to certain regulatory regimes applicable to TIAA, including applicable financial industry rules, which may impact our returns or prevent us from taking advantage of investment opportunities that would otherwise be advantageous to our stockholders.

Nuveen Real Estate, Nuveen and the Advisor are affiliates of TIAA and therefore are subject to banking laws, regulations and orders that apply to TIAA including, among other things, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (as amended, the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and Section 619 thereof (the “Volcker Rule”). Because TIAA invested $300 million in shares of our Class N common stock, we are deemed to be a “banking entity” until TIAA and its affiliates are no longer deemed to have “control” (as defined by the Volcker Rule). Subject to a number of exceptions, the Volcker Rule and its implementing regulations prohibit banking entities from engaging in “proprietary trading” (as defined in those regulations) and prohibit banking entities from sponsoring or acquiring or retaining an “ownership interest” in “covered funds” (each term as defined in these regulations). For example, short-term trades with a turn of 60 days or less are subject to a rebuttable presumption that they constitute proprietary trading under the Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule prohibition of proprietary trading could impact our ability to obtain liquidity under certain circumstances, which in turn could negatively impact our returns with respect to our investments in financial instruments, distributions to our stockholders, or repurchases pursuant to our share repurchase plan, as well as our ability to fund investments in line with our investment objectives.

In addition, a banking entity may not enter into certain so-called “covered transactions” with any covered fund that the banking entity sponsors, organizes and offers or which the banking entity serves as investment manager, investment advisor or commodity trading advisor, except as permitted pursuant to certain specified exemptions. Finally, it is possible that, under the Volcker Rule and its implementing regulations, certain pooled investment vehicles that we are considered to “control” for purposes of the Volcker Rule, including the International Affiliated Funds, may themselves be deemed to be banking entities and subject to the requirements and restrictions of the Volcker Rule, unless there is an applicable exception or exemption.

The Volcker Rule and its implementing regulations requires us to establish and maintain a compliance program and restricts our ability to engage in certain investment activities as described above, and which may result in potential loss of diversification opportunities. We have additional expenses related to monitoring our trades in our securities investments over our peers who are not subject to the Volcker Rule. The costs of implementing and maintaining a compliance program and the restrictions on our investment activities could lower our overall

 

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returns with respect to our investments in financial instruments. If our investments in the International Affiliated Funds, in or with Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts or otherwise are deemed to be investments in covered funds, we may be required to sell our investments quickly and possibly at a discount, depending on market conditions. These limitations and restrictions could disadvantage us against competitors that are not subject to the Volcker Rule.

Your investment return may be reduced if we are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

We intend to conduct our operations so that neither we, nor the Operating Partnership nor the subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership are investment companies under the Investment Company Act. However, there can be no assurance that we, the Operating Partnership or the subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership will be able to successfully avoid operating as an investment company.

Under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, a company is deemed to be an investment company if it is, or holds itself out as being, engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act, a company is deemed to be an investment company if it is engaged, or proposes to engage, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire “investment securities” having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. “Investment securities” exclude (A) U.S. government securities, (B) securities issued by employees’ securities companies and (C) securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries which (i) are not investment companies and (ii) are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.

With respect to Section 3(a)(1)(A), we do not intend to engage primarily or hold ourselves out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Rather, we will be primarily engaged in the non-investment company businesses of our subsidiaries. With respect to Section 3(a)(1)(C), we expect that most of the entities through which we own assets will be wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exceptions from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act and, thus, we do not expect to own a significant amount of investment securities and intend that less than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) will consist of “investment securities.”

Through our subsidiaries, we plan to acquire, invest in and manage instruments that could be deemed to be securities for purposes of the Investment Company Act. Accordingly, it is possible that more than 40% of the assets of our subsidiaries will be investments that will be deemed to be investment securities for Investment Company Act purposes. However, in such a circumstance, in reliance on Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, we do not intend to register any of our subsidiaries as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Section 3(c)(5)(C) is available for entities “primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate.” This exemption generally requires that at least 55% of each such subsidiary’s portfolio must be comprised of qualifying assets and at least 80% of each of their portfolios must be comprised of qualifying assets and real estate-related assets under the Investment Company Act (and no more than 20% comprised of non-qualifying or non-real estate-related assets). As a result of the foregoing restrictions, we will be limited in our ability to make certain investments.

We expect that substantially all of the assets of our subsidiaries will comply with the requirements of Section 3(c)(5)(C), as such requirements have been interpreted by the SEC staff. Although we intend to monitor our portfolio periodically and prior to each investment acquisition and disposition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain this exemption from registration. Existing SEC no-action positions were issued in accordance with factual situations that may be substantially different from the factual situations we may face, and

 

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a number of these no-action positions were issued more than ten years ago. No assurance can be given that the SEC will concur with our classification of the assets of our subsidiaries. Future revisions to the Investment Company Act or further guidance from the SEC staff may cause us to lose our ability to rely on Section 3(c)(5)(C) or force us to re-evaluate our portfolio and our investment strategy. Such changes may prevent us from operating our business successfully.

A change in the value of any of our assets could negatively affect our ability to maintain our exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act. To maintain compliance with the applicable exemption under the Investment Company Act, we may be unable to sell assets we would otherwise want to sell and may need to sell assets we would otherwise wish to retain. In addition, we may have to acquire additional assets that we might not otherwise have acquired or may have to forego opportunities to acquire assets that we would otherwise want to acquire and would be important to our investment strategy.

If we were required to register as an investment company, we would become subject to substantial regulation with respect to our capital structure (including our ability to use borrowings), management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act), and portfolio composition, including disclosure requirements and restrictions with respect to diversification and industry concentration, and other matters. Compliance with the Investment Company Act would, accordingly, limit our ability to make certain investments and require us to significantly restructure our business plan, which could materially adversely affect our NAV and our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders. If we were required to register as an investment company but failed to do so, we would be prohibited from engaging in our business.

Our investments in the International Affiliated Funds are subject to the risks described in this risk factor as the International Affiliated Funds will need to operate in a manner to avoid qualifying as an investment company as well. If any of the International Affiliated Funds is required to register as an investment company, the extra costs and expenses and limitations on operations resulting from such as described above could adversely impact such International Affiliated Fund’s operations, which would indirectly reduce your investment return, and that registration also could adversely affect our status as an investment company.

The Advisor is not registered and does not intend to register as an investment advisor under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”). If the Advisor is required to register as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act, it could impact our operations and possibly reduce your investment return.

The Advisor is not currently registered as an investment advisor under the Advisers Act and does not expect to register as an investment adviser because it does not and does not intend to have sufficient regulatory assets under management to meet the eligibility requirement under Section 203A of the Advisers Act. Whether an adviser has sufficient regulatory assets under management to require registration under the Advisers Act depends on the nature of the assets it manages. In calculating regulatory assets under management, the Advisor must include the value of each “securities portfolio” it manages. The Advisor expects that our assets will not constitute a securities portfolio so long as a majority of our assets consist of assets that we believe are not securities. However, because we may also invest in several types of securities in accordance with our investment strategy and the SEC will not affirm our determination of what portion of our investments are not securities, there is a risk that such determination is incorrect and, as a result, our investments are a securities portfolio. In such event, the Advisor may be acting as an investment adviser subject to registration under the Advisers Act but not be registered. If our investments were to constitute a securities portfolio, then the Advisor would be required to register under the Advisers Act, which would require it to comply with a variety of regulatory requirements under the Advisers Act on such matters as record keeping, disclosure, compliance, limitations on the types of fees it could earn and other fiduciary obligations. As a result, the Advisor would be required to devote additional time and resources and incur additional costs to manage our business, which could possibly reduce your investment return.

 

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Operational risks, including the risk of cyberattacks, may disrupt our businesses, result in losses or limit our growth.

We rely heavily on TIAA’s, Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s financial, accounting, communications and other data processing systems. Such systems may fail to operate properly or become disabled as a result of tampering or a breach of the network security systems or otherwise. In addition, such systems are from time to time subject to cyberattacks and other cyber security incidents. Breaches of Nuveen Real Estate’s or Nuveen’s network security systems could involve attacks that are intended to obtain unauthorized access to our proprietary information or personal identifying information of our stockholders, destroy data or disable, degrade or sabotage our systems, often through the introduction of computer viruses or other malicious code, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and security breaches, usage errors by their respective professionals or service providers, power, communications or other service outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. If unauthorized parties gain access to such information and technology systems, they may be able to steal, publish, delete or modify private and sensitive information. Although Nuveen Real Estate takes various measures to ensure the integrity of such systems, there can be no assurance that these measures will provide protection. Breaches such as those involving covertly introduced malware, impersonation of authorized users and industrial or other espionage may not be identified even with sophisticated prevention and detection systems, potentially resulting in further harm and preventing it from being addressed appropriately. The failure of Nuveen Real Estate’s or Nuveen’s systems or of disaster recovery plans for any reason could cause significant interruptions in Nuveen Real Estate’s, Nuveen’s or our operations and result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to our stockholders and the intellectual property and trade secrets of Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen. If such systems are compromised, do not operate properly or are disabled, we could suffer financial loss, a disruption of our businesses, liability to stockholders, regulatory intervention or reputational damage.

In addition, we are highly dependent on information systems and technology. Nuveen’s and Nuveen Real Estate’s information systems and technology may not continue to be able to accommodate our growth, and the cost of maintaining such systems may increase from its current level. Such a failure to accommodate growth, or an increase in costs related to such information systems, could have a material adverse effect on us. We rely on third-party service providers for certain aspects of our business, including for certain information systems, technology and administration. Any interruption or deterioration in the performance of these third parties or failures of their information systems and technology could impair the quality of our operations and could affect our reputation and hence adversely affect our business.

Cyber security incidents and cyber-attacks have been occurring globally at a more frequent and severe level and will likely continue to increase in frequency in the future. Our information and technology systems as well as those of Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen, may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from cyber security breaches, computer viruses or other malicious code, network failures, computer and telecommunication failures, infiltration by unauthorized persons and other security breaches, usage errors by their respective professionals or service providers, power, communications or other service outages and catastrophic events such as fires, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes. Cyber-attacks and other security threats could originate from a wide variety of sources, including cyber criminals, nation state hackers, hacktivists and other outside parties. There has been an increase in the frequency and sophistication of the cyber and security threats Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen face, with attacks ranging from those common to businesses generally to those that are more advanced and persistent, which may target Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen because Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen hold a significant amount of confidential and sensitive information about their investors, their portfolio companies and potential investments. As a result, Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen may face a heightened risk of a security breach or disruption with respect to this information. If successful, these types of attacks on Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s network or other systems could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations, due to, among other things, the loss of investor or proprietary data, interruptions or delays in the operation of our business and damage to our reputation. There can be no assurance that measures Nuveen

 

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Real Estate and Nuveen take to ensure the integrity of their systems will provide protection, especially because cyber-attack techniques used change frequently or are not recognized until successful.

If unauthorized parties gain access to such information and technology systems, they may be able to steal, publish, delete or modify private and sensitive information, including nonpublic personal information related to stakeholders (and their beneficial owners) and material nonpublic information. Although Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen have implemented, and their affiliates and service providers may implement, various measures to manage risks relating to these types of events, such systems could prove to be inadequate and, if compromised, could become inoperable for extended periods of time, cease to function properly or fail to adequately secure private information. Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen do not control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by third party service providers, and such third-party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen, their portfolio entities and us, each of which could be negatively impacted as a result. Breaches such as those involving covertly introduced malware, impersonation of authorized users and industrial or other espionage may not be identified even with sophisticated prevention and detection systems, potentially resulting in further harm and preventing them from being addressed appropriately. The failure of these systems and/or of disaster recovery plans for any reason could cause significant interruptions in Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s, their affiliates’ or our operations and result in a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data, including personal information relating to shareholders, material nonpublic information and the intellectual property and trade secrets and other sensitive information in the possession of Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen. We, Nuveen Real Estate, or Nuveen could be required to make a significant investment to remedy the effects of any such failures, harm to their reputations, legal claims that they and their respective affiliates may be subjected to, regulatory action or enforcement arising out of applicable privacy and other laws, adverse publicity and other events that may affect their business and financial performance.

In addition, Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen operate in businesses that are highly dependent on information systems and technology. The costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. In addition, cybersecurity has become a top priority for regulators around the world. Many jurisdictions in which Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen operate have laws and regulations relating to data privacy, cybersecurity and protection of personal information, including the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union that went into effect in May 2018. Some jurisdictions have also enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals of data security breaches involving certain types of personal data. Breaches in security could potentially jeopardize Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen, their employees’ or our investors’ or counterparties’ confidential and other information processed and stored in, and transmitted through Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in their employees’, our investors’, our counterparties’ or third parties’ operations, which could result in significant losses, increased costs, disruption of Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s businesses, liability to our investors and other counterparties, regulatory intervention or reputational damage. Furthermore, if Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen fail to comply with the relevant laws and regulations, it could result in regulatory investigations and penalties, which could lead to negative publicity and may cause our investors or Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen fund investors and clients to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our or Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s security measures.

Other disruptive events, including, but not limited to, natural disasters and public health or pandemic crises (such as COVID-19) may adversely affect our ability to conduct business. Such adverse effects may include the inability of the Advisor’s employees, or the employees of its affiliates and other service providers, to perform their responsibilities as a result of any such event. Such disruptions to Nuveen Real Estate’s business operations can cause operational issues.

Finally, we depend on Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s headquarters for the continued operation of our business. A disaster or a disruption in the infrastructure that supports our business, including a disruption involving electronic communications or other services used by us or third parties with whom we conduct

 

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business, or directly affecting our headquarters, could have a material adverse impact on our ability to continue to operate our business without interruption. Nuveen Real Estate’s and Nuveen’s disaster recovery programs may not be sufficient to mitigate the harm that may result from such a disaster or disruption. In addition, insurance and other safeguards might only partially reimburse us for our losses, if at all.

We are subject to compliance with securities law which exposes us to potential liabilities, including potential rescission rights.

On April 5, 2022, we filed Supplement No. 11 to our prospectus dated July 2, 2021, which included our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act requires us to make certain updates to the information in our prospectus via a post-effective amendment to the registration statement. Although we provided all investors with the current audited financial statements through the supplement filed on April 5, 2022, this did not timely update the registration statement, which may have caused a potential violation of Section 5 of the Securities Act, which may trigger a right of rescission for certain investors who purchased our common stock during the time the registration statement was not updated. These stockholders may have the right to rescind their purchase of our common stock and require us to reacquire their shares at a price equal to the price originally paid for such shares with interest, less the amount of any income received with respect to such shares.

Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate

Our operating results will be affected by economic and regulatory changes that impact the real estate market in general.

We are subject to risks generally attributable to the ownership of real property, including:

 

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changes in global, national, regional or local economic, demographic or capital market conditions;

 

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future adverse national real estate trends, including increasing vacancy rates, declining rental rates and general deterioration of market conditions;

 

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changes in supply of or demand for similar properties in a given market or metropolitan area, which could result in rising vacancy rates or decreasing market rental rates;

 

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adverse economic conditions as a result of an epidemic, pandemic or other health-related issues in one or more markets where we own property;

 

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vacancies, fluctuations in the average occupancy and room rates for hotel properties or inability to lease space on favorable terms;

 

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increased competition for properties targeted by our investment strategy;

 

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bankruptcies, financial difficulties or lease defaults by our tenants;

 

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increases in interest rates and lack of availability of financing; and

 

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changes in government rules, regulations and fiscal policies, including increases in property taxes, changes in zoning laws, limitations on rental rates, and increasing costs to comply with environmental laws.

All of these factors are beyond our control. Any negative changes in these factors could affect our performance and our ability to meet our obligations and make distributions to stockholders.

Our success is dependent on general market and economic conditions.

The real estate industry generally and the success of our investment activities in particular will both be affected by global and national economic and market conditions generally and by the local economic conditions where

 

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our properties are located. These factors may affect the level and volatility of real estate prices, which could impair our profitability or result in losses. In addition, general fluctuations in the market prices of securities and interest rates may affect our investment opportunities and the value of our investments. Nuveen’s financial condition may be adversely affected by a significant economic downturn and it may be subject to legal, regulatory, reputational and other unforeseen risks that could have a material adverse effect on Nuveen Real Estate’s or Nuveen’s businesses and operations (including the Advisor).

A recession, slowdown or sustained downturn in the U.S. or global real estate market, and the U.S. or global economy (or any particular segment thereof) would have a pronounced impact on us, the value of our assets and our profitability, impede the ability of our assets to perform under or refinance their existing obligations, and impair our ability to effectively deploy our capital or realize upon investments on favorable terms. We could also be affected by any overall weakening of, or disruptions in, the financial markets. Any of the foregoing events could result in substantial losses to our business, which losses will likely be exacerbated by the presence of leverage in our investments’ capital structures.

Any future financial market disruptions may force us to use a greater proportion of our offering proceeds to finance our acquisitions and fund tenant improvements, reducing the cash available to satisfy repurchase requests and reducing the number of acquisitions we would otherwise make.

Additionally, events such as war (including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine), terrorism, natural and environmental disasters and the spread of infectious illnesses or other public health emergencies may adversely affect the global economy and the markets in which we and the International Affiliated Funds invest. A recent example of such an event includes the COVID-19 pandemic. These events could reduce consumer demand or economic output, result in market closure, travel restrictions or quarantines, and generally have a significant impact on the economy, our operations and performance.

The impacts of climate-related initiatives at the U.S. federal and state levels remain uncertain at this time but could result in increased operating costs.

Government authorities and various interest groups are promoting laws and regulations that could limit greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions due to concerns over contributions to climate change. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has moved to regulate GHG emissions from large stationary sources, including electricity producers, and mobile sources, through fuel efficiency and other requirements, using its existing authority under the Clean Air Act. Moreover, certain state and regional programs are being implemented to require reductions in GHG emissions. Any additional taxation or regulation of energy use, including as a result of (i) the regulations that EPA has proposed or may propose in the future, (ii) state programs and regulations, or (iii) renewed GHG legislative efforts by future Congresses, could result in increased operating costs that we may not be able to effectively pass on to our tenants. In addition, any increased regulation of GHG emissions could impose substantial costs on our industrial tenants. These costs include, for example, an increase in the cost of the fuel and other energy purchased by our industrial tenants and capital costs associated with updating or replacing their trucks earlier than planned. Any such increased costs could impact the financial condition of our industrial tenants and their ability to meet their lease obligations and to lease or re-lease our properties.

Our portfolio may be concentrated in a limited number of asset types, geographies or investments.

Our portfolio may be heavily concentrated at any time in only a limited number of asset types, geographies or investments, and, as a consequence, our aggregate return may be substantially affected by the unfavorable performance of even a single investment. To the extent the Advisor concentrates our investments in a particular type of asset or geography, our portfolio may become more susceptible to fluctuations in value resulting from adverse economic or business conditions affecting that particular type of asset or geography. For investments that the Advisor intends to finance (directly or by selling assets), there is a risk that such financing may not be completed, which could result in us holding a larger percentage of our assets in a single investment and asset type

 

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than desired. Investors have no assurance as to the degree of diversification in our investments, either by geographic region or asset type.

Our board of directors may change our investment and operational policies or our investment guidelines without stockholder consent.

Except for changes to the investment restrictions contained in our charter, which require stockholder consent to amend, our board of directors may change our investment and operational policies, including our policies with respect to investments, operations, indebtedness, capitalization and distributions, at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in our making investments that are different from, and possibly riskier or more highly leveraged than, the types of investments described in this prospectus. Our board of directors also approved very broad investment guidelines with which the Advisor must comply, but these guidelines provide the Advisor with broad discretion and can be changed by our board of directors. A change in our investment strategy may, among other things, increase our exposure to real estate market fluctuations, default risk and interest rate risk, all of which could materially affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Any indirect investment we make, including in the International Affiliated Funds, will be consistent with the investment objectives and policies described in this prospectus and will, therefore, be subject to similar business and real estate risks.

Our indirect investments, including in the International Affiliated Funds, will have investment objectives and policies consistent with ours, and are subject to many of the same business and real estate risks as we are. For example, each of the International Affiliated Funds:

 

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operates internationally and may be subject to varying currency, inflation or other governmental and regulatory risks specific to the countries in which they operate and own assets;

 

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may not have sufficient available funds to make distributions or redeem interests in the funds upon request of investors without delay;

 

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expects to acquire additional and dispose of properties in the future which, if unsuccessful, could affect our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders;

 

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is subject to risks as a result of joint ownership of real estate with Nuveen Real Estate, its affiliates or third parties;

 

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intends to use borrowings to partially fund acquisitions, which may result in foreclosures and unexpected debt-service requirements and indirectly negatively affect our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders;

 

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is also dependent upon Nuveen Real Estate and its key employees for its success;

 

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also operates in a competitive business with competitors who have significant financial resources and operational flexibility;

 

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may not have funding or capital resources for future tenant improvements;

 

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depends on its tenants for its revenue and relies on certain significant tenants;

 

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is subject to risks associated with terrorism, uninsured losses and high insurance costs;

 

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will be affected by general economic and regulatory factors it cannot control or predict;

 

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will make illiquid investments and be subject to general economic and regulatory factors, including environmental laws, which it cannot control or predict; and

 

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will be subject to property taxes and operating expenses that may increase.

 

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To the extent the operations and ability of the International Affiliated Funds, or any other entity through which we indirectly invest in real estate, to make distributions or redeem interests in the funds is adversely affected by any of these risks, our operations and ability to pay distributions to you will be adversely affected. The International Affiliated Funds may make investments in countries or regions where neither we, the Advisor and its affiliates, nor the International Affiliated Funds, have previously invested, which may expose the International Affiliated Funds to additional risk with regard to that jurisdiction’s applicable laws, which may adversely impact our investments in the International Affiliated Funds.

We face significant competition in acquiring properties.

We face competition from various entities for investment opportunities in properties, including other REITs, pension funds, insurance companies, investment funds and companies, partnerships and developers. In addition to third-party competitors, other programs sponsored by Nuveen and its affiliates, particularly those with investment strategies that overlap with ours, may seek investment opportunities under Nuveen’s prevailing policies and procedures. Many of these entities may have greater access to capital to acquire properties than we have. Competition from these entities may reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities offered to us or increase the bargaining power of property owners seeking to sell. Additionally, disruptions and dislocations in the credit markets could have a material impact on the cost and availability of debt to finance real estate acquisitions, which is a key component of our acquisition strategy. The lack of available debt on reasonable terms or at all could result in a further reduction of suitable investment opportunities and create a competitive advantage for other entities that have greater financial resources than we do. In addition, over the past several years, a number of real estate funds and publicly traded and non-listed REITs have been formed and others have been consolidated (and many such existing funds have grown in size) for purposes of investing in real estate or real estate-related assets. Additional real estate funds, vehicles and REITs with similar investment objectives may be formed in the future by other unrelated parties and further consolidations may occur (resulting in larger funds and vehicles). Consequently, it is expected that competition for appropriate investment opportunities would reduce the number of investment opportunities available to us and adversely affecting the terms, including price, upon which investments can be made. This competition may cause us to acquire properties and other investments at higher prices or by using less-than-ideal capital structures, and in such case our returns will be lower and the value of our assets may not appreciate or may decrease significantly below the amount we paid for such assets. If such events occur, you may experience a lower return on your investment.

We may make a substantial amount of joint venture investments, including with Nuveen’s affiliates and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on the financial condition of our joint venture partners and disputes between us and our joint venture partners.

We may co-invest in the future with Nuveen’s affiliates or third parties in partnerships or other entities that own real estate properties, which we collectively refer to as joint ventures. We may acquire non-controlling interests in joint ventures. Even if we have some control in a joint venture, we would not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the joint venture. Investments in joint ventures may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present were another party not involved, including the possibility that joint venture partners might become bankrupt or fail to fund their required capital contributions. Joint venture partners may have economic or other business interests or goals that are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor the joint venture partner would have full control over the joint venture. Disputes between us and joint venture partners may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and directors from focusing their time and effort on our business. Consequently, actions by or disputes with joint venture partners might result in subjecting properties owned by the joint venture to additional risk. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our joint venture partners.

 

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In addition, in connection with any shared investments in which we participate alongside any Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts, the Advisor may from time to time grant absolutely and/or share with such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts certain rights relating to such shared investments for legal, tax, regulatory or other reasons, including, in certain instances, rights with respect to the structuring or sale of such shared investments. There is no guarantee that we will be able to co-invest with any Other Nuveen Real Estate Account. We will not participate in joint ventures in which we do not have or share control to the extent that we believe such participation would potentially threaten our status as a non-investment company exempt from the Investment Company Act. This may prevent us from receiving an allocation with respect to certain investment opportunities that are suitable for both us and one or more Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts.

If we have a right of first refusal to buy out a joint venture partner, we may be unable to finance such a buy-out if it becomes exercisable or we are required to purchase such interest at a time when it would not otherwise be in our best interest to do so. If our interest is subject to a buy/sell right, we may not have sufficient cash, available borrowing capacity or other capital resources to allow us to elect to purchase an interest of a joint venture partner subject to the buy/sell right, in which case we may be forced to sell our interest as the result of the exercise of such right when we would otherwise prefer to keep our interest. If we buy our joint venture partner’s interest we will have increased exposure in the underlying investment. The price we use to buy our joint venture partner’s interest or sell our interest is typically determined by negotiations between us and our joint venture partner and there is no assurance that such price will be representative of the value of the underlying property or equal to our then-current valuation of our interest in the joint venture that is used to calculate our NAV. Finally, we may not be able to sell our interest in a joint venture if we desire to exit the venture for any reason or if our interest is likewise subject to a right of first refusal of our joint venture partner, and our ability to sell or the price we might obtain for such interest may be adversely impacted by such right. Joint ownership arrangements with Nuveen’s affiliates may also entail further conflicts of interest. Some additional risks and conflicts related to our joint venture investments (including joint venture investments with Nuveen’s affiliates) include:

 

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the joint venture partner may have economic or other interests that are inconsistent with our interests, including interests relating to the financing, management, operation, leasing or sale of the assets purchased by such joint venture;

 

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tax, Investment Company Act and other regulatory requirements applicable to the joint venture partner may cause it to want to take actions contrary to our interests;

 

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the joint venture partner may have joint control of the joint venture even in cases where its economic stake in the joint venture is significantly less than ours;

 

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under the joint venture arrangement, neither we nor the joint venture partner will be in a position to unilaterally control the joint venture, and deadlocks may occur. Such deadlocks could adversely impact the operations and profitability of the joint venture, including as a result of the inability of the joint venture to act quickly in connection with a potential acquisition or disposition. In addition, depending on the governance structure of such joint venture partner, decisions of such vehicle may be subject to approval by individuals who are independent of Nuveen;

 

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under the joint venture arrangement, we and the joint venture partner may have a buy/sell right and, as a result of an impasse that triggers the exercise of such right, we may be forced to sell our investment in the joint venture, or buy the joint venture partner’s share of the joint venture at a time when it would not otherwise be in our best interest to do so;

 

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our participation in investments in which a joint venture partner participates will be less than what our participation would have been had such other vehicle not participated, and because there may be no limit on the amount of capital that such joint venture partner can raise, the degree of our participation in such investments may decrease over time; and

 

•

we may rely on our joint venture partners and their personnel for certain matters, including property management and ongoing due diligence with respect to properties to which a joint venture relates, and

 

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our success with respect to such properties, to a significant extent, may depend upon the continued services of such joint venture partner.

Furthermore, we may have conflicting fiduciary obligations if we acquire properties with our affiliates or other related entities; as a result, in any such transaction we may not have the benefit of arm’s-length negotiations of the type normally conducted between unrelated parties.

Our ability to redeem all or a portion of our investment in the International Affiliated Funds is subject to significant restrictions.

Our investment in the International Affiliated Funds is subject to significant restrictions. Our investments in the International Affiliated Funds will be treated the same as investments by other investors in the International Affiliated Funds, and the managers of the International Affiliated Funds may limit redemptions, including as a result of certain tax, regulatory or other considerations. We may not be able to exit the International Affiliated Funds or liquidate all or a portion of our interests in the International Affiliated Funds.

We cannot assure you that the International Affiliated Funds will have capital available on favorable terms or at all to fund the redemption of interests. If the International Affiliated Funds are not able to raise additional capital to meet redemption requests, the International Affiliated Funds may be required to sell assets that they would otherwise elect to retain or sell assets or otherwise raise capital on less than favorable terms or at a time when they would not otherwise do so. If the International Affiliated Funds are forced to sell any assets under such circumstances, the disposition of such assets could materially adversely impact their operations and ability to make distributions to us and, consequently, the value of our investment in the International Affiliated Funds.

In our due diligence review of potential investments, we may rely on third-party consultants and advisors, as well as certain of our joint venture partners, and representations made by sellers of potential portfolio properties, and we or those we rely upon may not identify all relevant facts that may be necessary or helpful in evaluating potential investments.

Before making investments, due diligence is typically conducted in a manner that the Advisor deems reasonable and appropriate based on the facts and circumstances applicable to each investment. Due diligence may entail evaluation of important and complex business, financial, tax, accounting, environmental and legal issues. Outside consultants, legal advisors, accountants, investment banks, joint venture partners, and other third parties, including affiliates of the Advisor or Nuveen, may be involved in the due diligence process to varying degrees depending on the type of investment, the costs of which will be borne by us. Such involvement of third-party advisors or consultants may present a number of risks primarily relating to the Advisor’s reduced control of the functions that are outsourced. Where affiliates of Nuveen are utilized, the Advisor’s advisory fee will not be offset for the fees paid or expenses reimbursed to such affiliates. In addition, if the Advisor is unable to timely engage third-party providers, the ability to evaluate and acquire more complex targets could be adversely affected. In the due diligence process and making an assessment regarding a potential investment, the Advisor relies on the resources available to it, including information provided by the target of the investment and, in some circumstances, third-party investigations. The due diligence investigation carried out with respect to any investment opportunity may not reveal or highlight all relevant facts that may be necessary or helpful in evaluating such investment opportunity. Moreover, such an investigation will not necessarily result in the investment being successful. Further, any recourse we may have against a seller for a breach of representations and warranties may be capped and subject to time limitations and may not be adequate to cover losses that we may incur. There can be no assurance that attempts to provide downside protection with respect to investments, including pursuant to risk management procedures described in this prospectus, will achieve their desired effect and potential investors should regard an investment in us as being speculative and having a high degree of risk.

 

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There can be no assurance that the Advisor will be able to detect or prevent irregular accounting, employee misconduct or other fraudulent practices during the due diligence phase or during our efforts to monitor our investments on an ongoing basis or that any risk management procedures implemented by us will be adequate.

In the event of fraud by the seller of any portfolio property, we may suffer a partial or total loss of capital invested in that property. An additional concern is the possibility of material misrepresentation or omission on the part of the seller. Such inaccuracy or incompleteness may adversely affect the value of our investment in such portfolio property. We will rely upon the accuracy and completeness of representations made by sellers of portfolio properties in the due diligence process to the extent reasonable when we make our investments, but cannot guarantee such accuracy or completeness.

We rely on property managers to operate our properties and leasing agents to lease vacancies in our properties.

The Advisor hires property managers to manage our properties and leasing agents to lease vacancies in our properties. The property managers have significant decision-making authority with respect to the management of our properties. We are particularly dependent on property managers of any hospitality and leisure properties we invest in. Our ability to direct and control how our properties are managed on a day-to-day basis may be limited because we engage other parties to perform this function. Thus, the success of our business may depend in large part on the ability of our property managers to manage the day-to-day operations and the ability of our leasing agents to lease vacancies in our properties. Any adversity experienced by, or problems in our relationship with, our property managers or leasing agents could adversely impact the operation and profitability of our properties.

We depend on tenants for our revenue, and therefore our revenue is dependent on the success and economic viability of our tenants. Our reliance on single or significant tenants in certain buildings may decrease our ability to lease vacated space.

Rental income from real property, directly or indirectly, constitutes a significant portion of our income. Delays in collecting accounts receivable from tenants could adversely affect our cash flows and financial condition. In addition, the inability of a single major tenant or a number of smaller tenants to meet their rental obligations would adversely affect our income. Therefore, our financial success is indirectly dependent on the success of the businesses operated by the tenants in our properties or in the properties securing loans we may own. The weakening of the financial condition of or the bankruptcy or insolvency of a significant tenant or a number of smaller tenants and vacancies caused by defaults of tenants or the expiration of leases may adversely affect our operations and our ability to pay distributions.

Some of our properties may be leased to a single or significant tenant and, accordingly, may be suited to the particular or unique needs of such tenant. We may have difficulty replacing such a tenant if the floor plan of the vacant space limits the types of businesses that can use the space without major renovation. In addition, the resale value of the property could be diminished because the market value of a particular property will depend principally upon the value of the leases of such property.

We may be unable to renew leases as leases expire.

We may not be able to lease properties that are vacant or become vacant because a tenant decides not to renew its lease or by the continued default of a tenant under its lease. In addition, certain of the properties we acquire may have some level of vacancy at the time of acquisition. Certain other properties may be specifically suited to the particular needs of a tenant and may become vacant after we acquire them. Even if a tenant renews its lease or we enter into a lease with a new tenant, the terms of the new lease may be less favorable than the terms of the old lease. In addition, the resale value of the property could be diminished because the market value may depend principally upon the value of the property’s leases. If we are unable to promptly renew or enter into new leases, or if the rental rates are lower than expected, our results of operations and financial condition will be adversely

 

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affected. For example, following the termination or expiration of a tenant’s lease there may be a period of time before we will begin receiving rental payments under a replacement lease. During that period, we will continue to bear fixed expenses such as interest, real estate taxes, maintenance, security, repairs and other operating expenses. In addition, declining economic conditions may impair our ability to attract replacement tenants and achieve rental rates equal to or greater than the rents paid under previous leases. Increased competition for tenants may require us to make capital improvements to properties which would not have otherwise been planned. Any unbudgeted capital improvements that we undertake may divert cash that would otherwise be available for distributions or for satisfying repurchase requests. Ultimately, to the extent that we are unable to renew leases or re-let space as leases expire, decreased cash flow from tenants will result, which could adversely impact our operating results.

We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a tenant can be found for a property at an attractive lease rate or an investment in a property can be sold. No assurance can be given that we will have funds available to correct those defects or to make those improvements. In acquiring a property, we may agree to lock-out provisions that materially restrict us from selling that property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed on that property. These factors and others that could impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties could significantly affect our financial condition and operating results.

Our properties will face significant competition.

We face significant competition from owners, operators and developers of properties. Substantially all of our properties face competition from similar properties in the same market. This competition may affect our ability to attract and retain tenants and may reduce the rents we are able to charge. These competing properties may have vacancy rates higher than our properties, which may result in their owners being willing to lease available space at lower prices than the space in our properties. If one of our properties were to lose an anchor tenant, this could impact the leases of other tenants, who may be able to modify or terminate their leases as a result.

Our properties may be leased at below-market rates under long-term leases.

We may seek to negotiate longer-term leases to reduce the cash flow volatility associated with lease rollovers. In addition, where appropriate, we seek leases that provide for operating expenses, or expense increases, to be paid by the tenants. These leases may allow tenants to renew the lease with pre-defined rate increases. If we do not accurately judge the potential for increases in market rental rates, we may set the rental rates of these long-term leases at levels such that even after contractual rental increases, the resulting rental rates are less than then-current market rental rates. Further, we may be unable to terminate those leases or adjust the rent to then-prevailing market rates. As a result, our income and distributions to our stockholders could be lower than if we did not enter into long-term leases.

We depend on the availability of public utilities and services, especially for water and electric power. Any reduction, interruption or cancellation of these services may adversely affect us.

Public utilities, especially those that provide water and electric power, are fundamental for the sound operation of our assets. The delayed delivery or any material reduction or prolonged interruption of these services could allow tenants to terminate their leases or result in an increase in our costs, as we may be forced to use backup generators, which also could be insufficient to fully operate our facilities and could result in our inability to provide services.

Insurance may not cover all losses which may adversely affect us.

We carry and intend to continue to carry insurance covering our properties under policies the Advisor deems appropriate. However, various types of losses, such as losses due to wars, riots, nuclear reaction, terrorist acts,

 

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earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pollution or environmental matters, generally are either uninsurable, or not economically insurable (i.e., insurable at such high rates that to maintain such coverage would cause an adverse impact on the related investments), or may be subject to insurance coverage limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments or insurance only being available in amounts less than the full market value or replacement cost. Should an uninsured loss or a loss in excess of insured limits occur, we could lose all or a portion of the capital we have invested in an investment, as well as the anticipated future revenue from the investment. In that event, we might nevertheless remain obligated for financial and other obligations related to the investment. Any loss of this nature would adversely affect us.

In addition, inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations, provisions in loan documents encumbering the portfolio properties pledged as collateral for loans, and other factors might also keep us from using insurance proceeds to replace or renovate a real property investment after it has been damaged or destroyed. Under those circumstances, the insurance proceeds we receive might be inadequate to restore our economic position on the damaged or destroyed property, which would adversely effect us.

We could become subject to liability for environmental violations, regardless of whether we caused such violations.

We could become subject to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance with environmental laws and regulations. These laws and regulations generally govern wastewater discharges, air emissions, the operation and removal of underground and above-ground storage tanks, the use, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid hazardous materials, the remediation of contaminated property associated with the disposal of solid and hazardous materials and other health and safety-related concerns. Some of these laws and regulations may impose joint and several liability on tenants, owners or managers for the costs of investigation or remediation of contaminated properties, regardless of fault or the legality of the original disposal. Under various federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances, and regulations, a current or former owner or manager of real property may be liable for the cost to remove or remediate hazardous or toxic substances, wastes, or petroleum products on, under, from, or in such property. These costs could be substantial and liability under these laws may attach whether or not the owner or manager knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such contamination. Even if more than one person may have been responsible for the contamination, each liable party may be held entirely responsible for all of the clean-up costs incurred.

In addition, third parties may sue the owner or manager of a property for damages based on personal injury, natural resources, or property damage or for other costs, including investigation and clean-up costs, resulting from the environmental contamination. The presence of contamination on one of our properties, or the failure to properly remediate a contaminated property, could give rise to a lien in favor of the government for costs it may incur to address the contamination, or otherwise adversely affect our ability to sell or lease the property or borrow using the property as collateral. In addition, if contamination is discovered on our properties, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which the property may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures or prevent us from entering into leases with prospective tenants. There can be no assurance that future laws, ordinances or regulations will not impose any material environmental liability, or that the environmental condition of our properties will not be affected by the operations of the tenants, by the existing condition of the land, by operations in the vicinity of the properties. There can be no assurance that these laws, or changes in these laws, will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Our properties are, and any properties we acquire in the future will be, subject to property taxes that may increase in the future, which could adversely affect our cash flow.

Our properties are, and any properties we acquire in the future will be, subject to real and personal property taxes that may increase as property tax rates change and as the properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. Some of our leases may provide that the property taxes, or increases therein, are charged to the

 

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lessees as an expense related to the properties that they occupy. As the owner of the properties, however, we are ultimately responsible for payment of the taxes to the government. If property taxes increase, our tenants may be unable to make the required tax payments, ultimately requiring us to pay the taxes. In addition, we are generally responsible for property taxes related to any vacant space. If we purchase residential properties, the leases for such properties typically will not allow us to pass through real estate taxes and other taxes to residents of such properties. Consequently, any tax increases may adversely affect our results of operations at such properties.

We face risks in effecting operating improvements.

In some cases, the success of an investment will depend, in part, on our ability to restructure and effect improvements in the operations of a property. The activity of identifying and implementing restructuring programs and operating improvements at a property entails a high degree of uncertainty. There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully identify and implement such restructuring programs and improvements.

In certain cases, financings for our properties may be recourse to us.

Generally, commercial real estate financings are structured as non-recourse to the borrower, which limits a lender’s recourse to the property pledged as collateral for the loan, and not the other assets of the borrower or to any parent of borrower, in the event of a loan default. However, lenders customarily will require that a creditworthy parent entity enter into so-called “recourse carve out” guarantees to protect the lender against certain bad-faith or other intentional acts of the borrower in violation of the loan documents. A “bad boy” guarantee typically provides that the lender can recover losses from the guarantors for certain bad acts, such as fraud or intentional misrepresentation, intentional waste, willful misconduct, criminal acts, misappropriation of funds, voluntary incurrence of prohibited debt and environmental losses sustained by lender. In addition, “bad boy” guarantees typically provide that the loan will be a full personal recourse obligation of the guarantor for certain actions, such as prohibited transfers of the collateral or changes of control and voluntary bankruptcy of the borrower. It is expected that the financing arrangements with respect to our investments generally will require “bad boy” guarantees from us and the Operating Partnership and in the event that such a guarantee is called, our assets could be adversely affected. Moreover, our “bad boy” guarantees could apply to actions of the joint venture partners associated with our investments. While the Advisor expects to negotiate indemnities from such joint venture partners to protect against such risks, there remains the possibility that the acts of such joint venture partner could result in liability to us under such guarantees. We may provide “bad boy” guarantees on behalf of other Sponsor Accounts investing alongside us and as such guarantees are not for borrowed money, they will typically not be included under our leverage limitations.

We may be adversely affected by trends in the office real estate industry.

Some businesses are rapidly evolving to make employee telecommuting, flexible work schedules, open workplaces and teleconferencing increasingly common. These practices enable businesses to reduce their space requirements. A continuation of the movement towards these practices could over time erode the overall demand for office space and, in turn, place downward pressure on occupancy, rental rates and property valuations, each of which could have an adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and ability to make expected distributions to our stockholders.

We could be negatively impacted by the condition of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and by changes in government support for multifamily housing.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are a major source of financing for multifamily real estate in the United States. We expect to utilize loan programs sponsored by these entities as a key source of capital to finance our growth and our operations. Since 2011, members of Congress have introduced, and Congressional committees have considered, a substantial number of bills that include comprehensive or incremental approaches to winding down

 

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or changing their purposes, businesses or operations. A decision by the U.S. government to eliminate or downscale Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or to reduce government support for multifamily housing more generally may adversely affect interest rates, capital availability, development of multifamily communities and the value of multifamily assets and, as a result, may adversely affect our future growth and operations. Any potential reduction in loans, guarantees and credit-enhancement arrangements from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could jeopardize the effectiveness of the multifamily sector’s derivative securities market, potentially causing breaches in loan covenants, and through reduced loan availability, impact the value of multifamily assets, which could impair the value of a significant portion of multifamily communities. Specifically, the potential for a decrease in liquidity made available to the multifamily sector by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could:

 

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make it more difficult for us to secure new takeout financing for any multifamily development projects we acquire;

 

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hinder our ability to refinance any completed multifamily assets;

 

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decrease the amount of available liquidity and credit that could be used to broaden our portfolio through the acquisition of multifamily assets; and

 

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require us to obtain other sources of debt capital with potentially different terms.

Increased levels of unemployment could adversely affect the occupancy and rental rates of any multifamily properties we acquire.

Increased levels of unemployment in multifamily markets, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could significantly decrease occupancy and rental rates. In times of increasing unemployment, multifamily property occupancy and rental rates have historically been adversely affected by:

 

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rental residents deciding to share rental units and therefore rent fewer units;

 

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potential residents moving back into family homes or delaying leaving family homes;

 

•

a reduced demand for higher-rent units;

 

•

a decline in household formation;

 

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persons enrolled in college delaying leaving college or choosing to proceed to or return to graduate school in the absence of available employment;

 

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the inability or unwillingness of residents to pay rent increases; and

 

•

increased collection losses.

These factors generally have contributed to lower rental rates. To the extent that we invest in any multifamily properties, our results of operations, financial condition and ability to make distributions to you may be adversely affected if these factors do not improve or worsen.

If any credit market disruptions or economic slowdowns occur, any investments in multifamily properties may face increased competition from single-family homes and condominiums for rent, which could limit our ability to retain residents, lease apartment units or increase or maintain rents.

Our multifamily properties may compete with numerous housing alternatives in attracting residents, including single-family homes and condominiums available for rent. Such competitive housing alternatives may become more prevalent in a particular area in the event of any tightening of mortgage lending underwriting criteria, homeowner foreclosures, declines in single-family home and condominium sales or lack of available credit. The number of single-family homes and condominiums for rent in a particular area could limit our ability to retain residents, lease apartment units or increase or maintain rents.

 

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Many factors affect the single-family housing rental market, and we may be negatively affected by its assumptions surrounding and general conditions of the single-family housing rental market.

Any potential returns on our investments related to the single-family housing rental market will depend upon many factors including, but not limited to:

 

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the availability of properties or other investments that meet our investment criteria and our ability to acquire such properties at favorable prices;

 

•

real estate appreciation or depreciation in our target markets;

 

•

the condition of our properties;

 

•

our ability to contain renovation, maintenance, marketing and other operating costs for our properties;

 

•

our ability to maintain high occupancy rates and target rent levels;

 

•

general economic conditions in our target markets, such as changes in employment and household earnings and expenses; the effects of rent controls, stabilization laws and other laws or regulations regarding rental rates and tenant rights; and

 

•

changes in, and changes in enforcement of, laws, regulations and government policies including health, safety, environmental, property, zoning and tax laws.

We will have no control over many of these factors, which could adversely affect our operations. Our success will also depend, in part, on our assumptions about our target properties, target lessees, renovation, maintenance and other operating costs, and rental rates and occupancy levels and, if our assumptions prove to be inaccurate, this may adversely affect our operations and results.

A number of our residential properties are part of homeowner’s associations (“HOAs”), and we and tenants of such properties are subject to the rules and regulations of such HOAs, which are subject to change and may be arbitrary or restrictive. Violations of such rules may subject us to additional fees, penalties and litigation with such HOAs which would be costly.

A number of our residential properties are located within HOAs, which are private entities that regulate the activities of owners and occupants of, and levy assessments on, properties in a residential subdivision. We pay all HOA fees and assessments directly. The majority of the HOA fees due on our properties are billed annually. The fees are paid when due by our property managers and are included in our property and operating expenses. HOAs in which we own properties may have or may enact onerous or arbitrary rules that restrict our ability to restore, market or lease our properties or require us to restore or maintain such properties at standards or costs that are in excess of our planned budgets. Such rules may include requirements for landscaping, limitations on signage promoting a property for lease or sale or the requirement that specific construction materials be used in restorations. Some HOAs also impose limits on the number of property owners who may rent their homes, which, if met or exceeded, would cause us to incur additional costs to sell the property and opportunity costs of lost rental revenue. Furthermore, many HOAs impose restrictions on the conduct of occupants of homes and the use of common areas, and we may have tenants who violate HOA rules and for which we may be liable as the property owner. Additionally, the boards of directors of the HOAs in which we own property may not make important disclosures about the properties or may block our access to HOA records, initiate litigation, restrict our ability to sell our properties, impose assessments or arbitrarily change the HOA rules. Furthermore, in certain jurisdictions, HOAs may have a statutory right of first refusal to purchase certain types of properties we may desire to sell. Moreover, in certain jurisdictions (such as in Florida), HOAs may be entitled to dispute rent increases, which may result in arbitration. We may be unaware of or unable to review or comply with HOA rules before purchasing a property, and any such excessively restrictive or arbitrary regulations may cause us to sell such property at a loss, prevent us from renting such property or otherwise reduce our cash flow from such property, which would have an adverse effect on our returns on these properties.

 

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Our retail tenants face competition from numerous retail channels.

Retailers leasing our properties face continued competition from discount or value retailers, factory outlet centers, wholesale clubs, mail order catalogues and operators, television shopping networks and shopping via the internet. Such competition could adversely affect our tenants and, consequently, our revenues, funds available for distribution and the value of our retail properties.

The healthcare industry is heavily regulated and new laws or regulations, changes to existing laws or regulations, loss of licensure, failure to obtain licensure or other industry developments could result in the inability of the tenants of our healthcare properties to pay rent.

The healthcare industry is heavily regulated by federal, state and local governmental bodies. The tenants in our healthcare properties generally will be subject to laws and regulations covering, among other things, licensure, certification for participation in government programs, and relationships with physicians and other referral sources. Changes in these laws and regulations or the tenants’ failure to comply with these laws and regulations could negatively affect the ability of these tenants to make lease payments to us. Many of our healthcare properties and their tenants may require a license or certificate of need, or CON, to operate. Failure to obtain a license or CON, or loss of a required license or CON, would prevent a facility from operating in the manner intended by the tenant. These events could materially adversely affect our tenants’ ability to make rent payments to us. We cannot predict the impact of state CON laws or similar laws on the operations of our tenants. In addition, state CON laws often materially impact the ability of competitors to enter into the marketplace of our healthcare properties. The repeal of CON laws could allow competitors to freely operate in previously closed markets. This could negatively affect our tenants’ abilities to make lease payments to us.

The healthcare industry currently is experiencing rapid regulatory changes and uncertainty; changes in the demand for and methods of delivering healthcare services; changes in third-party reimbursement policies; expansion of insurance providers into patient care; continuing pressure by private and governmental payors to reduce payments to providers of services; and increased scrutiny of billing, referral and other practices by governmental authorities. These factors may adversely affect the economic performance of some or all of our healthcare tenants and, in turn, our performance.

Our healthcare properties and tenants may be unable to compete successfully due to increased competition and disruptions.

The healthcare properties we have acquired and will acquire may face competition from nearby hospitals and other medical facilities that provide comparable services. Some of those competing facilities are owned by governmental agencies and supported by tax revenues, and others are owned by nonprofit corporations and may be supported to a large extent by endowments and charitable contributions. These types of support are not available to our healthcare properties. Similarly, our tenants face competition from other medical practices in nearby hospitals and other medical facilities. Additionally, the introduction and explosion of non-traditional healthcare providers competing with traditional providers in the healthcare market, including companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, CVS Health, as well as telemedicine, telehealth and mhealth, are disrupting the healthcare industry. Our healthcare tenants’ failure to compete successfully with these other practices and providers could adversely affect their ability to make rental payments, which could adversely affect our rental revenues.

Further, from time to time and for reasons beyond our control, referral sources, including physicians and managed care organizations, may change their list of hospitals or physicians to which they refer patients. This could adversely affect our healthcare tenants’ ability to make rental payments, which could adversely affect our performance.

 

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Any investments in life sciences properties are subject to unique risks.

Life science properties and their tenants are subject to a number of unique risks, the occurrence of any could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. In particular, life science tenants are subject to a number of risks unique to their industry, including (a) high levels of regulation including increasing government price controls and other healthcare cost containment measures, (b) failures in the safety and efficacy of their products, (c) significant funding requirements for product research and development, and (d) changes in technology, patent expiration, and intellectual property protection. These risks may adversely affect their ability to make rental payments to us or satisfy their other lease obligations and consequently may materially adversely affect property revenue and valuation.

In addition, improvements to life science properties are typically more costly than improvements to traditional office space or other property types. Many life science properties generally contain infrastructure improvements that are significantly more costly than improvements to other property types. Typical improvements include (a) reinforced concrete floors, (b) upgraded roof loading capacity, (c) increased floor-to-ceiling heights, (d) heavy-duty HVAC systems, (e) enhanced environmental control technology, (f) significantly upgraded electrical, gas, and plumbing infrastructure, and (g) laboratory benches.

Further, life sciences tenants may engage in research and development activities that involve controlled use of hazardous materials, chemicals, and biological and radioactive compounds. In the event of contamination or injury from the use of these hazardous materials, we could be held liable for damages that result. This liability could exceed our resources and any recovery available through any applicable insurance coverage, which could adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. Together with our tenants, we must comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling, and disposal of hazardous materials and waste products. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations, or changes thereto, could adversely affect our business or our tenants’ businesses and their ability to make rental payments to us.

Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate-Related Assets

We invest in equity of other REITs and other real estate-related companies, which subjects us to certain risks including those risks associated with an investment in our own common stock.

REITs are generally subject to the risks of the real estate market and securities market. REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, have limited diversification and are, therefore, subject to risks inherent in financing a limited number of projects. REITs may be subject to management fees and other expenses, and so when we invest in REITs we will bear our proportionate share of the costs of the REITs’ operations. Investing in REITs and real estate-related companies involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. The market value of REIT shares and the ability of the REIT to distribute income may be adversely affected by several factors, including the risks described herein that relate to an investment in our common stock. REITs depend generally on their ability to generate cash flow to make distributions to stockholders, and certain REITs have self-liquidation provisions by which mortgages held may be paid in full and distributions of capital returns may be made at any time. In addition, distributions received by us from REITs may consist of dividends, capital gains or return of capital. Generally, dividends received by us from REIT shares and distributed to our stockholders will not constitute “qualified dividend income” eligible for the reduced tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income. In addition, the performance of a REIT may be affected by changes in the tax laws or by its failure to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income.

REITs (especially mortgage REITs) are also subject to interest rate risk. Rising interest rates may cause REIT investors to demand a higher annual yield, which may, in turn, cause a decline in the market price of the equity securities issued by a REIT.

Investing in certain REITs and real estate-related companies, which often have small market capitalizations, may also involve the same risks as investing in other small capitalization companies. REITs and real estate-related

 

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companies may have limited financial resources and their securities may trade less frequently and in limited volume and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements than larger company securities.

We may make open market purchases or invest in publicly traded real estate-related securities.

We invest in real estate-related securities that are publicly traded and are, therefore, subject to the risks inherent in investing in public securities. When investing in public securities, we may be unable to obtain financial covenants or other contractual rights, including management rights that we might otherwise be able to obtain in making privately negotiated investments. Moreover, we may not have the same access to information in connection with investments in public securities, either when investigating a potential investment or after making an investment, as compared to privately negotiated investments. Furthermore, we may be limited in our ability to make investments, and to sell existing investments, in public securities because Nuveen Real Estate or its affiliates may be deemed to have material, non-public information regarding the issuers of those securities or as a result of other internal policies. The inability to sell public securities in these circumstances could materially adversely affect the investment results. In addition, an investment may be sold by us to a public company where the consideration received is a combination of cash and stock of the public company, which may, depending on the securities laws of the relevant jurisdiction, be subject to lock-up periods.

The operating and financial risks of issuers and borrowers, and the underlying default risk across capital structures, may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our real estate-related investments may involve credit or default risk, which is the risk that an issuer or borrower will be unable to make principal and interest payments on its outstanding debt when due. The risk of default and losses on such investments will be affected by a number of factors, including global, regional and local economic conditions, interest rates, the commercial real estate market in general, and an issuer’s or borrower’s financial circumstances. Such default risk will be heightened to the extent we make relatively junior investments in an issuer’s capital structure since such investments are structurally subordinate to more senior tranches in such issuer’s capital structure, and our overall returns would be adversely affected to the extent one or more issuers is unable to meet its debt payment obligations when due. See “—We may invest in subordinated debt, which is subject to greater credit risk than senior debt” below.

Some of our real estate-related securities investments may become distressed, which securities would have a high risk of default and may be illiquid.

While it is generally anticipated that our real estate-related investments will focus primarily on investments in non-distressed real estate-related interests, our investments may become distressed following our acquisition thereof. During an economic downturn or recession, securities of financially troubled or operationally troubled issuers are more likely to go into default than securities of other issuers. Securities of financially or operationally troubled issuers are less liquid and more volatile than securities of companies not experiencing financial difficulties. The market prices of such securities are subject to volatile market movements.

These financial difficulties may never be overcome and may cause issuers to become subject to bankruptcy or other similar administrative proceedings. There is a possibility that we may incur substantial or total losses on our investments and in certain circumstances, subject us to certain additional potential liabilities that may exceed the value of our original investment therein. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to our investments, we may lose our entire investment, may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than our original investment or may be required to accept different terms, including payment over an extended period of time. In addition, under certain circumstances payments to us may be reclaimed if any such payment or distribution is later determined to have been a fraudulent conveyance, preferential payment, or similar transactions under applicable bankruptcy and insolvency laws. Furthermore, bankruptcy laws and similar laws applicable to administrative proceedings may delay our ability to realize on collateral for loan positions we held, or may adversely affect the economic terms and priority of such loans.

 

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Our investments in debt backed principally by real estate face a number of general market-related risks that can affect the creditworthiness of issuers, and modifications to certain loan structures and market terms make it more difficult to monitor and evaluate investments.

We invest in debt backed principally by real estate. Any deterioration of real estate fundamentals could negatively impact our performance by making it more difficult for borrowers to satisfy their payment obligations to us, increasing the default risk, or making it relatively more difficult for us to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns. Changes in general economic conditions will affect the creditworthiness of borrowers or real estate collateral relating to our investments and may include economic or market fluctuations, changes in environmental and zoning laws, casualty or condemnation losses, regulatory limitations on rents, decreases in property values, changes in the appeal of properties to tenants, changes in supply and demand for competing properties in an area, fluctuations in real estate fundamentals, the financial resources of tenants, changes in availability of debt financing which may render the sale or refinancing of properties difficult or impracticable, changes in building, environmental and other laws, energy and supply shortages, various uninsured or uninsurable risks and other unforeseen occurrences. There can be no assurance that there will be a ready market for the resale of our investments in debt backed principally by real estate because these investments may not be liquid. Illiquidity may result from the absence of an established market for these investments, as well as legal or contractual restrictions on their resale by us.

Investments in real estate-related assets may be subject to risks including various creditor risks and early redemption features which may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The real estate-related assets in which we may invest may include secured or unsecured debt at various levels of an issuer’s capital structure. The real estate-related assets in which we may invest may not be protected by financial covenants or limitations upon additional indebtedness, may be illiquid or have limited liquidity, and may not be rated by a credit rating agency. Debt securities are also subject to other creditor risks, including (i) the possible invalidation of an investment transaction as a “fraudulent conveyance,” (ii) lender liability claims by the issuer of the obligation and (iii) environmental liabilities. Our investments may be subject to early redemption features, refinancing options, pre-payment options or similar provisions which, in each case, could result in the issuer or borrower repaying the principal on an obligation held by us earlier than expected, resulting in a lower return to us than anticipated or reinvesting in a new obligation at a lower return to us.

Rising interest rates could impact the value of our investments.

Interest rates are one of the variables that affect real estate asset prices. A number of other factors are also important including real estate market fundamentals, inflation expectations, and investor investment horizons and return targets. For real estate, changes in interest rates influence real estate capitalization rates, with higher interest rates ultimately resulting in higher capitalization rates and lower property values, all other things being equal. However, interest rates and capitalization rates do not always move in lockstep as there typically is a lag between changes in interest rates and changes in capitalization rates, and especially for high quality properties. Capitalization rates tend to be durable due to the long term, inflation-protected nature of tenant leases, which typically include annual rent increases.

We may invest in debt backed principally by real estate that is non-recourse in nature and includes limited options for financial recovery in the event of default; an event of default may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We invest from time to time in debt backed principally by real estate, including mezzanine loans and B-notes, which are secured by properties and are subject to risks of delinquency and foreclosure and risks of loss. Commercial real estate loans are generally not fully amortizing, which means that they may have a significant principal balance or balloon payment due on maturity. Full satisfaction of the balloon payment by a commercial borrower is heavily dependent on the availability of subsequent financing or a functioning sales market, as well as other factors such as the value of the property, the level of prevailing mortgage rates, the borrower’s equity in

 

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the property and the financial condition and operating history of the property and the borrower. In certain situations, the unavailability of real estate financing may lead to default by a borrower. In addition, in the absence of any such takeout financing, the ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by a property will depend upon the successful operation of such property rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. If the net operating income of the property is reduced, the borrower’s ability to repay the loan may be impaired. Furthermore, we may not have the same access to information in connection with investments in commercial mortgage loans as compared to publicly traded securities.

Commercial mortgage loans are usually non-recourse in nature. Therefore, if a borrower defaults on the loan, then the options for financial recovery are limited in nature. Default rates and losses on commercial mortgage loans will be affected by a number of factors, including global, regional and local economic conditions in the area where the mortgage properties are located, the borrower’s equity in the mortgage property, the financial circumstances of the borrower, the financial health of the tenants, the property location and condition, competition from other properties, real estate taxes and government regulation. A continued decline in specific commercial real estate markets and property valuations may result in higher delinquencies and defaults and potentially foreclosures. In the event of default, the lender will have no right to assets beyond collateral attached to the commercial mortgage loan. The overall level of commercial mortgage loan defaults remains significant and market values of the underlying commercial real estate remain distressed in many cases.

In the event of any default under a real estate loan held directly by us, we will bear a risk of loss of principal to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral and the principal and accrued interest of the mortgage or real estate loan, which could have a material adverse effect on our profitability. In the event of the bankruptcy of a borrower, the real estate loan to such borrower will be deemed to be secured only to the extent of the value of the underlying collateral at the time of bankruptcy, and the lien securing the mortgage or real estate loan will be subject to the avoidance powers of the bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession to the extent the lien is unenforceable under state law. Additionally, in the event of a default under any senior debt, the junior or subordinate lender generally forecloses on the equity, purchases the senior debt or negotiates forbearance or restructuring arrangement with the senior lender in order to preserve its collateral.

Our investments in debt backed principally by real estate face prepayment risk and interest rate fluctuations that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

During periods of declining interest rates, the borrower under a loan may exercise its option to prepay principal earlier than scheduled, forcing us to reinvest the proceeds from such prepayment in lower yielding securities or loans, which may result in a decline in our return. Debt investments frequently have call features that allow the issuer to redeem the security at dates prior to its stated maturity at a specified price (typically greater than par) only if certain prescribed conditions are met. An issuer may choose to redeem a debt security if, for example, the issuer can refinance the debt at a lower cost due to declining interest rates or an improvement in the credit standing of the issuer. In addition, the market price of our investments will change in response to changes in interest rates and other factors. During periods of declining interest rates, the market price of fixed-rate debt investments generally rises. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the market price of such investments generally declines. The magnitude of these fluctuations in the market price of debt investments is generally greater for securities with longer maturities. While interest rates are currently expected to remain at favorable rates in the near term, there is a consensus that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to increase benchmark interest rates, which could negatively impact the price of debt securities and could adversely affect the value of our investments.

We may invest in subordinated debt, which is subject to greater credit risk than senior debt.

We may from time to time invest in debt backed principally by real estate, including junior tranches of CMBS and “mezzanine” or junior mortgage loans that are subordinated in an issuer’s capital structure. Investments in subordinated debt involve greater credit risk of default than the senior classes of the issue or series. To the extent

 

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we invest in subordinated debt of an issuer’s capital structure or subordinated CMBS bonds, such investments and our remedies with respect thereto, including the ability to foreclose on any collateral securing such investments, will be subject to the rights of any senior creditors and, to the extent applicable, contractual inter-creditor or participation agreement provisions.

We may face risks related to our investments in mezzanine loans.

Although not secured by the underlying real estate, mezzanine loans are also subject to risk of subordination and share certain characteristics of subordinate loan interests described above. As with commercial mortgage loans, repayment of a mezzanine loan is dependent on the successful operation of the underlying commercial properties and, therefore, is subject to similar considerations and risks.

Certain risks associated with CMBS may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We may invest a portion of our assets in pools or tranches of CMBS. The collateral underlying CMBS generally consists of commercial real estate mortgages, such as retail space, office buildings, industrial property, multifamily properties and hotels. As a result, the commercial mortgages underlying CMBS generally face the risks described above in “We may invest in debt backed principally by real estate that is non-recourse in nature and includes limited options for financial recovery in the event of default; an event of default may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition,” including risks that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

There are certain risks associated with the insolvency of obligations backing CMBS and other investments.

The commercial real estate loans backing the CMBS and other investments may be subject to various laws enacted in the jurisdiction or state of the borrower for the protection of creditors. If an unpaid creditor files a lawsuit seeking payment, the court may invalidate all or part of the borrower’s debt as a fraudulent conveyance, subordinate such indebtedness to existing or future creditors of the borrower or recover amounts previously paid by the borrower in satisfaction of such indebtedness, based on certain tests for borrower insolvency and other facts and circumstances, which may vary by jurisdiction. In addition, in the event of the insolvency of a borrower, payments made on such commercial mortgage loans could be subject to avoidance as a “preference” if made within a certain period of time before insolvency.

There are certain risks associated with CMBS interest shortfalls.

CMBS investments may be subject to interest shortfalls due to interest collected from the underlying loans not being sufficient to pay accrued interest to all of the CMBS. Interest shortfalls to the CMBS trust will occur when the servicer does not advance full interest payments on defaulted loans. Interest shortfalls occur when 90%, generally, of the appraised value is less than the loan amount and the servicer does not advance interest on the full loan amount. The resulting interest shortfalls impact interest payments on the most junior class in the trust first. As interest shortfalls increase, more senior classes may be impacted. Interest shortfalls to the CMBS trust may also occur as a result of accumulated advances and expenses on defaulted loans. When a defaulted loan or foreclosed property is liquidated, the servicer will be reimbursed for accumulated advances and expenses prior to payments to CMBS bond holders. If proceeds are insufficient to reimburse the servicer or if a defaulted loan is modified and not foreclosed, the servicer is able to make a claim on interest payments that is senior to the bond holders to cover accumulated advances and expenses. If the claim is greater than interest collected on the loans, interest shortfalls could impact one or more bond classes in a CMBS trust until the servicer’s claim is satisfied.

Concentrated CMBS investments may pose specific risks beyond the control of the Advisor that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Default risks with respect to CMBS investments may be further pronounced in the case of single-issuer CMBSs or CMBSs secured by a small or less diverse collateral pool. At any one time, a portfolio of CMBS may be

 

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backed by commercial mortgage loans disproportionately secured by properties in only a few states, regions or foreign countries. As a result, such investments may be more susceptible to geographic risks relating to such areas, including adverse economic conditions, declining home values, adverse events affecting industries located in such areas and other factors beyond the control of the Advisor relative to investments in multi-issuer CMBS or a pool of mortgage loans having more diverse property locations.

CMBS investments may face risks associated with extensions that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

CMBS and other investments may be subject to extension, resulting in the term of the securities being longer than expected. Extensions are affected by a number of factors, including the general availability of financing in the market, the value of the related mortgaged property, the borrower’s equity in the mortgaged property, the financial circumstances of the borrower, fluctuations in the business operated by the borrower on the mortgaged property, competition, general economic conditions and other factors. Such extensions may also be made without the Advisor’s consent.

We may invest in structured products that may include structural and legal risks.

We may invest from time to time in structured products. These investments may include debt securities issued by a private investment fund that invests, on a leveraged basis, in bank loans, high-yield debt or other asset groups, certificates issued by a structured investment vehicle that holds pools of commercial mortgage loans, as well as MBS credit default swaps (e.g., CMBX). Our investments in structured products will be subject to a number of risks, including risks related to the fact that the structured products will be leveraged, and other structural and legal risks related thereto. The value of an investment in a structured product will depend on the investment performance of the assets in which the structured product invests and will, therefore, be subject to all of the risks associated with an investment in those assets.

We will face risks related to investments in collateralized debt obligations.

We may invest from time to time in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”). CDOs include, among other things, collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and other similarly structured securities. CDOs may charge a management fee and administrative expenses. CLO tranches can experience substantial losses due to actual defaults, increased sensitivity to defaults due to collateral default and disappearance of protecting tranches, market anticipation of defaults and aversion to CLO securities as a class. The risks of an investment in a CDO depend largely on the type of the collateral and the class of the CDO in which we invest.

We may acquire and sell residential credit investments, which may subject us to legal, regulatory and other risks that could adversely impact our business and financial results.

We may invest directly and indirectly in residential credit investments, which may include performing loans, nonperforming loans, residential mortgage loans and residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”), which represent interests in pools of residential mortgage loans secured by one to four family residential mortgage loans. Investments in residential credit (including RMBS) are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including credit, market, interest rate, structural and legal risk. These risks may be magnified by volatility in the economy and in real estate markets generally. Residential credits are not traded on an exchange and there may be a limited market for the securities, especially when there is a perceived weakness in the mortgage and real estate market sectors.

Residential mortgage loans are obligations of the borrowers thereunder only and are not typically insured or guaranteed by any other person or entity, although such loans may be securitized by government agencies and the securities issued may be guaranteed. The rate of defaults and losses on residential mortgage loans are affected by a number of factors, including general economic conditions and those in the geographic area where the

 

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mortgaged property is located, the terms of the mortgage loan, the borrower’s equity in the mortgaged property, and the financial circumstances of the borrower. Certain mortgage loans may be of sub-prime credit quality (i.e., do not meet the customary credit standards of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). Delinquencies and liquidation proceedings are more likely with sub-prime mortgage loans than with mortgage loans that satisfy customary credit standards. If a residential mortgage loan is in default, foreclosure of such residential mortgage loan may be a lengthy and difficult process, and may involve significant expenses. Furthermore, the market for defaulted residential mortgage loans or foreclosed properties may be very limited.

Residential mortgage loans in an issue of RMBS may also be subject to various U.S. federal and state laws, foreign laws, public policies and principles of equity that protect consumers which, among other things, may regulate interest rates and other fees, require certain disclosures, require licensing of originators, prohibit discriminatory lending practices, regulate the use of consumer credit information, and regulate debt collection practices. In addition, a number of legislative proposals have been introduced in the United States at the federal, state, and municipal level that are designed to discourage predatory lending practices. Violation of such laws, public policies, and principles may limit the servicer’s ability to collect all or part of the principal or interest on a residential mortgage loan, entitle the borrower to a refund of amounts previously paid by it, or subject the servicer to damages and administrative enforcement. Any such violation could also result in cash flow delays and losses on the related issue of RMBS.

We may face risks associated with hedging transactions.

We may utilize a wide variety of derivative financial instruments for risk management purposes, the use of which is a highly specialized activity that may entail greater than ordinary investment risks. We may use these instruments to manage or mitigate our risk to the exposure of the effects of currency changes as a result of our international investments or interest rate changes due to variable interest rate debt. Any such hedging transactions may not be effective in mitigating risk in all market conditions or against all types of risk (including unidentified or unanticipated risks), thereby resulting in losses to us. Engaging in hedging transactions may result in a poorer overall performance for us than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transaction, and the Advisor may not be able to effectively hedge against, or accurately anticipate, certain risks that may adversely affect our investment portfolio.

Failure to obtain and maintain an exemption from being regulated as a commodity pool operator could subject us to additional regulation and compliance requirements that could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Registration with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) as a “commodity pool operator” or any change in our operations necessary to maintain our ability to rely upon the exemption from being regulated as a commodity pool operator could adversely affect our ability to implement our investment program, conduct our operations or achieve our objectives and subject us to certain additional costs, expenses and administrative burdens. Furthermore, any determination by us to cease or to limit investing in interests which may be treated as “commodity interests” in order to comply with the regulations of the CFTC may have a material adverse effect on our ability to implement our investment objectives and to hedge risks associated with our operations.

Our status as a banking entity could prevent us from making necessary adjustments to our securities portfolio in a timely manner.

The Volcker Rule and its implementing regulations prohibit banking entities from engaging in “proprietary trading” (as defined in those regulations). For example, short-term trades with a turn of 60 days or less are subject to a rebuttable presumption that they constitute proprietary trading under the Volcker Rule. The Volcker Rule prohibition of proprietary trading could impact our ability to obtain liquidity under certain circumstances, which in turn could negatively impact our returns with respect to our investments in financial instruments,

 

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distributions to our stockholders, or repurchases pursuant to our share repurchase plan, as well as our ability to fund investments in line with our investment objectives.

Risks Related to International Investments

We are subject to additional risks from our international investments.

We may purchase real estate investments located internationally and may invest in vehicles, including our current investments in International Affiliated Funds, that own investments located internationally. These investments may be affected by factors particular to the laws and business practices of the jurisdictions in which the properties are located. These laws and business practices may expose us to risks that are different from and in addition to those commonly found in the United States. Foreign investments are subject to risk, including the following risks:

 

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the burden of complying with a wide variety of foreign laws;

 

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changing governmental rules and policies, including changes in land use and zoning laws, more stringent environmental laws or changes in such environmental laws;

 

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different laws and regulations including differences in the legal and regulatory environment or enhanced legal and regulatory compliance, including compliance with the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act;

 

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existing or new laws relating to the foreign ownership of real property or loans and laws restricting the ability of foreign persons or companies to remove profits earned from activities within the country to the person’s or company’s country of origin;

 

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the potential for expropriation;

 

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possible currency transfer restrictions or exchange rate fluctuations;

 

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imposition of adverse or confiscatory taxes;

 

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changes in real estate and other tax rates and changes in other operating expenses in particular countries;

 

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possible challenges to the anticipated tax treatment of the structures that allow us to acquire and hold investments;

 

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adverse market conditions caused by terrorism, civil unrest, pandemics and changes in national or local governmental or economic conditions;

 

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the willingness of domestic or foreign lenders to make loans in certain countries and changes in the availability, cost and terms of loan funds resulting from varying national economic policies;

 

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general political and economic instability in certain regions; and

 

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the potential difficulty of enforcing obligations in other countries.

In addition, following the January 2020 exit by the United Kingdom (the “U.K.”) from the European Union (the “E.U.”), potential renegotiations of the trade treaty terms could adversely affect our investment in International Affiliated Funds. The U.K.’s legal, political and economic relationships with the E.U. is likely to be an ongoing source of instability, produce significant currency fluctuations, and have other adverse effects on international markets, international trade agreements and/or other existing cross-border cooperation arrangements (whether economic, tax, fiscal, legal, regulatory or otherwise).

These aforementioned risks may adversely impact our performance and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

 

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Investments in properties or other real estate-related assets outside the United States subject us to foreign currency risks, which may adversely affect distributions and our REIT status.

Revenues generated from any properties or other real estate-related assets we acquire or ventures we enter into relating to transactions involving assets located in markets outside the United States, including our investments in the International Affiliated Funds, likely will be denominated in the local currency. Therefore, any investments we make outside the United States may subject us to foreign currency risk due to potential fluctuations in exchange rates between foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar. As a result, changes in exchange rates of any such foreign currency to the U.S. dollar may affect our revenues, operating margins and distributions and may also affect the book value of our assets and the amount of stockholders’ equity. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates used to value a REIT’s foreign assets may be considered changes in the value of the REIT’s assets. These changes may adversely affect our status as a REIT. Further, bank accounts in foreign currency which are not considered cash or cash equivalents may adversely affect our status as a REIT. Furthermore, while we have the capacity, but not the obligation, to utilize certain foreign exchange hedging instruments, there is no guarantee that this will be successful in mitigating foreign currency risks and in-turn may introduce additional risks and expenses linked to option premiums and mark-to-market costs.

Inflation in foreign countries, along with government measures to curb inflation, may have an adverse effect on our international investments.

Certain countries have in the past experienced extremely high rates of inflation. Inflation, along with governmental measures to curb inflation, coupled with public speculation about possible future governmental measures to be adopted, has had significant negative effects on these international economies in the past and this could occur again in the future. The introduction of governmental policies to curb inflation can have an adverse effect on our business. High inflation in the countries in which we purchase real estate or make other investments could increase our expenses and we may not be able to pass these increased costs on to our tenants.

We may be required to defer repatriation of cash from foreign jurisdictions in order to qualify as a REIT.

Investments in foreign real property may be subject to foreign currency gains and losses. Certain foreign currency gains will generally be excluded from income for purposes of determining our satisfaction of one or both of the REIT gross income tests; however, under certain circumstances (for example, if we regularly trade in foreign securities) such gains will be treated as non-qualifying income. To reduce the risk of foreign currency gains adversely affecting our REIT qualification, we may be required to defer the repatriation of cash from foreign jurisdictions or to employ other structures that could affect the timing, character or amount of income we receive from our foreign investments. No assurance can be given that we will be able to manage our foreign currency gains in a manner that enables us to qualify as a REIT or to avoid U.S. federal income and other taxes on our income as a result of foreign currency gains.

Risks Related to Debt Financing

We incur mortgage indebtedness and other borrowings, which increases our business risks, could hinder our ability to make distributions and could decrease the value of your investment.

The acquisition of properties is financed in substantial part by borrowing, which increases our exposure to loss. Under our charter, we have a limitation that precludes us from borrowing in excess of 300% of our net assets, which approximates borrowing 75% of the cost of our investments (unless a majority of our independent directors approves any borrowing in excess of the limit and we disclose the justification for doing so to our stockholders), but such restriction does not restrict the amount of indebtedness we may incur with respect to any single investment. Our target leverage ratio is 30% to 50% of our gross real estate assets (measured using the fair market value of gross real estate assets, including equity in our securities portfolio), inclusive of property-level and entity-level debt, but excluding debt on our securities portfolio. The use of leverage involves a high degree of financial risk and increases the exposure of the investments to adverse economic factors such as rising interest

 

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rates, downturns in the economy or deteriorations in the condition of the investments. Principal and interest payments on indebtedness (including mortgages having “balloon” payments) have to be made regardless of the sufficiency of cash flow from the properties.

We may increase our mortgage debt by obtaining loans secured by a portfolio of some or all of the real estate properties acquired. Depending on the level of leverage and decline in value, if mortgage payments are not made when due, one or more of the properties may be lost (and our investment therein rendered valueless) as a result of foreclosure by the mortgagee(s). A foreclosure may also have substantial adverse tax consequences for us.

Many of these same issues also apply to credit facilities which are expected to be in place at various times as well. For example, the loan documents for such facilities may include various coverage ratios, the continued compliance with which may not be completely within our control. If such coverage ratios are not met, the lenders under such credit facilities may declare any unfunded commitments to be terminated and declare any amounts outstanding to be due and payable.

Although borrowings by us have the potential to enhance overall returns that exceed our cost of funds, they will further diminish returns (or increase losses on capital) to the extent overall returns are less than our cost of funds. As a result, the possibilities of profit and loss are increased. Borrowing money to purchase properties provides us with the advantages of leverage, but exposes us to greater market risks and higher current expenses.

If we draw on the Credit Facility (as defined below) or any future line of credit to fund repurchases or for any other reason, our financial leverage ratio could increase beyond our target.

We may obtain lines of credit in an effort to provide for a ready source of liquidity for any business purpose, including to fund repurchases of shares of our common stock in the event that repurchase requests exceed our operating cash flow or net proceeds from our continuous offering. There can be no assurances that we will be able to obtain additional lines of credit on financially reasonable terms. In addition, we may not be able to maintain the Credit Facility or any additional lines of credit of an appropriate size for our business until such time as we have a substantial portfolio, or at all. If we borrow under our Credit Facility or any additional a line of credit to fund repurchases of shares of our common stock, our financial leverage will increase and may exceed our target leverage ratio. Our leverage may remain at the higher level until we receive additional net proceeds from our continuous offering or generate sufficient operating cash flow or proceeds from asset sales to repay outstanding indebtedness.

Increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our loan payments and adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Interest we pay on our loan obligations will reduce cash available for distributions. For our variable rate loans, increases in interest rates would increase our interest costs, which would reduce our cash flows and our ability to make distributions to you. In addition, if we need to repay existing loans during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments at times that may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments.

Changes to, or the elimination of, LIBOR may adversely affect interest expense related to borrowings under our credit facilities and real-estate related investments.

We pay interest under our credit facilities and certain mortgage indebtedness, and receive interest payments on certain of our real estate-related securities investments and loans secured by real estate, based on LIBOR, which is the subject of recent national, international and regulatory guidance and proposals for reform.

In a speech on July 27, 2017, Andrew Bailey, the Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority of the U.K. (the “FCA”), announced the FCA’s intention to cease sustaining LIBOR after 2021. On March 5, 2021 the ICE

 

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Benchmark Administration Limited (the “IBA”), which is supervised by the FCA, announced that it will cease publication of the 3-month USD LIBOR rate after June 30, 2023. There is no assurance that LIBOR will continue to be published until any particular date, and it appears highly likely that the 3-month USD LIBOR rate will be discontinued or modified after June 30, 2023. There is no assurance that LIBOR will continue to be published until any particular date, and it appears highly likely that the 3-month USD LIBOR rate will be discontinued or modified after June 30, 2023. The U.S. Federal Reserve System, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have issued guidance encouraging market participants to adopt alternatives to LIBOR in new contracts as soon as practicable and no later than December 31, 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements, backed by Treasury securities, as its preferred alternative rate for LIBOR. At this time, it is not possible to predict how markets will respond to SOFR or other alternative reference rates as the transition away from LIBOR is anticipated in coming years. Our debt includes floating-rate loans and repurchase agreements for which the interest rates are tied to LIBOR and real estate-related securities investments with interest payments based on LIBOR. There is currently no certainty regarding the future utilization of LIBOR or of any particular replacement rate. As such, the potential effect of any such event on our cost of capital and net investment income cannot yet be determined, and any changes to benchmark interest rates could increase our financing costs or decrease the income we earn on our real estate-related securities investments, which could impact our results of operations, cash flows and the market value of our investments. In addition, we may need to renegotiate certain of our loan agreements depending on the applicable LIBOR setting. Such amendments could require us to incur significant expense and may subject us to disputes or litigation over the appropriateness or comparability to the relevant benchmark of the replacement reference rates. Moreover, the elimination of LIBOR or changes to another index could result in mismatches with the interest rate of investments that we are financing. In addition, the overall financial markets may be disrupted as a result of the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR. We are assessing the impact of a potential transition from LIBOR; however, we cannot reasonably estimate the impact of the transition at this time.

Volatility in the financial markets and challenging economic conditions could adversely affect our ability to secure debt financing on attractive terms and our ability to service any future indebtedness that we may incur.

The volatility of the global credit markets has made it more difficult for financial sponsors like Nuveen to obtain favorable financing for investments. A widening of credit spreads, coupled with the extreme volatility of the global debt markets and a rise in interest rates, has dramatically reduced investor demand for high yield debt and senior bank debt, which in turn has led some investment banks and other lenders to be unwilling to finance new investments or to only offer committed financing for these investments on unattractive terms. If the overall cost of borrowing increases, either by increases in the index rates or by increases in lender spreads, the increased costs may result in future acquisitions generating lower overall economic returns and potentially reducing future cash flow available for distribution. Disruptions in the debt markets negatively impact our ability to borrow monies to finance the purchase of, or other activities related to, real estate assets. If we are unable to borrow monies on terms and conditions that we find acceptable, we likely will have to reduce the number of properties we can purchase, and the return on the properties we do purchase may be lower. In addition, we may find it difficult, costly or impossible to refinance indebtedness that is maturing. Moreover, to the extent that such marketplace events are not temporary and continue, they may have an adverse impact on the availability of credit to businesses generally and could lead to an overall weakening of the U.S. economy.

Lenders may require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

When providing financing, a lender may impose restrictions on us that affect our distribution and operating policies and our ability to obtain additional loans. Loan documents we enter into may contain covenants that limit our ability to further mortgage or dispose of the property or discontinue insurance coverage. In addition, loan documents may limit our ability to enter into or terminate certain operating or lease agreements related to the

 

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property. These or other limitations may adversely affect our flexibility and our ability to make distributions to you and the value of your investment.

If we enter into financing arrangements involving balloon payment obligations, it may adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Some of our financing arrangements may require us to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. Our ability to make a balloon payment is uncertain and may depend upon our ability to obtain replacement financing or our ability to sell particular properties. At the time the balloon payment is due, we may or may not be able to refinance the balloon payment on terms as favorable as the original loan or sell the particular property at a price sufficient to make the balloon payment. Such a refinancing would be dependent upon interest rates and lenders’ policies at the time of refinancing, economic conditions in general and the value of the underlying properties in particular. The effect of a refinancing or sale could affect the rate of return to stockholders and the projected time of disposition of our assets.

Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Subject to any limitations required to maintain qualification as a REIT, we may manage our exposure to interest rate volatility by using interest rate hedging arrangements, such as interest rate cap or collar agreements and interest rate swap agreements. These agreements involve risks, such as the risk that counterparties may fail to honor their obligations under these arrangements and that these arrangements may not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest rate changes. These interest rate hedging arrangements may create additional assets or liabilities from time to time that may be held or liquidated separately from the underlying property or loan for which they were originally established. Hedging may reduce the overall returns on our investments. Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Related to our Relationship with the Advisor and the Dealer Manager

We depend on the Advisor to select our investments and otherwise conduct our business, and any material adverse change in its financial condition or our relationship with the Advisor could have a material adverse effect on our business and ability to achieve our investment objectives.

Our success is dependent upon our relationship with, and the performance of, the Advisor in the acquisition and management of our real estate portfolio and our corporate operations. The Advisor may suffer or become distracted by adverse financial or operational problems in connection with Nuveen Real Estate’s or Nuveen’s business and activities unrelated to us and over which we have no control. Should the Advisor fail to allocate sufficient resources to perform its responsibilities to us for any reason, we may be unable to achieve our investment objectives or to pay distributions to our stockholders.

The termination or replacement of the Advisor could trigger a repayment event under our mortgage loans for some of our properties and the credit agreement governing any line of credit we obtain.

Lenders for certain of our properties may request provisions in the mortgage loan documentation that would make the termination or replacement of the Advisor an event requiring the immediate repayment of the full outstanding balance of the loan. If we elect to obtain a line of credit and are able to do so, the termination or replacement of the Advisor could trigger repayment of outstanding amounts under the credit agreement governing our line of credit. If a repayment event occurs with respect to any of our properties, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.

The Advisor’s inability to retain the services of key real estate professionals could hurt our performance.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the contributions of certain key real estate professionals employed by Nuveen Real Estate, each of whom would be difficult to replace. There is ever increasing

 

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competition among alternative asset firms, financial institutions, private equity firms, investment advisors, investment managers, real estate investment companies, REITs and other industry participants for hiring and retaining qualified investment professionals and there can be no assurance that such professionals will continue to be associated with us or the Advisor, particularly in light of our perpetual-life nature, or that replacements will perform well. Neither we nor the Advisor have employment agreements with these individuals and they may not remain associated with us. If any of these persons were to cease their association with us, our operating results could suffer. Our future success depends, in large part, upon the Advisor’s ability to attract and retain highly skilled managerial, operational and marketing professionals. If the Advisor loses or is unable to obtain the services of highly skilled professionals, our ability to implement our investment strategies could be delayed or hindered.

The success of this offering is dependent, in part, on the ability of the Dealer Manager to retain key employees and to successfully build and maintain a network of licensed broker-dealers.

The dealer manager for this offering is Nuveen Securities, LLC. The success of this offering and our ability to implement our business strategy is dependent upon the ability of our Dealer Manager to retain key employees and to build and maintain a network of licensed securities broker-dealers and other agents. If the Dealer Manager is unable to retain qualified employees or build and maintain a sufficient network of participating broker-dealers to distribute shares in this offering, we may not be able to raise adequate proceeds through this offering to implement our investment strategy. In addition, the Dealer Manager currently serves and may serve as dealer manager for other issuers. As a result, the Dealer Manager may experience conflicts of interest in allocating its time between this offering and such other issuers, which could adversely affect our ability to raise adequate proceeds through this offering and implement our investment strategy. Further, the participating broker-dealers retained by the Dealer Manager may have numerous competing investment products, some with similar or identical investment strategies and areas of focus as us, which they may elect to emphasize to their retail clients.

You will not have the benefit of an independent due diligence review of us by the Dealer Manager in connection with this offering.

Because the Advisor and the Dealer Manager are affiliates of Nuveen you will not have the benefit of an independent due diligence review and investigation of the type normally performed by an unaffiliated, independent underwriter and its counsel in connection with a securities offering. Accordingly, unless your financial advisor is affiliated with a broker-dealer that conducts an independent due diligence review and investigation of the terms of this offering, you will not have the benefit of such a review.

The fees we pay in connection with this offering and the agreements entered into with Nuveen and its affiliates were not determined on an arm’s-length basis and therefore may not be on the same terms we could achieve from a third party.

The compensation paid to the Advisor, Dealer Manager and other Nuveen affiliates for services they provide us was not determined on an arm’s-length basis. All service agreements, contracts or arrangements between or among Nuveen and its affiliates, including the Advisor and us, were not negotiated at arm’s-length. Such agreements include the Advisory Agreement, the Operating Partnership’s partnership agreement, our dealer manager agreement, and any property management and other agreements we may enter into with affiliates of the Advisor from time to time.

Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest

Various potential and actual conflicts of interest will arise, and these conflicts may not be identified or resolved in a manner favorable to us.

Various potential and actual conflicts of interest will arise as a result of our overall investment activities and the overall investment activities of the Advisor, the Dealer Manager and their affiliates. The following risk factors

 

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enumerate certain but not all potential conflicts of interest that should be carefully evaluated before making an investment in us. The Advisor and the Advisor’s personnel may in the future engage in further activities that may result in additional conflicts of interest not addressed below. If any matter arises that we and our affiliates (including the Advisor) determine in our good faith judgment constitutes an actual conflict of interest, we and our affiliates (including the Advisor) may take such action as we determine in good faith may be necessary or appropriate to ameliorate the conflict. Transactions between us and the Advisor or its affiliates will require approval by our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors, not otherwise interested in such transaction. There can be no assurance that our board of directors or Nuveen will identify or resolve all conflicts of interest in a manner that is favorable to us.

The Advisor faces a conflict of interest because the fees it receives for services performed are based in part on our NAV, which the Advisor is ultimately responsible for determining.

The Advisor is paid an advisory fee for its services based on our NAV, which is calculated by our fund administrator, based on valuations provided by the independent valuation advisor and the Advisor. The calculation of our NAV includes certain subjective judgments with respect to estimating, for example, the value of our portfolio and our accrued expenses, net portfolio income and liabilities, and therefore, our NAV may not correspond to realizable value upon a sale of those assets. The Advisor may benefit by us retaining ownership of our assets at times when our stockholders may be better served by the sale or disposition of our assets in order to avoid a reduction in our NAV. If our NAV is calculated in a way that is not reflective of our actual NAV, then the purchase price of shares of our common stock or the price paid for the repurchase of your shares of common stock on a given date may not accurately reflect the value of our portfolio, and your shares may be worth less than the purchase price or more than the repurchase price.

The Advisor’s advisory fee may not create proper incentives or may induce the Advisor and its affiliates to make certain investments, including speculative investments, which increase the risk of our real estate portfolio.

We pay the Advisor an advisory fee based on our NAV regardless of the performance of our portfolio. The Advisor’s entitlement to an advisory fee, which is not based upon performance metrics or goals, might reduce its incentive to devote its time and effort to seeking investments that provide attractive risk-adjusted returns for our portfolio. We may be required to pay the Advisor an advisory fee in a particular period despite experiencing a net loss or a decline in the value of our portfolio during that period.

Because the advisory fee is based on our NAV, the Advisor may also be motivated to accelerate acquisitions in order to increase NAV or, similarly, delay or curtail repurchases to maintain a higher NAV, which would, in each case, increase amounts payable to the Advisor.

Nuveen Real Estate and Nuveen personnel work on other projects and conflicts may arise in the allocation of personnel between us and other projects.

The Advisor and its affiliates devote such time as they deem necessary to conduct our business affairs in an appropriate manner. However, a core group of real estate professionals devote substantially all of their business time not only to our activities but also to the activities of several Other Nuveen Real Estate and affiliated investment vehicles and any successor funds thereto (and their respective investments) and their related entities (which may include separate accounts, dedicated managed accounts and investment funds formed for specific geographical areas or investments). Consequently, conflicts are expected to arise in the allocation of personnel, and we may not receive the level of support and assistance that we otherwise might receive if we were internally managed. The Advisor and its affiliates are not restricted from entering into other investment advisory relationships or from engaging in other business activities.

 

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We may purchase assets from or sell assets to the Advisor and its affiliates, and such transactions may cause conflicts of interest.

We may purchase assets from or sell assets to the Advisor and its affiliates or their clients. These purchases and sales may cause conflicts of interest, including with respect to the consideration offered and the obligations of such affiliates. The purchases and sales referred to in this paragraph are subject to the approval of a majority of directors (including a majority of our independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction.

Certain Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we will not be allocated certain opportunities and may be allocated only opportunities with lower relative returns.

Certain inherent conflicts of interest arise from the fact that Nuveen and its affiliates provide investment management and other services both to us and to other persons and entities, whether or not the investment objectives or guidelines of any such other person or entity are similar to ours, including, without limitation, the sponsoring, closing and/or managing of Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. In particular, there is overlap of real property and real estate-related asset investment opportunities with certain Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that are actively investing and similar overlap with future Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that may be established. This overlap will from time to time create conflicts of interest. Additionally, in certain circumstances investment opportunities suitable for us will not be presented to us and there will be one or more investment opportunities where our participation is restricted.

While the Advisor seeks to manage potential conflicts of interest in a fair and reasonable manner as required pursuant to our charter and the Advisory Agreement, the portfolio strategies employed by the Advisor, Nuveen Real Estate or their affiliates in managing the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts could conflict with the strategies employed by the Advisor in managing our business and may adversely affect the marketability, exit strategy, prices and availability of the properties, securities and instruments in which we invest. The Advisor, Nuveen Real Estate or their affiliates may also give advice to the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that may differ from advice given to us even though their investment objectives or guidelines may be the same or similar to ours.

The allocation of investment opportunities may be based on the Advisor’s or its affiliates’ determination of the expected returns for such investments (e.g., specific investment opportunities with higher expected returns may be allocated to Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts whereas those with lower relative expected returns may be allocated to us). At times, the investment professionals employed by the Advisor or its affiliates and other investment vehicles affiliated with the Advisor or Nuveen may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the accounts, clients, entities, funds or investment companies for which he or she exercises investment responsibility and not for us.

There may also be circumstances, including in the case where there is a seller who is seeking to dispose of a pool or combination of assets, properties, securities or instruments, where we and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts participate in a single or related transactions with a particular seller where certain of such assets, properties, securities or instruments are specifically allocated (in whole or in part) to any of us and such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. The combined purchase price paid to a seller may be allocated among the multiple assets, properties, securities or instruments based on a determination by the seller, by a third-party valuation firm or by the Advisor and its affiliates. Similarly, there may also be circumstances, including in the case where there is a single buyer who is seeking to purchase a pool or combination of assets, properties, securities or instruments, where we and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts participate in a single or related transactions with such buyer where certain of such assets, properties, securities or instruments are specifically allocated (in whole or in part) to any of us and such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. The allocation of such specific items may be based on the Advisor’s determination of the expected returns for such items (e.g., specific items with higher expected returns may be allocated to Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts whereas those with lower relative expected returns may be allocated to us or vice versa), and in any such case the combined purchase price paid by such

 

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buyer would be allocated among the multiple assets, properties, securities or instruments based on a determination by such buyer, by a third party valuation firm or the Advisor and its affiliates. There can be no assurance that the relevant investment will not be valued or allocated a purchase price that is higher or lower than it might otherwise have been allocated or received if such investment were sold independently rather than as a component of a portfolio sale that contains investments of Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts.

The amount of advisory fees paid by us may be less than or exceed the amount of management fees paid by Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. Such variation may create an incentive for Nuveen Real Estate to allocate a greater percentage of an investment opportunity to us or such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts, as the case may be.

Our board of directors has adopted a resolution that renounces our interest or expectancy with respect to business opportunities and competitive activities.

Our board of directors has adopted a resolution that renounces our interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, business opportunities, and provides that none of Nuveen or its affiliates, our directors or any person our directors control must refrain from competing with us or present to us such business opportunities except under certain limited circumstances. Under this resolution, Nuveen and its affiliates and our directors or any person our directors control would not be obligated to present to us opportunities unless those opportunities are expressly offered to such person in his or her capacity as a director or officer and intended exclusively for us or any of our subsidiaries, and those persons are able to engage in competing activities without any restriction imposed as a result of Nuveen’s or its affiliates’ status as a stockholder or Nuveen’s affiliates’ status as our officers or directors.

We may co-invest with Nuveen affiliates in real estate-related assets and such investments may be in different parts of the capital structure of an issuer and may otherwise involve conflicts of interest. When we hold investments in which Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts have a different principal investment, conflicts of interest may arise between us and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts, and the Advisor may take actions that are adverse to us.

We may co-invest with Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts in investments that are suitable for both us and such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. We and the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts may make or hold investments in the same asset or issuer. To the extent we hold interests that are different (including with respect to their relative seniority) than those held by such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts, the Advisor and its affiliates may be presented with decisions when our interests and the interests of the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts are in conflict and actions may be taken for the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that are adverse to us.

Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts may also participate in a separate tranche of a financing with respect to an issuer/borrower in which we have an interest or otherwise in different classes of such issuer’s securities. If we make or have an investment in a property in which an Other Nuveen Real Estate Account has a mezzanine or other debt investment, Nuveen Real Estate and its affiliates may have conflicting loyalties between its duties to us and to other affiliates. To the extent we hold an equity interest or an interest in a loan or debt security that is different (including with respect to their relative seniority) than those held by such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts, the Advisor and its affiliates may have limited or no rights with respect to decisions when our interests and the interests of the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts are in conflict, and Nuveen Real Estate and its affiliates may have conflicting loyalties between duties to us and to other affiliates. In that regard, actions may be taken for the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that are adverse to us.

We may enter into joint ventures and other shared assets which will involve risks and conflicts of interests.

We and any Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts may invest in shared assets typically through the formation of joint ventures. Such joint venture investments will involve risks and conflicts of interests. See “—Risks Related

 

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to Investments in Real Estate—We may make a substantial amount of joint venture investments, including with Nuveen’s affiliates and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on the financial condition of our joint venture partners and disputes between us and our joint venture partners.”

Nuveen and its affiliates may raise or manage Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts which could result in the reallocation of Nuveen personnel and the direction of potential investments to such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts.

Nuveen reserves the right to raise and manage additional accounts and funds, including the Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts and other opportunistic and stabilized and substantially stabilized real estate funds or separate accounts, dedicated managed accounts, investments suitable for lower risk, lower return funds or higher risk, higher return funds, real estate debt obligation and trading investment vehicles, real estate funds primarily making investments in a single sector of the real estate investment space (e.g., office, industrial, retail or multifamily) or making non-controlling investments in public and private debt and equity securities or investment funds that may have the same or similar investment objectives or guidelines as us, investment funds formed for specific geographical areas or investments, including those raised by us and one or more managed accounts (or other similar arrangements structured through an entity) for the benefit of one or more specific investors (or related group of investors) which, in each case, may have investment objectives or guidelines that overlap with ours. See “—Certain Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we will not be allocated certain opportunities and may be allocated only opportunities with lower relative returns.” In particular, there is overlap of real property and real estate-related asset investment opportunities with certain Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that are actively investing and similar overlap with future Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts that may be established. The closing of an Other Nuveen Real Estate Account could result in the reallocation of Nuveen personnel, including reallocation of existing real estate professionals, to such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. In addition, potential investments that may be suitable for us may be directed toward such Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts.

Certain principals and employees may be involved in and have a greater financial interest in the performance of other Nuveen affiliated funds or accounts, and such activities may create conflicts of interest in making investment decisions on our behalf.

Certain of the principals and employees of the Advisor and the Dealer Manager may be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest relating to their responsibilities to us and the management of our real estate portfolio. Such individuals may serve in an advisory capacity to other managed accounts or investment vehicles, as members of an investment or advisory committee or a board of directors (or similar such capacity) for one or more investment funds, corporations, foundations or other organizations. Such positions may create a conflict between the services and advice provided to such entities and the responsibilities owed to us. The other managed accounts and investment funds in which such individuals may become involved may have investment objectives that overlap with ours. Furthermore, certain principals and employees of the Advisor may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other funds or accounts than our performance. Such involvement may create conflicts of interest in making investments on our behalf and such other funds and accounts. Such principals and employees seek to limit any such conflicts in a manner that is in accordance with their fiduciary duties to us and such organizations.

The Advisor may face conflicts of interest related to tenants.

Certain properties owned by us or an Other Nuveen Real Estate Account may be leased out to tenants that are affiliates of Nuveen, including but not limited to Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts and their respective portfolio companies, which would give rise to a conflict of interest. In such events, the Advisor will endeavor to ensure that such conflicts are resolved in a fair and equitable manner, subject to applicable oversight of the board of directors.

 

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Risks Related to our REIT Status and Certain Other Tax Items

If we do not qualify as a REIT, we will be subject to tax as a regular corporation and could face a substantial tax liability.

We believe we have operated, and we intend to continue to operate, in a manner that has allowed us, and will allow us to continue, to qualify as a REIT under the Code. However, qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which only a limited number of judicial or administrative interpretations exist. Notwithstanding the availability of cure provisions in the Code, various compliance requirements could be failed and could jeopardize our REIT status. Furthermore, new tax legislation, administrative guidance or court decisions, in each instance potentially with retroactive effect, could make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any tax year, then:

 

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we would be taxed as a regular domestic corporation, which under current laws would result in, among other things, our being unable to deduct distributions to stockholders in computing taxable income and being subject to federal and applicable state and local income tax on our taxable income at regular corporate income tax rates;

 

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any resulting tax liability could be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on our book value;

 

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unless we were entitled to relief under applicable statutory provisions, we would be required to pay taxes, and thus, our cash available for distribution to stockholders would be reduced for each of the years during which we did not qualify as a REIT and for which we had taxable income; and

 

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we generally would not be eligible to re-elect to be taxed as a REIT for the subsequent four full taxable years.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could increase our tax liability, reduce our operating flexibility and reduce the price of our common stock.

In recent years, numerous legislative, judicial and administrative changes have been made in the provisions of U.S. federal income tax laws applicable to investments similar to an investment in shares of our common stock. On December 22, 2017, tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has resulted in fundamental changes to the Code, with many of the changes applicable to individuals applying only through December 31, 2025. Among the numerous changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a deduction of up to 20% of qualified REIT dividends for non-corporate U.S. taxpayers for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 through 2025. Further, changes to the tax laws are possible. In particular, the federal income taxation of REITs may be modified, possible with retroactive effect, by legislative, administrative or judicial action at any time.

We cannot assure stockholders that further changes to the tax laws will not adversely affect the taxation of our stockholders. Any such changes could have an adverse effect on an investment in our shares or on the market value or the resale potential of our assets. Stockholders are urged to consult with their tax advisors with respect to the impact of these legislative changes on their investment in our shares and the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in our shares. Although REITs generally receive certain tax advantages compared to entities taxed as regular corporations, it is possible that future legislation would result in a REIT having fewer tax advantages, and it could become more advantageous for a company that invests in real estate to elect to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a corporation. As a result, our charter authorizes our board of directors to revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that changes to U.S. federal income tax laws and regulations or other considerations mean it is no longer in our best interests to qualify as a REIT.

 

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Our qualification as a REIT could be jeopardized as a result of an interest in joint ventures or investment funds.

We hold certain limited partner or non-managing member interests in partnerships or limited liability companies that are joint ventures or investment funds, such as the International Affiliated Funds. Such investments may be substantial and will, at least in the case of the International Affiliated Funds, take the form of non-managing, non-controlling interests. Our ability to qualify as a REIT will be affected by such investments. To the extent that our investment in an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not held through one of our taxable REIT subsidiaries (also referred to herein as “TRSs”), our share of the gross income of the entity will be taken into account for purposes of determining whether we satisfy the gross income tests and our share of the assets of the entity will be taken into account for purposes of determining whether we satisfy the asset tests. In the case of the International Affiliated Funds, common commercial practices outside the United States may be inconsistent with the REIT rules for qualifying “rents from real property,” and exchange gains are likely to be recognized that may or may not be treated as non-qualifying income for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. If a partnership or limited liability company in which we own an interest takes or expects to take actions that could jeopardize our qualification as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we may be forced to dispose of our interest in such entity or contribute such interest to a TRS. In addition, it is possible that a partnership or limited liability company could take an action which could cause us to fail a gross income or asset test, and that we would not become aware of such actions in time to dispose of our interest in the partnership or limited liability company or take other corrective action on a timely basis. In addition, we will have to take into account our share of the income of such joint ventures and investment funds that are classified as partnerships for tax purposes, without regard to whether such joint ventures or funds make distributions to us to fund our distribution requirements. We may avoid some of these risks by investing in the International Affiliated Funds or other joint ventures or funds that are classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes through one of our TRSs. Under the asset tests, however, no more than 20% of our assets may consist of TRS securities. In addition, in the case of any non-U.S. TRSs, we would expect to have to take into income the net income of such a TRS each year under the “subpart F income” rules applicable to “controlled foreign corporations” without regard to whether we receive any distributions from the TRS. Such subpart F inclusions will be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test, but not for purposes of the 75% gross income test.

To maintain our REIT status, we may have to borrow funds on a short-term basis during unfavorable market conditions.

To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute annually to our stockholders dividends equal to at least 90% of our net taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends-paid deduction and excluding net capital gains. Our taxable income will include our allocable share of any partnerships (including investment funds and joint ventures that are treated as partnerships for federal income tax purposes) without regard to the amount, if any, of distributions we receive from such partnerships. We will be subject to regular corporate income taxes on any undistributed taxable income each year including undistributed net capital gain. Additionally, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on any amount by which distributions paid by us in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from previous years. Payments we make to our stockholders under our share repurchase plan will not be taken into account for purposes of these distribution requirements. If we do not have sufficient cash to make distributions necessary to preserve our REIT status for any year or to avoid taxation, we may be forced to borrow funds or sell assets even if the market conditions at that time are not favorable for these borrowings or sales.

Compliance with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities, which may hinder or delay our ability to meet our investment objectives and reduce your overall return.

To qualify as a REIT, we are required at all times to satisfy tests relating to, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the ownership of our stock and the amounts we distribute

 

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to our stockholders. Compliance with the REIT requirements may impair our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits. For example, we may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution.

Compliance with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate or restructure otherwise attractive investments.

To qualify as a REIT, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets must consist of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified real estate assets. The remainder of our investments in securities (other than qualified real estate assets, government securities and securities of our taxable REIT subsidiaries), generally cannot include more than 10% of the voting securities (other than securities that qualify for the straight debt safe harbor) of any one issuer or more than 10% of the value of the outstanding securities. Debt will generally meet the “straight debt” safe harbor if the debt is a written unconditional promise to pay on demand or on a specified date a certain sum of money, the debt is not convertible, directly or indirectly, into stock, and the interest rate and the interest payment dates of the debt are not contingent on profits, the borrower’s discretion, or similar factors. Additionally, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, no more than 20% of the value of our assets may be represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries and no more than 25% of our assets may be represented by “nonqualified publicly offered REIT debt instruments.” If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must dispose of a portion of our assets within 30 days after the end of such calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions in order to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. In order to satisfy these requirements and maintain our qualification as a REIT, we may be forced to liquidate assets from our portfolio or not make otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Our charter does not permit any person or group to own more than 9.8%, in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding common stock or of our outstanding capital stock of all classes or series, and attempts to acquire our common stock or our capital stock of all other classes or series in excess of these 9.8% limits would not be effective without an exemption (effective prospectively or retroactively) from these limits by our board of directors.

For us to qualify as a REIT under the Code, not more than 50% of the value of our outstanding stock may be owned directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (including entities treated as individuals for this purpose) at any time during the last half of each taxable year after the first year for which we elect to be taxed as a REIT. Our charter prohibits beneficial or constructive ownership by any person or group of more than 9.8%, in value or by number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of our common stock or 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive of our outstanding capital stock of all classes or series, which we refer to as the “ownership limits.” Our charter permits our board of directors to grant exemptions from the ownership limits and establish alternative ownership limits (“Excepted Holder Limits”) if various conditions designed to ensure our continuing ability to qualify as a REIT are satisfied. On January 23, 2019, the board granted such an exemption to, and established an Excepted Holder Limit of 100% for, T-C GA Real Estate Fund Holdings, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TIAA, with respect to the shares of Class N common stock purchased by T-C GA Real Estate Fund Holdings, LLC and certain entities that would be treated as owning the Class N common stock owned by T-C GA Real Estate Fund Holdings, LLC for purposes of the ownership limits. The constructive ownership rules under the Code and our charter are complex and may cause the shares of our stock owned by a group of related persons to be treated as owned by one person. As a result, the acquisition of less than 9.8% of our outstanding common stock or our capital stock by a person could cause another person to be treated as owning in excess of 9.8% of our common stock or our capital stock, respectively, and thus violate the ownership limits. There can be no assurance that our board of directors, as permitted in the charter, will not decrease the ownership limits in the future. Any attempt to own or transfer shares of our common stock or capital stock in excess of an ownership limit without the consent of our board of directors will result either in the shares in excess of the ownership limits being transferred by operation of the charter to a charitable trust or in the transfer being void.

 

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The ownership limits may have the effect of precluding a change in control of us by a third party, even if such change in control would be in the best interests of our stockholders or would result in receipt of a premium to the price of our common stock (and even if such change in control would not reasonably jeopardize our REIT status).

Non-U.S. holders may be required to file U.S. federal income tax returns and pay U.S. federal income tax upon their disposition of shares of our common stock or upon their receipt of certain distributions from us.

In addition to any potential withholding tax on ordinary dividends, a non-U.S. holder other than a “qualified shareholder” or a “qualified foreign pension fund,” as each is defined for purposes of the Code, that disposes of a “United States real property interest” (“USRPI”) (which includes shares of stock of a U.S. corporation whose assets consist principally of USRPIs), is generally required to report such income on U.S. federal income tax returns and is subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular U.S. federal income tax rates under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980, as amended (“FIRPTA”), on the gain from such disposition. FIRPTA gains must be reported on U.S. federal income tax returns and are taxable at regular U.S federal income tax rates. Such tax does not apply, however, to the gain on disposition of stock in a REIT that is “domestically controlled.” Generally, a REIT is domestically controlled if less than 50% of its stock, by value, has been owned directly or indirectly by non-U.S. persons during a continuous five-year period ending on the date of disposition or, if shorter, during the entire period of the REIT’s existence. We cannot assure you that we will qualify as a domestically controlled REIT. If we were to fail to so qualify, amounts received by a non-U.S. holder on certain dispositions of shares of our common stock (including a redemption) would be subject to tax under FIRPTA, unless (i) our shares of common stock were regularly traded on an established securities market and (ii) the non-U.S. holder did not, at any time during a specified testing period, hold more than 10% of our common stock.

A non-U.S. holder, other than a “qualified shareholder” or a “qualified foreign pension fund,” that receives a distribution from a REIT that is attributable to gains from the disposition of a USRPI as described above, including in connection with a repurchase of our common stock, is generally subject to U.S. federal income tax under FIRPTA to the extent such distribution is attributable to gains from such disposition, regardless of whether the difference between the fair market value and the tax basis of the USRPI giving rise to such gains is attributable to periods prior to or during such non-U.S. holder’s ownership of our common stock, unless the relevant class of stock is regularly traded on an established securities market in the United States and such non-U.S. holder did not own more than 10% of such class at any time during the one-year period ending on the date of such distribution. In addition, a repurchase of our common stock, to the extent not treated as a sale or exchange, may be subject to withholding as an ordinary dividend.

We seek to act in the best interests of our company as a whole and not in consideration of the particular tax consequences to any specific holder of our stock. Potential non-U.S. holders should inform themselves as to the U.S. tax consequences, and the tax consequences within the countries of their citizenship, residence, domicile, and place of business, with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock.

Investments outside the United States may subject us to additional taxes and could present additional complications to our ability to satisfy the REIT qualification requirements.

Non-U.S. investments may subject us and/or other entities through which such international investments are made to various non-U.S. tax liabilities, including withholding taxes. In addition, operating in functional currencies other than the U.S. dollar and in environments in which real estate transactions are typically structured differently than they are in the United States or are subject to different legal rules may present complications to our ability to structure non-U.S. investments in a manner that enables us to satisfy the REIT qualification requirements. Even if we maintain our status as a REIT, entities through which we hold investments in assets located outside the United States may be subject to income taxation by jurisdictions in which such assets are located or in which our subsidiaries that hold interests in such assets are located. Any such taxes could adversely affect our business, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition, and our cash available for distribution to our stockholders will be reduced by any such foreign income taxes.

 

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We may incur tax liabilities that would reduce our cash available for distribution to you.

Even if we qualify and maintain our status as a REIT, we may become subject to U.S. federal income taxes and related state and local taxes. For example, net income from the sale of properties that are “dealer” properties sold by a REIT (a “prohibited transaction” under the Code) will be subject to a 100% tax. Similarly, if we were to fail a gross income test (and did not lose our REIT status because such failure was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect) we would be subject to tax on the income that does not meet the gross income test requirements. We also may decide to retain net capital gain we earn from the sale or other disposition of our investments and pay income tax directly on such income. We may not make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs.

In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax we paid on the amount of undistributed capital gain that we designate. However, stockholders that are tax-exempt, such as charities or qualified pension plans, would have no benefit from their deemed payment of such tax liability unless they file U.S. federal income tax returns and thereon seek a refund of such tax. We also may be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, including franchise, payroll, mortgage recording and transfer taxes, either directly or at the level of the other companies through which we indirectly own our assets, such as our taxable REIT subsidiaries. Any taxes we pay directly or indirectly will reduce our cash available for distribution to you.

Restrictions on deduction of our interest expense could prevent us from satisfying the REIT distribution requirements and avoiding incurring income or excise taxes.

Rules enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act may limit our ability (and the ability of entities that are not treated as disregarded entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes and in which we hold an interest) to deduct interest expense. The deduction for business interest expense may be limited to the amount of the taxpayer’s business interest income plus 30% of the taxpayer’s “adjusted taxable income” unless the taxpayer’s gross receipts do not exceed $25 million per year during the applicable testing period or the taxpayer qualifies to elect and elects to be treated as an “electing real property trade or business.” A taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income will start with its taxable income and add back items of non-business income and expense, business interest income and business interest expense, net operating losses, any deductions for “qualified business income,” and, in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2022, any deductions for depreciation, amortization or depletion. A taxpayer that is exempt from the interest expense limitations as an electing real property trade or business is ineligible for certain expensing benefits and is subject to less favorable depreciation rules for real property. The rules for business interest expense apply to us and at the level of each entity in which or through which we invest that is not a disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes. To the extent that our interest expense is not deductible, our taxable income will be increased, as will our REIT distribution requirements and the amounts we need to distribute to avoid incurring income and excise taxes.

Our board of directors is authorized to revoke our REIT election without stockholder approval, which may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

Our charter authorizes our board of directors to revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to qualify as a REIT. Our board of directors has fiduciary duties to us and could only cause such changes in our tax treatment if it determines in good faith that such changes are in our best interests. In this event, we would become subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income and we would no longer be required to distribute most of our net income to our stockholders, which may cause a reduction in the total return to our stockholders.

You may have current tax liability on distributions you elect to reinvest in our common stock.

If you participate in our distribution reinvestment plan, you will be deemed to have received, and for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in shares of our common stock to the extent the

 

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amount reinvested was not a tax-free return of capital. Therefore, unless you are a tax-exempt entity, you may be forced to use funds from other sources to pay your tax liability on the reinvested dividends.

Generally, ordinary dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for reduced U.S. federal income tax rates.

Currently, the maximum tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income payable to certain non-corporate U.S. stockholders is 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced rate. Although this does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends payable by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividend income could cause certain non-corporate investors to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including our common stock. However, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, for taxable years through 2025, non-corporate U.S. taxpayers may be entitled to claim a deduction in determining their taxable income of up to 20% of qualified REIT dividends (which are dividends other than capital gain dividends and dividends attributable to certain qualified dividend income received by us). You are urged to consult with your tax advisor regarding the effect of this change on your effective tax rate with respect to REIT dividends.

The failure of a mezzanine loan to qualify as a real estate asset could adversely affect our ability to qualify as a REIT.

We have invested in a mezzanine loan for which the IRS has provided a safe harbor but not rules of substantive law. Pursuant to the safe harbor, if a mezzanine loan meets certain requirements, it will be treated by the IRS as a real estate asset for purposes of the asset tests, and interest derived from the mezzanine loan will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the 75% gross income test. We may acquire mezzanine loans that do not meet all of the requirements of this safe harbor. In the event we own a mezzanine loan that does not meet the safe harbor, the IRS could challenge such loan’s treatment as a real estate asset for purposes of the asset and gross income tests and, if such a challenge were sustained, we could fail to qualify as a REIT.

If the Operating Partnership failed to qualify as a partnership or is not disregarded for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we would cease to qualify as a REIT.

If the IRS were to successfully challenge the status of the Operating Partnership as a partnership or disregarded entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and treat it as taxable as a corporation, it would reduce the amount of distributions that the Operating Partnership could make to us. This would also result in our failing to qualify as a REIT and becoming subject to a corporate income tax on our income, which would substantially reduce our cash available to pay distributions and the yield on your investment.

Our TRSs are subject to special rules that may result in increased taxes.

We conduct certain activities and invest in assets through one or more TRSs. A TRS is a corporation other than a REIT in which a REIT directly or indirectly holds stock, and that has made a joint election with such REIT to be treated as a TRS. Other than some activities relating to management of hotel and health care properties, a TRS may generally engage in any business, including the provision of services to tenants of its parent REIT. A TRS is subject to U.S. federal income tax as a regular C corporation.

No more than 20% of the value of our total assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. This requirement limits the extent to which we can conduct our activities through TRSs. The values of some of our assets, including assets that we hold through TRSs, may not be subject to precise determination, and values are subject to change in the future. In addition, as a REIT, we must pay a 100% penalty tax on certain IRS adjustments to payments that we make or receive if the economic arrangements between us and any of our TRSs are not comparable to similar arrangements between unrelated parties. We intend to structure transactions with any TRS on terms that we believe are arm’s length to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above; however, the IRS may successfully assert that the economic arrangements of any of our inter-company transactions are not comparable to similar arrangements between unrelated parties.

 

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Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively and may cause us to incur tax liabilities.

The REIT provisions of the Code may limit our ability to hedge our assets and operations. Under these provisions, any income that we generate from transactions intended to hedge our interest rate risk will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests if: (i) the instrument (A) hedges interest rate risk or foreign currency exposure on liabilities used to carry or acquire real estate assets, (B) hedges risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the 75% or 95% gross income tests or (C) hedges a position entered into pursuant to clause (A) or (B) after the extinguishment of such liability or disposition of the asset producing such income; and (ii) such instrument is properly identified under applicable Treasury Regulations. Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute non-qualifying income for purposes of both the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Gross Income Tests” and “—Hedging Transactions.” As a result of these rules, we may have to limit our use of hedging techniques that might otherwise be advantageous or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRS would be subject to tax on gains or expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, losses in our TRS will generally not provide any tax benefit, except for being carried forward against future taxable income in the TRS.

We may choose to pay dividends in a combination of cash and our own common stock, in which case stockholders may be required to pay income taxes in excess of the cash dividends they receive.

Under IRS Revenue Procedure 2017-45, as a publicly offered REIT, we may give stockholders a choice, subject to various limits and requirements, of receiving a dividend in cash or in our common stock. As long as at least 20% (modified pursuant to IRS Revenue Procedure 2021-53 to 10% for distributions declared on or after November 1, 2021 and on or before June 30, 2022) of the total dividend is available in cash and certain other requirements are satisfied, the IRS will treat the stock distribution as a dividend (to the extent applicable rules treat such distribution as being made out of our earnings and profits). As a result, U.S. stockholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends they receive. In the case of non-U.S. stockholders, we generally will be required to withhold tax with respect to the entire dividend, which withholding tax may exceed the amount of cash such non-U.S. stockholder would otherwise receive.

Recharacterization of sale-leaseback transactions may cause us to lose our REIT status.

We may purchase real properties and lease them back to the sellers of such properties. We cannot guarantee that the IRS will not challenge our characterization of any sale-leaseback transactions. In the event that any such sale-leaseback transaction is challenged and recharacterized as a financing transaction or loan for federal income tax purposes, deductions for depreciation and cost recovery relating to such property would be disallowed. If a sale-leaseback transaction were so recharacterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT qualification “asset tests” or the “gross income tests” and, consequently, lose our REIT status. Alternatively, the amount of our REIT taxable income could be recalculated which might also cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirements for a taxable year.

Sales of our properties at gains are potentially subject to the prohibited transaction tax, which could reduce the return on a stockholder’s investment.

Our ability to dispose of property is restricted as a result of our REIT status. Under applicable provisions of the Code regarding prohibited transactions by REITs, we will be subject to a 100% tax on any gain realized on the sale or other disposition of any property (other than foreclosure property) we own, directly or through a subsidiary entity, including our Operating Partnership, but excluding our TRSs, that is deemed to be inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of trade or business unless a safe harbor applies under the Code. Whether property is inventory or otherwise held primarily for sale to customers in the

 

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ordinary course of a trade or business depends on the particular facts and circumstances surrounding each property. We intend to avoid the 100% prohibited transaction tax by (1) conducting activities that may otherwise be considered prohibited transactions through a TRS, (2) conducting our operations in such a manner so that no sale or other disposition of an asset we own, directly or through any subsidiary other than a TRS, will be treated as a prohibited transaction, or (3) structuring certain dispositions of our properties to comply with certain safe harbors available under the Code. However, no assurance can be given that any particular property will not be treated as inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business or that a safe harbor will apply.

There may be tax consequences to any modifications to our borrowings, our hedging transactions and other contracts to replace references to LIBOR.

We are parties to loan agreements with LIBOR- based interest rates and may hold or acquire MBS and other assets with LIBOR-based terms. We may have to renegotiate such LIBOR-based instruments to replace references to LIBOR. Under current law, certain modifications of terms of LIBOR-based instruments may have tax consequences, including deemed taxable exchanges of the pre-modification instrument for the modified instrument. Recently finalized Treasury Regulations have been issued that would treat certain modifications that would be taxable events under current law as non-taxable events. The Treasury Regulations will also permit REMICs to make certain modifications without losing REMIC qualification. The Treasury Regulations do not discuss REIT-specific issues of modifications to LIBOR-based instruments. The IRS has also issued Revenue Procedure 2020-44, which provides additional guidance to facilitate the market’s transition from LIBOR rates. This guidance clarifies the treatment of certain debt instruments modified to replace LIBOR-based terms. We will attempt to migrate to a post-LIBOR environment without jeopardizing our REIT qualification or suffering other adverse tax consequences but can give no assurances that we will succeed.

Retirement Plan Risks

If the fiduciary of an employee benefit plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, or ERISA, fails to meet the fiduciary and other standards under ERISA, the Code or common law as a result of an investment in our stock, the fiduciary could be subject to civil penalties.

There are special considerations that apply to investing in our shares on behalf of a trust, pension, profit sharing or 401(k) plans, health or welfare plans, trusts, individual retirement accounts, or IRAs, or Keogh plans. If you are investing the assets of any of the entities identified in the prior sentence in our common stock, you should satisfy yourself that:

 

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the investment is consistent with your fiduciary obligations under applicable law, including common law, ERISA and the Code;

 

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the investment is made in accordance with the documents and instruments governing the trust, plan or IRA, including a plan’s investment policy;

 

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the investment satisfies the prudence and diversification requirements of Sections 404(a)(1)(B) and 404(a)(1)(C) of ERISA and other applicable provisions of ERISA and the Code;

 

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the investment will not impair the liquidity of the trust, plan or IRA;

 

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the investment will not produce “unrelated business taxable income” for the plan or IRA;

 

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our stockholders will be able to value the assets of the plan annually in accordance with ERISA requirements and applicable provisions of the plan or IRA; and

 

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the investment will not constitute a non-exempt prohibited transaction under Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code.

Failure to satisfy the fiduciary standards of conduct and other applicable requirements of ERISA, the Code, or other applicable statutory or common law may result in the imposition of civil penalties, and can subject the

 

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fiduciary to equitable remedies. In addition, if an investment in our shares constitutes a non-exempt prohibited transaction under Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, the fiduciary that authorized or directed the investment may be subject to the imposition of excise taxes with respect to the amount invested.

If our assets at any time are deemed to constitute “plan assets” under ERISA, that may lead to the rescission of certain transactions, tax or fiduciary liability and our being held in violation of certain ERISA and Code requirements.

Stockholders subject to ERISA should consult their own advisors as to the effect of ERISA on an investment in the shares. If our assets are deemed to constitute “plan assets” of stockholders that are ERISA Plans (as defined below) (i) certain transactions that we might enter into in the ordinary course of our business might have to be rescinded and may give rise to certain excise taxes and fiduciary liability under Title I of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code; (ii) our management, as well as various providers of fiduciary or other services to us (including the Advisor), and any other parties with authority or control with respect to us or our assets, may be considered fiduciaries or otherwise parties in interest or disqualified persons for purposes of the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction provisions of Title I of ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code; and (iii) the fiduciaries of stockholders that are ERISA Plans would not be protected from “co-fiduciary liability” resulting from our decisions and could be in violation of certain ERISA requirements.

Accordingly, prospective investors that are (i) “employee benefit plans” (within the meaning of Section 3(3) of ERISA), which are subject to Title I of ERISA; (ii) “plans” defined in Section 4975 of the Code, which are subject to Section 4975 of the Code (including “Keogh” plans and “individual retirement accounts”); or (iii) entities whose underlying assets are deemed to include plan assets within the meaning of Section 3(42) of ERISA and the regulations thereunder (e.g., an entity of which 25% or more of the total value of any class of equity interests is held by “benefit plan investors”) (each such plan, account and entity described in clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) we refer to as “ERISA Plans”) should consult with their own legal, tax, financial and other advisors prior to investing to review these implications in light of such investor’s particular circumstances. The sale of our common stock to any ERISA Plan is in no respect a representation by us or any other person associated with the offering of our shares of common stock that such an investment meets all relevant legal requirements with respect to investments by plans generally or any particular plan, or that such an investment is appropriate for plans generally or any particular plan.

 

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ESTIMATED USE OF PROCEEDS

The following tables present information about the net proceeds raised in this offering for each class of shares, assuming that we sell the maximum primary offering amount of $4,000,000,000 and no shares under our distribution reinvestment plan. The tables assume that 30% of our gross offering proceeds are from the sale of Class T shares, 20% of our gross offering proceeds are from the sale of Class S shares, 10% of our gross offering proceeds are from the sale of Class D shares and 40% of our gross offering proceeds are from the sale of Class I shares, which are estimated based on the proportion of shares per class issued in our initial public offering. The number of shares of each class sold and the relative proportions in which the classes of shares are sold are uncertain and may differ significantly from what is shown in the tables below. We may reallocate the shares of our common stock we are offering between the primary offering and our distribution reinvestment plan. We will only use the proceeds raised in this offering for the purposes set forth in this prospectus and in the manner approved by our board of directors, who serve as fiduciaries to our stockholders.

The actual amount of upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees will vary from the estimated amounts shown because (1) our Class T, Class S and Class D shares are sold at a price that varies monthly generally based on our prior month’s NAV per share for that class of shares and actual upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees per Class T, Class S and Class D share are a percentage of the transaction price; (2) the upfront selling commission and dealer manager fees may be reduced in connection with certain categories of sales of Class T, Class S and Class D shares. Any reduction in upfront selling commissions or dealer manager fees is accompanied by a corresponding reduction in the Class T, Class S and Class D per share purchase price to the applicable investor but does not affect the amounts available to us for investment. Because amounts in this table are estimates, they may not accurately reflect the actual receipt or use of the offering proceeds.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to (1) make investments in accordance with our investment strategy and policies, (2) reduce borrowings and repay indebtedness incurred under various financing agreements we may enter into and (3) fund repurchases under our share repurchase plan. Generally, our policy is to pay distributions from cash flow from operations. However, subject to Maryland law and the discretion of our board of directors, we may choose to use cash flows from the sale of assets, borrowings, return of capital or offering proceeds, or other sources to fund distributions to our stockholders.

The following table presents information regarding the estimated use of proceeds raised in this offering with respect to Class T shares

 

		Maximum Offering of $1,200,000,000 in Class T Shares
Gross Proceeds(1)		$	1,200,000,000				100.00	%
Upfront Selling Commissions and Dealer Manager Fees(2)			40,579,710				3.38	%
Organization and Offering Expenses(3)			2,250,000				0.19	%
Net Proceeds Available for Investment		$	1,157,170,290				96.43	%

The following table presents information regarding the estimated use of proceeds raised in this offering with respect to Class S shares.

 

		Maximum Offering of $800,000,000 in Class S Shares
Gross Proceeds(1)		$	800,000,000				100.00	%
Upfront Selling Commissions(2)			27,053,140				3.38	%
Organization and Offering Expenses(3)			1,500,000				0.19	%
Net Proceeds Available for Investment		$	771,446,860				96.43	%

 

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The following table presents information regarding the estimated use of proceeds raised in this offering with respect to Class D shares.

 

		Maximum Offering of $400,000,000 in Class D Shares
Gross Proceeds(1)		$	400,000,000				100.00	%
Upfront Selling Commissions(2)			5,911,330				1.47	%
Organization and Offering Expenses(3)			750,000				0.19	%
Net Proceeds Available for Investment		$	393,338,670				98.33	%

The following table presents information regarding the estimated use of proceeds raised in this offering with respect to Class I shares.

 

		Maximum Offering of $1,600,000,000 in Class I Shares
Gross Proceeds(1)		$	1,600,000,000				100.00	%
Upfront Selling Commissions(2)			—				—	%
Organization and Offering Expenses(3)			3,000,000				0.19	%
Net Proceeds Available for Investment		$	1,597,000,000				99.81	%

 

(1)	Gross offering proceeds include upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees that the Dealer Manager is entitled to receive (including any amounts that may be retained by, or reallowed (paid) to, participating broker-dealers).

(2)

For Class T shares, includes upfront selling commissions of 3.0% of the transaction price and dealer manager fees of 0.5% of the transaction price. For Class S shares, includes upfront selling commissions of 3.5% of the transaction price. For Class D shares, includes upfront selling commissions of 1.5% of the transaction price. Amounts presented in the tables are less than 3.5% or 1.5%, as the case may be, of gross proceeds because upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees are calculated as a percentage of the transaction price (which excludes upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees), which means that upfront selling commissions expressed as a percentage of the total investment (including upfront selling commissions and dealer manager fees) are less than 3.5% or 1.5%, as the case may be. We also pay the following selling commissions over time as stockholder servicing fees to the Dealer Manager, subject to FINRA limitations on underwriting compensation: (a) for Class T shares, an advisor stockholder servicing fee of 0.65% per annum, and a dealer stockholder servicing fee of 0.20% per annum, of the aggregate NAV for the Class T shares, however, with respect to Class T shares sold through certain participating broker-dealers, the advisor stockholder servicing fee and the dealer stockholder servicing fee may be other amounts, provided that the sum of such fees will always equal 0.85% per annum of the NAV of such shares, (b) for Class S shares, a stockholder servicing fee equal to 0.85% per annum of the aggregate NAV for the Class S shares and (c) for Class D shares, a stockholder servicing fee equal to 0.25% per annum of the aggregate NAV for the Class D shares, in each case, payable monthly. The total amount that will be paid over time for stockholder servicing fees depends on the average length of time for which shares remain outstanding, the term over which such amount is measured and the performance of our NAV, and is not expected to be paid from offering proceeds. See “Plan of Distribution—Underwriting Compensation—Upfront Selling Commissions and Dealer Manager Fees” and “Compensation—Stockholder Servicing Fees.”

(3)

The organization and offering expense numbers represent our estimates of expenses to be incurred by us in connection with this offering and include estimated wholesaling expenses reimbursable by us. See “Compensation—Organization and Offering Expense Reimbursement” for examples of the types of organization and offering expenses we may incur.

 

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In the aggregate, underwriting compensation from all sources, including upfront selling commissions, dealer manager fees, stockholder servicing fees and other underwriting compensation, will not exceed 10% of the gross proceeds from our primary offering.

 

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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

Investment Objectives

Our investment objectives are to:

 

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provide regular, stable cash distributions;

 

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target institutional quality, stabilized commercial real estate to achieve an attractive distribution yield;

 

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preserve and protect stockholders’ invested capital;

 

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realize appreciation from proactive investment management and asset management; and

 

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seek diversification by investing across leading global cities and across real estate sectors, including office, industrial, multifamily, and retail properties, as well as alternative property types.

We cannot assure you that we will achieve our investment objectives. See the “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus.

Investment Strategy

Through its affiliation with Nuveen Real Estate, which comprises Nuveen’s real estate business, the Advisor acquires, manages and sells properties in our portfolio on our behalf, subject to the supervision and oversight of our board of directors. Nuveen Real Estate is one of the world’s largest real estate investment managers, with approximately $151.7 billion in real estate assets under management across its equity and debt platform around the world, including over $114 billion in real estate assets under management in the United States as of December 31, 2021.

Nuveen Real Estate has designed an investment strategy developed from long-term structural growth research that is focused on commercial real estate investments in or around a universe of cities Nuveen Real Estate believes are well positioned across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. We are building a diversified portfolio of high quality, stabilized, income-orientated commercial real estate with good fundamentals located in or around certain global cities that have been identified, through Nuveen Real Estate’s research and filtering process, for their resilience, structural performance potential and ability to deliver an attractive and stable distribution yield.

Nuveen Real Estate has selected cities using a two-pronged approach to top-down analysis, seeking to capture both structural megatrends and tactical real estate fundamentals that Nuveen Real Estate believes will provide a strong foundation for long-term success. We use the term structural megatrends to describe long-term trends which play out over decades as opposed to the short-term business cycle. Several key examples of such trends which we may consider in evaluating a potential investment include: (1) demographic changes (e.g., population growth, urbanization, aging population), (2) technology changes (e.g., online retailing), (3) sustainability, and (4) shift of economic/political power and class demographics (e.g., recent strong growth in middle class consumers in developing countries). We use the term “tactical real estate fundamentals” to refer to economic and demographic variables relevant to our real estate investment criteria (e.g., vacancy rates, new construction rates, take-up of space and employment growth), which we evaluate with regard to market cycles impacting markets over one to five year periods. At the investment level, the focus is on high quality assets in strong locations with high occupancy levels and secure income streams. We use the term “strong locations” to refer to geographic locations with stable and high demand from real estate occupiers that fall within our real estate investment criteria. The strength of the location depends on many factors such as infrastructure, proximity, micro- climate, effectiveness of local government, crime rates, green space, etc., which are evaluated by Nuveen Real Estate and the Advisor. To enhance returns, and because of Nuveen Real Estate’s global platform and local expertise, assets with the potential for asset management and growth is sought out where possible.

 

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The following cities have been identified by Nuveen Real Estate for investments in real properties and debt backed principally by real estate:

 

North America				Europe				Asia-Pacific
Anaheim, CA Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Boston, MA Charleston, SC Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Dallas, TX Denver, CO Fort Lauderdale, FL Honolulu, HI Houston, TX Las Vegas, NV Los Angeles, CA Miami, FL Minneapolis, MN Naples, FL Nashville, TN New York, NY Oakland, CA Orlando, FL		Philadelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ Portland, OR Raleigh, NC Riverside, CA Sacramento, CA Salt Lake City, UT San Antonio, TX San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA Seattle, WA Tampa, FL Toronto, Canada Vancouver, Canada Washington, DC		Amsterdam, Netherlands Antwerp, Belgium Barcelona, Spain Berlin, Germany Bilbao, Spain Birmingham, UK Bologna, Italy Bordeaux, France Brussels, Belgium Budapest, Hungary Cologne, Germany Copenhagen, Denmark Dublin, Ireland Dussesldorf, Germany Edinburgh, UK Frankfurt, Germany Geneva, Switzerland Gothenburg, Sweden Hamburg, Germany Helsinki, Finland Istanbul, Turkey		Lisbon, Portugal London, UK Luxembourg, Luxembourg Lyon, France Madrid, Spain Manchester, UK Milan, Italy Munich, Germany Oslo, Norway Paris, France Prague, Czech Rep. Rome, Italy Rotterdam, Netherlands Stockholm, Sweden Stuttgart, Germany The Hague, Netherlands Toulouse, France Utrecht, Netherlands Vienna, Austria Warsaw, Poland Zurich, Switzerland		Adelaide, Australia Auckland, New Zealand Beijing, China Brisbane, Australia Canberra, Australia Guangzhou, China Hong Kong, Hong Kong Melbourne, Australia Nagoya, Japan Osaka, Japan Perth, Australia Seoul, Korea Shanghai, China Shenzhen, China Singapore, Singapore Sydney, Australia Tokyo, Japan

We predominantly invest in the cities listed above but may selectively choose to invest in cities not on this list. Further, this list is periodically reviewed by the Advisor and may change over time based on the Advisor’s proprietary research and analysis.

We expect over time that a majority of our real estate investments will be located in the United States and that a substantial but lesser portion of our portfolio will include properties in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. In order to enhance the level of diversification, we make our European and Asia-Pacific investments through other funds established by Nuveen Real Estate, including the European Cities Partnership SCSp and the Asia-Pacific Cities Fund (collectively, the “International Affiliated Funds”). The International Affiliated Funds are designed by Nuveen Real Estate and utilize the same cities focused long-term research strategy that we employ.

Our investments in primarily stabilized income-oriented commercial real estate in the United States focus on a range of asset types including office, industrial, multifamily, retail, healthcare, and alternative property types (e.g., self-storage, student and single-family housing, senior living, and other alternatives). We are targeting up to 40% of our total assets less cash will be in commercial real estate located outside of the United States, including our interests in the International Affiliated Funds, along with the properties we acquire directly. We consider a property to be “stabilized” when it is leased to market occupancy, has minimal short-term tenant turnover and requires minimal capital improvements to maintain present operating standards.

We complement our real estate investments by investing to a lesser extent in “real estate-related assets,” which we define as including:

 

•

Real estate securities, such as common and preferred stock of publicly traded REITs and other real estate companies (“real estate-related securities”). These securities provide a source of liquidity for our share repurchase plan, cash management and other purposes; and

 

•

Debt backed principally by real estate, such as mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans, and commercial mortgage-backed securities, (“CMBS”). These investments help to provide a secure source of income with an element of downside protection from potential declines in the value of real estate held by equity investors.

 

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Our real estate-related securities strategy is designed to generate current income by following a largely sector-neutral approach, with the aim of giving us broad real estate exposure, diversification and a more consistent return profile. We believe that our real estate-related securities help maintain sufficient liquidity to satisfy monthly repurchase requests under our share repurchase plan and manage cash before investing subscription proceeds into properties while also seeking to generate superior, risk-adjusted returns over the long term by actively managing the portfolio.

Our commercial real estate debt strategy is designed to provide a secure source of income with an element of downside protection from potential declines in the value of real estate held by equity investors. We believe that our investments in commercial mortgages offer stable, income-focused returns with a low correlation to wider property and investment markets, as well as offering substantial downside and performance protection. Commercial mortgages typically offer attractive risk-adjusted returns, especially in the later stages of the property cycle, and complement our long-term strategy by acting as a diversifier within the portfolio.

We believe that our structure as a perpetual-life REIT allows us to acquire and manage our investment portfolio in a more active and flexible manner, as we are not limited by a predetermined operational period and the need to provide a “liquidity event” at the end of that period.

Subject to limitations in our charter, we may enter into one or more joint ventures, tenant-in-common investments or other co-ownership arrangements for the acquisition, development or improvement of properties with third parties or affiliates of the Advisor, including present and future real estate limited partnerships and REITs sponsored by affiliates of the Advisor. We also may acquire interests in or securities issued by these joint ventures, tenant-in-common investments or other joint venture arrangements or other Nuveen-sponsored programs.

Potential Competitive Strengths

The Advisor draws upon the substantial real estate investment experience of Nuveen Real Estate. Nuveen Real Estate’s affiliation with Nuveen and its other affiliates, including Nuveen Asset Management, enables Nuveen Real Estate to offer global real estate solutions across the equity, debt and securities sectors by drawing on their dedicated specialist teams. Nuveen Real Estate’s key competitive strengths are:

 

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Global platform with specialist local expertise—over 700 professionals located in offices in 26 cities throughout the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, offering deep local expertise coupled with a sophisticated global perspective.

 

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Deep real estate experience—over 80 years of real estate investing experience with approximately $151.7 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021, specializing across six key sectors: retail, office, industrial, multifamily, alternatives and commercial real estate debt. Nuveen Real Estate was ranked as the fifth largest real estate investment manager based on assets under management by the 2021 annual survey conducted by INREV, ANREV, and NCREIF.

 

•

Established investment process—Nuveen Real Estate operates within a defined investment process with established risk controls that are supervised by an investment committee comprised of senior investment professionals from across the regions together with representatives from the specialist teams. Nuveen Real Estate draws on the knowledge and experience of its global real estate business to ensure that each investment decision results from a rigorous process.

 

•

Market-leading research capability—a fully integrated global real estate research team that provides Nuveen Real Estate and its clients with global views on market cycles, relative value and a deep understanding of long-term structural shifts and trends that it believes will shape the future of real estate. This “Tomorrow’s World” approach sits at the core of Nuveen Real Estate’s investment process and business operations.

 

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•

Client Alignment—Nuveen Real Estate demonstrates an alignment of interest with its clients through the co-investment by its parent company, TIAA, in investment vehicles managed by Nuveen Real Estate, including TIAA’s purchase of $300 million of Class N shares of our common stock.

 

•

Responsible Investing—Nuveen Real Estate is a recognized leader in sustainable real estate investing and is committed to aligning investment activities with industry-acknowledged environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) criteria. Nuveen Real Estate is a GRESB member demonstrating global leadership in embedding sustainability throughout the property investment lifecycle; earned an A+ rating in the latest UN Principles for Responsible Investment sustainability benchmark; and earned the EPA ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year at the Sustained Excellence Level. Nuveen Real Estate considers material ESG-related risks in the course of its sourcing of direct real estate investment opportunities, throughout the underwriting and due diligence process, and in the management and monitoring of portfolio investments, focused primarily on areas of ESG that have the potential to positively or negatively impact returns for commercial real estate property holdings. In 2021, Nuveen Real Estate publicly issued a commitment to make the global property portfolio it manages operationally net zero carbon by 2040.

Investment Guidelines and Portfolio Allocation Targets

Our board of directors, including our independent directors, reviews our investment portfolio not less than quarterly. In addition, our board of directors has adopted investment guidelines which set forth, among other things, guidelines for investing in our targeted property types and certain investment policies restricting certain types of investments which we describe in more detail below. Our board of directors, including our independent directors, reviews the investment guidelines on an annual basis or more frequently as it deems appropriate. Changes to our investment guidelines must be approved by our board of directors, including a majority of our independent directors. Our board of directors may revise our investment guidelines without the concurrence of our stockholders. However, except as otherwise permitted under Maryland law or our charter, our board of directors will not amend our charter, including any investment policies that are provided in our charter and described under “—Charter-Imposed Investment Limitations” below, without the concurrence of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, including without limitation, any amendment which would adversely affect the rights, preferences and privileges of our stockholders.

Our investment guidelines delegate to the Advisor authority to execute acquisitions and dispositions of investments in real properties and real estate-related assets, in each case so long as such acquisitions and dispositions are consistent with the investment guidelines adopted by our board of directors. Our board of directors has at all times ultimate oversight over our investments and may change from time to time the scope of authority delegated to the Advisor with respect to acquisition and disposition transactions. In addition, under our investment guidelines our board of directors is required to approve any acquisition of a single property or group of related properties requiring a net equity investment that exceeds the greater of (i) $250 million or (ii) if our NAV exceeds $1 billion, 25% of our total NAV at the time of acquisition. If a majority of our independent directors determines, or if the property is acquired from the Advisor, a director, Nuveen or any of their affiliates, the fair market value of a property shall be determined by a qualified independent appraiser selected by our independent directors.

We seek to invest:

 

•

at least 80% of our total assets less cash in properties, including investments in the International Affiliated Funds, and debt backed principally by real estate; and

 

•

up to 20% of our total assets less cash in real estate-related securities.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the actual percentage of our portfolio that is invested in each investment type may from time to time be outside the target levels provided above due to factors such as a large inflow of capital

 

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over a short period of time, the Advisor’s assessment of the relative attractiveness of opportunities, or an increase in anticipated cash requirements or repurchase requests and subject to any limitations or requirements relating to our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Identification of Investments

The Advisor is responsible for sourcing, evaluating and monitoring our investment opportunities and making decisions related to the acquisition, management, financing and disposition of our assets in accordance with our investment objectives, guidelines, policies and limitations, subject to oversight by our board of directors. The Advisor relies upon Nuveen Real Estate’s investment professionals and investment committee process to identify investment opportunities and determine whether we will acquire a property when identified.

Through Nuveen Real Estate’s scale and local presence across the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, it offers local expertise coupled with a global perspective. Nuveen Real Estate’s experience and record of efficient transaction delivery has created a strong market presence and well-established relationships with agents and principals, enabling it to source marketed and off-market opportunities across some of the world’s most competitive investment markets.

Nuveen Real Estate operates within a defined investment process with established risk controls that are supervised by its investment committee, comprising senior investment professionals together with representatives from the different specialist teams. Nuveen Real Estate draws on the knowledge and experience of its global real estate business in seeking to ensure that any investment activity has been through a rigorous process.

Investments in Properties

To execute our investment strategy, we invest in or around certain global cities selected for their resilience, long-term structural performance and potential to deliver an attractive and stable distribution yield.

Our investments in commercial real estate focus on a range of asset types including office, industrial, multifamily, retail, healthcare, and alternative property types (e.g., self-storage, student and single-family housing, senior living, and other alternatives). We expect that over time a majority of our real estate investments will be located in the United States and a substantial but lesser portion of our portfolio will be located in Canada, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. We target that up to 40% of our total assets less cash will be in investments located outside of the United States, including the International Affiliated Funds, which are managed by affiliates of the Advisor. We believe that owning indirect interests in the properties owned by the International Affiliated Funds, together with the properties we acquire directly, will result in a more diversified and stable portfolio of real estate investments for our stockholders in the short and medium term.

Ownership Interests

The Operating Partnership or one or more subsidiary entities controlled by the Operating Partnership acquires properties on our behalf. In many cases, we acquire the entire equity ownership interest in properties and exercise control over such properties. However, we may also enter into joint ventures, general partnerships, co-tenancies and other participation arrangements with other investors, including affiliates of the Advisor, to acquire properties. We generally acquire fee simple interests for the properties (in which we own both the land and the building improvements), but may consider leased fee and leasehold interests if we believe the investment is consistent with our investment strategy and objectives.

Joint Ventures and Other Co-Ownership Arrangements

We may enter into joint ventures, partnerships, tenant-in-common investments or other co-ownership arrangements with third parties for the acquisition or improvement of properties for purposes of broadening our portfolio of assets, as well as with entities affiliated with the Advisor subject to the approval of our board of

 

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directors, including a majority of our independent directors. In many cases, we may not control the management of the affairs of the joint venture. A joint venture creates an alignment of interest with a private source of capital for the benefit of our stockholders. In determining whether to invest in a particular joint venture, the Advisor evaluates the real property that such joint venture owns or is being formed to own under the same criteria described elsewhere in this prospectus for our selection of real property investments.

The terms of any particular joint venture are established on a case-by-case basis considering all relevant facts, including the nature and attributes of the potential joint venture partner, the proposed structure of the joint venture, the nature of the operations, the liabilities and assets associated with the proposed joint venture and the size of our interest in the venture. Other factors we consider include: (1) our ability to manage and control the joint venture; (2) our ability to exit the joint venture; and (3) our ability to control transfers of interests held by other partners to the venture. Our interests may not be totally aligned with those of our partner. See “Risks Related to This Offering and Our Organizational Structure—We may make a substantial amount of joint venture investments, including with Nuveen’s affiliates and Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on the financial condition of joint venture partners and disputes between us and our joint venture partners.”

In the event that the joint venture partner elects to sell property held in any such joint venture, we may not have sufficient funds to exercise any right of first refusal or other purchase right that we may have. Entering into joint ventures with other Nuveen-sponsored programs may result in certain conflicts of interest. See “Risk Factors— Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest” and “Conflicts of Interest—Transactions with Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts and Other Affiliates.”

We may enter into joint ventures with affiliates for the acquisition of properties only if a majority of our directors, including a majority of the independent directors, not otherwise interested in the transaction approve the transaction as being fair and reasonable to us and on substantially the same, or more favorable, terms and conditions as those received by other affiliate joint venture partners.

Due Diligence

The Advisor performs a comprehensive due diligence review on each property that it proposes to purchase on our behalf. The Advisor conducts primarily four types of due diligence:

 

•

Financial Due Diligence. The Advisor develops a preliminary underwriting as well as macroeconomic and microeconomic analyses for acquisition opportunities to determine the attractiveness of each potential transaction. Underwriting assumptions are developed from a variety of sources including analysis of historical operating statements, review of third-party market data, discussions with local real estate contacts, and data from Nuveen Real Estate’s existing portfolios. The Advisor utilizes its propriety model to project expected future cash flows and runs various scenarios to analyze the attractiveness of the transaction.

 

•

Books and Records. Leases, rent rolls, and financial statements, for example, are reviewed and compared by third-party accounting firms as well as internal accountants in order to confirm cash flow information.

 

•

Physical Due Diligence. The Advisor hires third-party consultants to perform engineering and environmental reviews in order to determine the functionality of the property and to determine future capital expenditures. Nuveen Real Estate’s internal engineering firm reviews these findings and the conclusions are incorporated into the underwriting. In addition, a sustainability analysis is completed which is focused on exposure to climate related physical and regulatory risks as well as opportunities to improve resource efficiency, resilience and occupant health and wellness.

 

•

Legal Due Diligence. External counsel along with the Advisor’s internal counsel performs legal due diligence including reviewing and negotiating all legal documents and matters associated with the transaction. These documents can include purchase and sale agreements, leases, loan documents and title reports.

 

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Exit Strategies

We anticipate that we will hold most of our properties for seven to ten years. One of the Advisor’s primary considerations in evaluating any potential investment opportunity is the likely exit strategy. When determining whether to sell a particular asset, the Advisor takes the following steps:

 

•

Evaluate Condition of the Property. Evaluate whether the asset is in the appropriate condition for a successful sale.

 

•

Assess Returns from the Property. Assess the returns from each investment to determine whether the expected sale price exceeds the net present value of the projected cash flows of the property.

 

•

Evaluate Status of Business Plan. Evaluate whether it has successfully completed the value creation plan that was established at acquisition.

 

•

Assess Investment Profile of the Property within Investment Strategy. Assess whether the property’s investment profile at the time of exit consideration aligns with our overall investment strategy.

We believe that holding our target assets for a long period of time will enable us to execute our business plan, generate favorable cash-on-cash returns and drive long-term cash flow and NAV growth.

Generally, we reinvest proceeds from the sale, financing or disposition of properties in a manner consistent with our investment strategy, although we may be required to distribute such proceeds to the stockholders in order to comply with REIT requirements.

Investments in the International Affiliated Funds

The International Affiliated Funds are private real estate funds managed by affiliates of Nuveen Real Estate that invest exclusively in stabilized, income-oriented commercial real estate in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Our investments in the International Affiliated Funds enable us to invest side-by-side with a number of institutional investors into a diversified portfolio of high quality and stabilized commercial real estate with good fundamentals (i.e., core real estate) located in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. Since the scale of capital required to acquire a diversified portfolio of these types of properties on a global basis and across sectors is substantial, we believe that owning indirect interests in the properties owned by the International Affiliated Funds will result in a more diversified and stable portfolio of real estate investments for our stockholders in the short and medium term.

The limited partnership interests we hold in the International Affiliated Funds are generally treated in the same way as investments by other investors in the International Affiliated Funds.

International investments involve unique risks. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to International Investments.” Because certain international investments may expose us to currency risks, we may enter into currency rate swaps or caps, or similar hedging or derivative transactions or arrangements, in order to manage or mitigate our currency risk.

The European Cities Partnership SCSp (“ECF”)

The ECF was formed in March 2016 as an open-end, Euro-denominated fund which seeks to build a diversified portfolio of high quality and stabilized commercial real estate with good fundamentals (i.e., core real estate) located in or around certain “Investment Cities” in Europe selected for their resilience, potential for long-term structural performance and ability to deliver an attractive and stable distribution yield. The ECF has selected such Investment Cities using the same two-pronged approach to top-down analysis that is used in our strategy to select Investment Cities. The ECF’s approach in Europe was also designed by Nuveen Real Estate’s global real estate research team. This strategy captures both structural megatrends and tactical real estate fundamentals that Nuveen Real Estate believes provide the ECF with a strong foundation for long-term success. The fund’s investment strategy has been designed with a long-term view of performance, identifying 42 Investment Cities whose commercial real estate is expected to have greater growth opportunities over the next 15-year plus time horizon than other cities in Europe.

 

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Each investor’s capital commitment in the fund is called as needed to make investments in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy, and for any other purpose permitted under the fund’s constituent documents. When amounts called by a drawdown notice are paid by an investor, the investor is issued co-ownership participation units in the specific fund investor vehicle in which such investor is investing.

The ECF pays its investment manager (the “ECF Manager”), Nuveen Alternatives Europe S.a.r.l, a Nuveen Real Estate affiliate, an annual management fee equal to 0.95% of the NAV of the fund,

We may, subject to certain restrictions and limitations, request that all or a portion of our units be redeemed by submitting to the fund’s general partner a written request to have all or part of our units redeemed. Units are subject to a two-year lock-up and thereafter a redemption fee of 2% is charged if the fund is required to sell an asset to fund the redemption.

The Asia-Pacific Cities Fund (“ACPF”)

The Asia-Pacific Cities Fund commenced operations in 2018. The Asia-Pacific Cities Fund is an open-end, pan- Asia-Pacific vehicle seeking to build a diversified portfolio of high quality and stabilized commercial real estate with good fundamentals (i.e., core real estate) located in or around selected “Investment Cities” in the Asia- Pacific region. The fund is U.S. dollar-denominated.

The Asia-Pacific Cities Fund selects the Investment Cities in which it intends to invest using the same two- pronged approach to top-down analysis that is used in our strategy to select Investment Cities. This approach in the Asia-Pacific region was designed by Nuveen Real Estate’s global real estate research team. This strategy captures both structural megatrends and tactical real estate fundamentals that Nuveen Real Estate believes will provide the Asia-Pacific Cities Fund with a strong foundation for long-term success by identifying Investment Cities where commercial real estate is expected to have greater growth opportunities over the next 15-year plus time horizon than other cities in the Asia-Pacific region.

Each investor’s capital commitment in the fund is called as needed to make investments in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy, and for any other purpose permitted under the fund’s constituent documents. When amounts called by a drawdown notice are paid by an investor, the investor is issued co-ownership participation units in the specific fund investor vehicle in the which such invest is investing.

Investments in Real Estate-Related Assets

In addition to our investments in commercial real estate properties, we also invest in other real estate-related assets, including common and preferred stock of publicly traded REITs and other real estate companies (“real estate-related securities”), and debt backed principally by real estate, such as mortgage loans, subordinated mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, as further described below.

Investments in Real Estate-Related Securities

We invest in income-producing common stocks of publicly traded companies engaged in the real estate industry primarily in the United States but also internationally. These companies derive at least 50% of their revenues or profits from the ownership, construction, management, financing or sale of real estate, or have at least 50% of the fair market value of their assets invested in real estate. We expect to invest up to 20% of our total assets less cash in real estate-related securities.

Through investment in real estate-related securities, we may be able to gain access to the benefits of real estate investing in a manner that provides for liquidity and the potential for an exposure to real estate assets with greater diversification across geographies and property types. Furthermore, arbitrage opportunities exist for active managers to take advantage of when listed securities exposure is priced differently from direct real estate exposure, thereby increasing the potential total return for investors.

 

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We believe that our investment in real estate-related securities helps to:

 

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maintain liquidity to satisfy any share repurchases we choose to make in any particular month;

 

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manage cash before investing subscription proceeds into real properties; and

 

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generate superior, risk-adjusted returns over the long-term.

The Advisor draws upon the resources of an investment affiliate, Nuveen Asset Management, and delegates to it the investment and management of our portfolio of real estate-related securities. Nuveen Asset Management leverages the competitive advantages of the broader Nuveen Real Estate platform and its own proprietary investment models to seek attractive real estate-related securities investment opportunities throughout the capital structure.

In selecting real estate-related securities for us, Nuveen Asset Management utilizes a team-based investment philosophy and primarily employs a bottom-up approach that relies on fundamental research. The real estate- related securities selection process starts by identifying the assets that fit the key characteristics of the asset class. From that group, Nuveen Asset Management assesses each asset’s total return potential by employing a number of relative value screens based on proprietary as well as third-party research. Some characteristics of a company that are incorporated in these screens include: the value of its assets, its profitability, its cash flow, the sustainability of its earnings, and its management team. Nuveen Asset Management selects companies that exhibit strong management teams, a strong competitive position, above average growth in revenues and a sound balance sheet. These companies may be of any market capitalization, including small- and mid-capitalization companies.

The majority of real estate securities investments are invested in REITs. REITs generally can be divided into the following three types:

 

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Equity REITs, which invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive their income primarily from rents and capital gains or real estate appreciation;

 

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Mortgage REITs, which invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgage loans and derive their income primarily from interest payments; and

 

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Hybrid REITs, which combine the characteristics of equity REITs and mortgage REITs.

We focus on investments in equity REITs, although we may invest in all three kinds of REITs.

Portfolio construction is achieved through bottom-up analysis, allowing for diversification across geographic regions and property types. Maximum exposure to a single issuer is the greater of 5% or 1.5 times the benchmark weight. As sector selection is not emphasized in our process, we do not provide guidelines for sector exposure. At various points in the market cycle, however, macro considerations may allow the portfolio to deviate more than usual from sector weights relative to the benchmark. Over time the weighted average differential is expected to be minimal.

Investments in Debt Backed Principally by Real Estate

We invest in debt backed principally by real estate, which may include commercial mortgage loans, bank loans, mezzanine loans, CMBS, RMBS and other interests relating to real estate. Commercial mortgage loans are typically secured by single-family, multifamily or commercial property and are subject to risks of delinquency and foreclosure. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by an income-producing property typically is dependent primarily upon the successful operation of such property rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. Mezzanine loans may take the form of subordinated loans secured by a pledge of the ownership interests of either the entity owning the real property or an entity that owns (directly or indirectly) the interest in the entity owning

 

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the real property. These types of investments may involve a higher degree of risk than mortgage lending because the investment may become unsecured as a result of foreclosure by the senior lender. Mortgage-backed securities, which consists of both residential and commercial MBS, are fixed-income investment products backed by mortgages on commercial real estate properties. We do not intend to make loans to other persons or to engage in the purchase and sale of any types of investments other than those related to real estate.

Issuing Securities for Property

Subject to limitations contained in our charter, we may issue, or cause to be issued, shares of our stock or limited partnership units in the Operating Partnership in any manner (and on such terms and for such consideration) in exchange for real estate. Our existing stockholders have no preemptive rights to purchase any such shares of our stock or limited partnership units, and any such issuance might cause a dilution of a stockholder’s initial investment. We may enter into additional contractual arrangements with contributors of property under which we would agree to repurchase a contributor’s units for shares of our common stock or cash, at the option of the contributor, at specified times. Although we may enter into such transactions, we do not currently intend to do so.

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We may use derivatives for hedging purposes and, subject to maintaining our status as a REIT and compliance with any applicable exemption from being regulated as a commodity pool operator, we may also use derivatives for investment purposes and as a form of effective leverage. Our principal investments in derivative instruments may include investments in interest rate swaps, interest rate caps, total return swaps, credit default swaps and indices thereon, and short sales (typically related to treasuries), but we may also invest in futures transactions, options and options on futures. See “Risk Factors—We may invest in derivatives, which involve numerous risks.” Under the REIT provisions of the Code, any income that we generate from transactions intended to hedge our interest rate risk will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests if certain requirements are met. Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute non-qualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests. See “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Gross Income Tests” and “—Hedging Transactions.”

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Other Short-Term Investments

We hold cash, cash equivalents and other short-term investments. These types of investments may include the following, to the extent consistent with our intended qualification as a REIT:

 

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money market instruments, cash and other cash equivalents (such as high-quality short-term debt instruments, including commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers’ acceptances, repurchase agreements, interest-bearing time deposits and credit rated corporate debt securities);

 

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U.S. government or government agency securities; and

 

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credit-rated corporate debt or asset-backed securities of U.S. or foreign entities, or credit-rated debt securities of foreign governments or multi-national organizations.

Other Investments

We may, but do not presently intend to, make investments other than as described above. At all times, we intend to make investments in such a manner consistent with maintaining our qualification as a REIT under the Code. We do not intend to underwrite securities of other issuers.

 

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Borrowing Policies

We use financial leverage to provide additional funds to support our investment activities. This allows us to make more investments than would otherwise be possible, resulting in a broader portfolio. Subject to the limitations on indebtedness for money borrowed in our charter described below, our target leverage ratio is 30% to 50% of our gross real estate assets (measured using the fair market value of gross real estate assets, including equity in our securities portfolio), inclusive of property-level and entity-level debt, but excluding debt on our securities portfolio. Our leverage ratio calculation also factors in the leverage ratios of other funds in which we may invest, including the International Affiliated Funds and other properties we acquire directly. Indebtedness incurred (i) in connection with funding a deposit in advance of the closing of an investment or (ii) as other working capital advances, are not included as part of the calculation above. Furthermore, the refinancing of any amount of existing indebtedness is not deemed to constitute incurrence of new indebtedness so long as no additional amount of net indebtedness is incurred in connection therewith (excluding the amount of transaction expenses associated with such refinancing).

Our real estate-related assets portfolio may have embedded leverage. During times of increased investment and capital market activity, but subject to the limitation on indebtedness for money borrowed in our charter described below, we may employ greater leverage in order to quickly build a broader portfolio of assets. We may leverage our portfolio by assuming or incurring secured or unsecured property-level or entity-level debt. An example of property-level debt is a mortgage loan secured by an individual property or portfolio of properties incurred or assumed in connection with our acquisition of such property or portfolio of properties. An example of entity-level debt is a line of credit obtained by us or the Operating Partnership. In an effort to provide for a ready source of liquidity to fund repurchases of shares of our common stock in the event that repurchase requests exceed our operating cash flows and/or net proceeds from our continuous offering, we may decide to obtain a line of credit under which we would reserve borrowing capacity. If we decide to obtain a line of credit and are able to do so, borrowings under the line may be used not only to repurchase shares, but also to fund acquisitions or for any other corporate purpose.

Our actual leverage level is affected by a number of factors, some of which are outside our control. Significant inflows of proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock generally causes our leverage as a percentage of our net assets, or our leverage ratio, to decrease, at least temporarily. Significant outflows of equity as a result of repurchases of shares of our common stock generally causes our leverage ratio to increase, at least temporarily. Our leverage ratio also increases or decreases with decreases or increases, respectively, in the value of our portfolio. If we borrow under a line of credit to fund repurchases of shares of our common stock or for other purposes, our leverage would increase and may exceed our target leverage. In such cases, our leverage may remain at the higher level until we receive additional net proceeds from our continuous offering or sell some of our assets to repay outstanding indebtedness.

Our board of directors reviews our aggregate borrowings at least quarterly. In connection with such review, our board of directors may determine to modify our target leverage ratio in light of then-current economic conditions, relative costs of debt and equity capital, fair values of our properties, general conditions in the market for debt and equity securities, growth and investment opportunities or other factors. We may exceed our targeted leverage ratio at times if the Advisor deems it advisable for us. For example, for our line of credit, we consider actual borrowings when determining whether we are at our leverage target, but not unused borrowing capacity. If, therefore, we are at a leverage ratio of 50% and we borrow additional amounts under our line of credit, or if the value of our portfolio decreases, our leverage could exceed 50% of our gross real estate assets. In the event that our leverage ratio exceeds our target, regardless of the reason, we thereafter endeavor to manage our leverage back down to our target.

There is no limit on the amount we may borrow with respect to any individual property or portfolio. However, under our charter we may not incur indebtedness for money borrowed in an amount exceeding 300% of the cost of our net assets, which approximates borrowing 75% of the cost of our investments. This limitation includes

 

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indebtedness for money borrowed with respect to our securities portfolio. “Net assets” is defined as our total assets other than intangibles valued at cost (prior to deducting depreciation, reserves for bad debts and other non- cash reserves) less total liabilities. We may exceed this charter limitation if a majority of our independent directors approves each borrowing in excess of the limit and we disclose the justification for doing so to our stockholders.

Our charter prohibits us from obtaining loans from any of our directors, Nuveen or any of their affiliates, unless approved by a majority of our board of directors (including a majority of our independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction as fair, competitive and commercially reasonable and on terms and conditions not less favorable than comparable loans between unaffiliated parties under the same circumstances.

Temporary Strategies

During the period in which the net proceeds of this offering are being invested or during periods in which the Advisor determines that economic or market conditions are unfavorable to investors and a defensive strategy would benefit us, we may temporarily depart from our investment strategy. During these periods, subject to compliance with the Investment Company Act and other applicable laws and regulations, we may deviate from our target allocations and invest less than 80% of our total assets less cash in properties, including investments in the International Affiliated Funds, and debt backed principally by real estate, and/or greater than 20% of our total assets less cash in real estate-related securities, or invest all or any portion of our assets in U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest that are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities; non-U.S. government securities that have received the highest investment grade credit rating; certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or a savings and loan association; commercial paper; bankers’ acceptances; fixed time deposits; shares of money market funds; credit-linked notes; repurchase agreements with respect to any of the foregoing; or any other fixed income securities that the Advisor considers consistent with this strategy. It is impossible to predict when, or for how long, the Advisor will use these alternative strategies. There can be no assurance that such strategies will be successful.

Charter-Imposed Investment Limitations

Our charter places numerous limitations on us with respect to the manner in which we may invest our funds.

 

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We will not make investments in unimproved real property or indebtedness secured by a deed of trust or mortgage loans on unimproved real property in excess of 10% of our total assets. Unimproved real property means a property in which we have an equity interest that was not acquired for purposes of producing rental or other income, that has no development or construction in process and for which no development or construction is planned, in good faith, to commence within one year;

 

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We will not invest in commodities or commodity futures contracts (which term does not include derivatives related to non-commodity investments, including futures contracts when used solely for purposes of hedging in connection with our ordinary business of investing in real estate assets, mortgages and real estate-related securities);

 

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We will not invest in real estate contracts of sale, otherwise known as land sale contracts, unless the contract is in recordable form and is appropriately recorded in the chain of title;

 

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We will not make or invest in individual mortgage loans (excluding any investments in mortgage pools, commercial mortgage-backed securities or residential mortgage-backed securities) unless an appraisal is obtained concerning the underlying property except for mortgage loans insured or guaranteed by a government or government agency. In cases where a majority of our independent directors determines and in all cases in which a mortgage loan transaction is with the Advisor, Nuveen, any of our directors or any of their affiliates, the appraisal shall be obtained from an independent appraiser. We will maintain the appraisal in our records for at least five years and it will be available

 

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for inspection and duplication by our common stockholders. We will also obtain a mortgagee’s or owner’s title insurance policy as to the priority of the mortgage;

 

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We will not make or invest in mortgage loans, including construction loans but excluding any investment in mortgage pools, commercial mortgage-backed securities or residential mortgage-backed securities, on any one real property if the aggregate amount of all mortgage loans on such real property would exceed an amount equal to 85% of the appraised value of such real property as determined by appraisal unless substantial justification exists because of the presence of other underwriting criteria;

 

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We will not make or invest in mortgage loans (excluding any investments in mortgage pools, commercial mortgage-backed securities or residential mortgage-backed securities) that are subordinate to any lien or other indebtedness or equity interest of any of our directors, Nuveen, the Advisor or any of our affiliates;

 

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We will not issue (1) equity securities redeemable solely at the option of the holder (except that stockholders may offer their shares of our common stock to us pursuant to our share repurchase plan), (2) debt securities unless the historical debt service coverage (in the most recently completed fiscal year) as adjusted for known changes is anticipated to be sufficient to properly service that higher level of debt, (3) equity securities on a deferred payment basis or under similar arrangements or (4) options or warrants to the directors, Nuveen, the Advisor, or any of their affiliates, except on the same terms as such options or warrants, if any, are sold to the general public. Options or warrants may be issued to persons other than the directors, Nuveen, the Advisor, or any of their affiliates, but not at exercise prices less than the fair value of the underlying securities on the date of grant and not for consideration (which may include services) that in the judgment of the independent directors has a fair value less than the value of the option or warrant on the date of grant;

 

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We will not engage in the business of underwriting or the agency distribution of securities issued by other persons;

 

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We will not acquire interests or equity securities in any entity holding investments or engaging in activities prohibited by our charter except for investments in which we hold a non-controlling interest or investments in any entity having securities listed on a national securities exchange or included for quotation on an interdealer quotation system; or

 

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We will not acquire equity securities unless a majority of the board of directors (including a majority of the independent directors) not otherwise interested in the transaction approves such investment as being fair, competitive and commercially reasonable.

In addition, our charter includes many other investment limitations in connection with transactions with affiliated entities or persons. Our charter also includes restrictions on roll-up transactions, which are described under “Description of Capital Stock—Restrictions on Roll-Up Transactions.”

Investment Company Act Considerations

We engage primarily in the business of investing in real estate and to conduct our operations, directly and through wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries, so that neither we, the Operating Partnership nor any of the subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership is required, as such requirements have been interpreted by the SEC, to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. A company is an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act:

 

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under Section 3(a)(1)(A), if it is, or holds itself out as being, engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities; or

 

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under Section 3(a)(1)(C), if it is engaged, or proposes to engage, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns, or proposes to acquire, “investment securities” having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of government

 

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securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis, which we refer to as the “40% test.” The term “investment securities” generally includes all securities except U.S. government securities and securities of majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exemption from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act.

We acquire real estate and real estate-related assets directly, primarily by acquiring fee interests in real property. We also invest in real property indirectly through investments in the International Affiliated funds or other private real estate funds, or through joint venture entities, including joint venture entities in which we do not own a controlling interest and joint venture entities in which Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts may invest. We conduct our businesses primarily through the Operating Partnership, a majority-owned subsidiary, and expect to establish other direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiaries to hold particular assets.

We conduct our operations so that we, the Operating Partnership and most, if not all, of our wholly and majority- owned subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership will comply with the 40% test. We continuously monitor our holdings on an ongoing basis to determine compliance with this test. The Operating Partnership and most, if not all, of the wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership do not rely on exemptions under either Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. Consequently, interests in the Operating Partnership and in these subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership (which constitute a substantial majority of our assets) generally do not constitute “investment securities.” Accordingly, we believe that we, the Operating Partnership and most, if not all, of the wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership are not considered investment companies under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act.

We determine whether an entity is a majority-owned subsidiary of our company. The Investment Company Act defines a majority-owned subsidiary of a person as a company 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of which are owned by such person, or by another company which is a majority-owned subsidiary of such person. The Investment Company Act defines voting securities as any security presently entitling the owner or holder thereof to vote for the election of directors of a company. We treat entities in which we own at least 50% of the outstanding voting securities as majority-owned subsidiaries for purposes of the 40% test. We have not requested that the SEC or its staff approve our treatment of any entity as a majority-owned subsidiary, and neither has done so. If the SEC or its staff was to disagree with our treatment of one or more subsidiary entities as majority-owned subsidiaries, we would need to adjust our strategy and our assets in order to continue to pass the 40% test. Any adjustment in our strategy could have a material adverse effect on us.

As an alternative to compliance with the 40% test under Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the Investment Company Act, Rule 3a-1 under the Investment Company Act generally provides that, notwithstanding Section 3(a)(1)(C), an issuer will not be deemed to be an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act provided that (1) it does not hold itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, and (2) on an unconsolidated basis except as otherwise provided, (x) no more than 45% of the value of its total assets, consolidated with the assets of any wholly owned subsidiary, (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) consists of, and (y) no more than 45% of its net income after taxes, consolidated with the net income of any wholly owned subsidiary (for the last four fiscal quarters combined) is derived from, securities other than (i) U.S. government securities, (ii) securities issued by employees’ securities companies, (iii) securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries of such company that are not investment companies nor relying on the exclusion from the definition of investment company in Section 3(b)(3), Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act and (iv) securities issued by companies that are controlled primarily by such company, are not investment companies and through which such company engages in a business other than that of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. We believe that we, the Operating Partnership and the subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership will satisfy this exclusion and we monitor our holdings to ensure continuing and ongoing compliance with Rule 3a-1.

In addition, we believe that neither we, the Operating Partnership nor any of the wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership are considered an investment company under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the

 

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Investment Company Act because they are not engage primarily or hold themselves out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Rather, we, the Operating Partnership and the subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership are primarily engaged in non-investment company businesses related to real estate. Consequently, we expect to be able to conduct our and the Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries’ respective operations such that none of them will be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

If we, the Operating Partnership or any of the wholly or majority-owned subsidiaries of the Operating Partnership would ever fit within one of the definitions of “investment company,” we intend to rely on the exemption provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act, which is available for entities “primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate.” The SEC staff has taken the position that this exemption generally requires that at least 55% of an entity’s assets must be comprised of mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate, also known as “qualifying assets,” and at least another 25% of the entity’s assets must be comprised of additional qualifying assets or a broader category of assets that we refer to as “real estate-related assets” under the Investment Company Act (and no more than 20% of the entity’s assets may be comprised of miscellaneous assets).

We classify our assets for purposes of our 3(c)(5)(C) exemption based upon no-action positions taken by the SEC staff and interpretive guidance provided by the SEC and its staff. These no-action positions are based on specific factual situations that may be substantially different from the factual situations we may face, and a number of these no-action positions were issued more than twenty years ago. No assurance can be given that the SEC or its staff will concur with our classification of our assets. In addition, the SEC or its staff may, in the future, issue further guidance that may require us to re-classify our assets for purposes of the Investment Company Act. If we are required to re-classify our assets, we may no longer be in compliance with the exemption from the definition of an investment company provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act.

For purposes of determining whether we satisfy the 55%/25% test, based on certain no-action letters issued by the SEC staff, we classify our fee interests in real property, held by us directly or through our wholly owned or majority-owned subsidiaries, as qualifying assets. In addition, based on no-action letters issued by the SEC staff, we treat our investments in any joint ventures that in turn invest in qualifying assets such as real property as qualifying assets, but only if we are active in the management and operation of the joint venture and have the right to approve major decisions by the joint venture; otherwise, they are classified as real estate- related assets. We will not participate in joint ventures in which we do not have or share control to the extent that we believe such participation would potentially threaten our status as a non-investment company exempt from the Investment Company Act. This may prevent us from receiving an allocation with respect to certain investment opportunities that are suitable for both us and one or more Other Nuveen Real Estate Accounts. We may also invest in commercial mortgage loans, which we intend to structure in accordance with certain no-action letters issued by the SEC staff and classify as qualifying assets; otherwise, such loans will be classified as real estate- related assets. We expect that no less than 55% of our assets will consist of qualifying interests, including any joint ventures that we control or in which we share control, and qualifying commercial mortgage loans.

Qualifying for an exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act will limit our ability to make certain investments. For example, these restrictions may limit our and our subsidiaries’ ability to invest directly in mortgage-backed securities that represent less than the entire ownership in a pool of mortgage loans, debt and equity tranches of securitizations and certain asset-backed securities, non-controlling equity interests in real estate companies or in assets not related to real estate.

Although we intend to monitor our portfolio, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain this exemption from registration.

A change in the value of any of our assets could negatively affect our ability to maintain our exemption from regulation under the Investment Company Act. To maintain compliance with the Section 3(c)(5)(C) exemption,

 

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we may be unable to sell assets we would otherwise want to sell and may need to sell assets we would otherwise wish to retain. In addition, we may have to acquire additional assets that we might not otherwise have acquired or may have to forego opportunities to acquire assets that we would otherwise want to acquire and would be important to our investment strategy.

To the extent that the SEC or its staff provides more specific guidance regarding any of the matters bearing upon the definition of investment company and the exemptions to that definition, we may be required to adjust our strategy accordingly. On August 31, 2011, the SEC issued a concept release and request for comments regarding the Section 3(c)(5)(C) exemption (Release No. IC-29778) in which it contemplated the possibility of issuing new rules or providing new interpretations of the exemption that might, among other things, define the phrase “liens on and other interests in real estate” or consider sources of income in determining a company’s “primary business.” Any additional guidance from the SEC or its staff could provide additional flexibility to us, or it could further inhibit our ability to pursue the strategies we have chosen.

If we are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we would become subject to substantial regulation with respect to our capital structure (including our ability to use borrowings), management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act), and portfolio composition, including disclosure requirements and restrictions with respect to diversification and industry concentration, and other matters. Compliance with the Investment Company Act would, accordingly, limit our ability to make certain investments and require us to significantly restructure our business plan. For additional discussion of the risks that we would face if we were required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to This Offering and Our Organizational Structure—Your investment return may be reduced if we are required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.”

 

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INVESTMENTS IN REAL PROPERTIES AND REAL ESTATE-RELATED ASSETS

Portfolio

The following chart outlines the allocation of our investments based on fair value as of March 31, 2022:

 

 

The following charts further describe the diversification of our direct investments in real properties based on fair value as of March 31, 2022:

 

 

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The following map shows the location of our directly-held real estate investments as of March 31, 2022:

 

 

 

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The following map shows the location and property type of directly held real estate investments owned by ECF, in which we made an investment, as of March 31, 2022:

 

 

 

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The following map shows the location and property type of directly held real estate investments owned by APCF, in which we made an investment, as of March 31, 2022:

 

 

 

Investments in Real Estate

The following sets forth the total real estate assets by segment based on fair market value as of March 31, 2022 ($ in thousands):

 

Healthcare		$	185,367
Industrial		$	316,494
Multifamily		$	298,945
Office		$	124,421
Retail		$	81,905
Commercial Mortgage Loans		$	233,637
Single-Family Housing		$	99,930
Real Estate Related Securities		$	162,091
International Affiliated Funds		$	129,356
Other (Corporate)		$	275,789
Total		$	1,907,935

 

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The following charts provide information on the nature and geographical locations of our real properties as of March 31, 2022:

 

Sector and Property/Portfolio Name		Number of Properties				Location				Acquisition Date				Ownership Interest				Sq Feet (in thousands) /# of units				Occupancy
Multifamily:
Kirkland Crossing			1				Aurora, IL				Dec, 2017				100	%			266 units				95	%
Tacara Steiner Ranch			1				Austin, TX				June, 2018				100	%			246 units				94	%
Brookson Flats			1				Huntersville, NC				June, 2021				100	%			296 units				94	%
Signature at Hartwell			1				Seneca, SC				Nov, 2021				96.5	%			185 units				100	%
The Reserve at Stonebridge Ranch			1				McKinney, TX				Dec, 2021				100	%			301 units				92	%
Total Multifamily			5																1,294 units				95	%
Industrial:
West Phoenix Industrial			1				Phoenix, AZ				Dec, 2017				100	%			265 sq ft.				100	%
Denver Industrial			3				Golden & Denver, CO				Dec, 2017				100	%			486 sq ft.				93	%
Henderson Interchange			1				Henderson, NV				Dec, 2018				100	%			197 sq ft.				100	%
Globe Street Industrial			1				Moreno Valley, CA				Oct, 2019				100	%			252 sq ft.				100	%
1 National Street			1				Boston, MA				Nov, 2020				100	%			300 sq ft.				100	%
Rittiman West 6 & 7			2				San Antonio, TX				Dec, 2020				100	%			147 sq ft.				100	%
10850 Train Ct.			1				Houston, TX				Dec, 2021				100	%			113 sq ft.				100	%
5501 Mid Cities Pkwy			1				San Antonio, TX				Dec, 2021				100	%			88 sq ft.				100	%
Tampa Lakeland Industrial			3				Tampa, FL				Jan, 2022				100	%			366 sq ft.				100	%
610 Loop—Houston Industrial			5				Houston, TX				Mar, 2022				100	%			709 sq ft.				100	%
Total Industrial			19																2,923 sq ft.				99	%
Retail:
Main Street at Kingwood			1				Houston, TX				Oct, 2018				100	%			199 sq ft.				100	%
Total Retail			1																199 sq ft.				100	%
Office:
Defoor Hills			1				Atlanta, GA				June, 2018				100	%			91 sq ft.				100	%
East Sego Lily			1				Salt Lake City, UT				May, 2019				100	%			149 sq ft.				99	%
Perimeter’s Edge			1				Raleigh, NC				Sept, 2021				100	%			85 sq ft.				97	%
Total Office			3																325 sq ft.				99	%
Healthcare:
9725 Datapoint			1				San Antonio, TX				Dec, 2019				100	%			205 sq ft.				100	%
Locust Grove			1				Atlanta, GA				Nov, 2020				100	%			40 sq ft.				100	%
Linden Oaks			1				Chicago, IL				Nov, 2020				100	%			43 sq ft.				100	%
2945 Wilderness Place			1				Boulder, CO				Jan, 2021				100	%			31 sq ft.				100	%
Pacific Center			1				San Diego, CA				May, 2021				100	%			92 sq ft.				100	%
Hillcroft Medical Clinic			1				Sugarland, TX				June, 2021				100	%			41 sq ft.				100	%
Buck’s Town Medical Campus I			5				Philadelphia, PA				Sept, 2021				100	%			142 sq ft.				89	%
620 Roseville Parkway			1				Roseville, CA				Oct, 2021				100	%			194 sq ft.				51	%
Buck’s Town Medical Campus II			2				Langhorne, PA				Oct, 2021				100	%			69 sq ft.				83	%
Total Healthcare			14																857 sq ft.				91	%

 

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