0001071336 2011-02-01 2012-01-31 0001071336 nit7:S000028810Member 2011-02-01 2012-01-31 0001071336 nit7:S000032446Member 2011-02-01 2012-01-31 NUVEEN INVESTMENT TRUST III 0001071336 Other 2011-09-30 false 2012-11-15 2012-11-15 2012-01-31 NUVEEN SYMPHONY CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES FUND NUVEEN SYMPHONY FLOATING RATE INCOME FUND SUPPLEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 15, 2012 TO THE PROSPECTUS DATED JANUARY 31, 2012 The following changes will go into effect immediately.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">1.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The third and fourth sentences of the first paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Credit Opportunities FundPrincipal Investment Strategies are deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following sentence: </td></tr></table> The Fund invests both in debt issued by U.S. companies and in U.S. dollar-denominated debt issued by non-U.S. companies that is traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">2.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The following paragraph is inserted after the first paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Credit Opportunities FundPrincipal Investment Strategies: </td></tr></table> The Fund may utilize the following derivatives: options; futures contracts; options on futures contracts; swap agreements, including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps; and options on swap agreements. The Fund may use these derivatives in an attempt to manage market risk, credit risk and yield curve risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Funds portfolio or for speculative purposes in an effort to increase the Funds yield or to enhance returns. The use of a derivative is speculative if the Fund is primarily seeking to enhance returns, rather than offset the risk of other positions.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">3.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The sixth sentence of the first paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income FundPrincipal Investment Strategies is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following sentence: </td></tr></table> The Fund invests both in securities issued by U.S. companies and in U.S. dollar-denominated securities issued by non-U.S. companies that are traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">4.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The third paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income FundPrincipal Investment Strategies is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following paragraph: </td></tr></table> The Fund may utilize the following derivatives: options; futures contracts; options on futures contracts; swap agreements, including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps; and options on swap agreements. The Fund may use these derivatives in an attempt to manage market risk, credit risk and yield curve risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Funds portfolio, including the use of interest rate derivatives to convert fixed-rate securities to floating rate securities, or for speculative purposes in an effort to increase the Funds yield or to enhance returns. The use of a derivative is speculative if the Fund is primarily seeking to enhance returns, rather than offset the risk of other positions.   NUVEEN SYMPHONY CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES FUND NUVEEN SYMPHONY FLOATING RATE INCOME FUND SUPPLEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 15, 2012 TO THE PROSPECTUS DATED JANUARY 31, 2012 The following changes will go into effect immediately.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">1.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The third and fourth sentences of the first paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Credit Opportunities FundPrincipal Investment Strategies are deleted in their entirety and replaced with the following sentence: </td></tr></table> The Fund invests both in debt issued by U.S. companies and in U.S. dollar-denominated debt issued by non-U.S. companies that is traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">2.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The following paragraph is inserted after the first paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Credit Opportunities FundPrincipal Investment Strategies: </td></tr></table> The Fund may utilize the following derivatives: options; futures contracts; options on futures contracts; swap agreements, including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps; and options on swap agreements. The Fund may use these derivatives in an attempt to manage market risk, credit risk and yield curve risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Funds portfolio or for speculative purposes in an effort to increase the Funds yield or to enhance returns. The use of a derivative is speculative if the Fund is primarily seeking to enhance returns, rather than offset the risk of other positions. NUVEEN SYMPHONY CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES FUND NUVEEN SYMPHONY FLOATING RATE INCOME FUND SUPPLEMENT DATED NOVEMBER 15, 2012 TO THE PROSPECTUS DATED JANUARY 31, 2012 The following changes will go into effect immediately.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">3.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The sixth sentence of the first paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income FundPrincipal Investment Strategies is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following sentence: </td></tr></table> The Fund invests both in securities issued by U.S. companies and in U.S. dollar-denominated securities issued by non-U.S. companies that are traded over-the-counter or listed on an exchange.   <table style="border-collapse:collapse" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td width="4%"> </td> <td width="5%" valign="top" align="left">4.</td> <td align="left" valign="top">The third paragraph in the section Fund SummariesNuveen Symphony Floating Rate Income FundPrincipal Investment Strategies is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following paragraph: </td></tr></table> The Fund may utilize the following derivatives: options; futures contracts; options on futures contracts; swap agreements, including interest rate swaps, total return swaps, and credit default swaps; and options on swap agreements. The Fund may use these derivatives in an attempt to manage market risk, credit risk and yield curve risk, to manage the effective maturity or duration of securities in the Funds portfolio, including the use of interest rate derivatives to convert fixed-rate securities to floating rate securities, or for speculative purposes in an effort to increase the Funds yield or to enhance returns. The use of a derivative is speculative if the Fund is primarily seeking to enhance returns, rather than offset the risk of other positions.