0001041673 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member nit2:C000072944Member 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member nit2:C000072945Member 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member nit2:C000072947Member 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member rr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsMember nit2:C000072944Member 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member rr:AfterTaxesOnDistributionsAndSalesMember nit2:C000072944Member 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member nit2:RussellOneThousandGrowthIndexMember 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member nit2:LipperLongShortEquityClassificationAverageMember 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 0001041673 nit2:S000024570Member nit2:RussellOneThousandIndexMember 2012-06-18 2013-06-17 pure iso4217:USD 2013-06-17 Other 2012-07-31 NUVEEN INVESTMENT TRUST II 0001041673 false 2013-06-17 2013-06-17 Nuveen Equity Long/Short Fund Investment Objective The investment objective of the Fund is long-term capital appreciation with low correlation to the U.S. equity market. Fees and Expenses of the Fund This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in &#8220;What Share Classes We Offer&#8221; on page 14 of the Fund&#8217;s prospectus, &#8220;How to Reduce Your Sales Charge&#8221; on page 15 of the prospectus and &#8220;Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares&#8221; on page S-46 of the Fund&#8217;s statement of additional information. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. 50000 <b>Shareholder Fees </b><br/>(fees paid directly from your investment) 0.0575 0 0 0 0.01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 15 15 <b>Annual Fund Operating Expenses </b><br/>(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) 0.0128 0.0128 0.0128 0.0025 0.01 0 0.0169 0.0169 0.0169 0.0042 0.0042 0.0042 0.0519 0.0519 0.0599 0.073 0.073 0.081 0.0883 0.0958 0.0938 -0.0509 -0.0591 -0.0509 0.0374 0.0449 0.0347 July 31, 2016 The contingent deferred sales charge on Class C shares applies only to redemptions within 12 months of purchase. Management Fees and Remainder of Other Expenses have been restated to reflect current contractual fees. <b>Example</b> The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund&#8217;s operating expenses remain the same, and the contractual fee waivers currently in place are not renewed beyond July 31, 2016. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: <b>Redemption</b> <b>No Redemption</b> 930 450 350 1653 1357 1065 3281 3180 2901 6927 7146 6944 930 450 350 1653 1357 1065 3281 3180 2901 6927 7146 6944 <b>Portfolio Turnover</b> The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or &#8220;turns over&#8221; its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund&#8217;s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate was 67% of the average value of its portfolio. Going forward, however, because the sub-adviser may adjust the Fund&#8217;s long and short positions from time to time in an attempt to maintain the desired exposure to the stock market, the Fund&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate may exceed 100%. 0.67 Principal Investment Strategies The Fund pursues its investment objective by establishing long and short positions in a diversified portfolio of equity securities. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes (including assets acquired through the Fund&#8217;s short sales) in equity securities. Substantially all of the equity securities in which the Fund takes long and short positions will be included in the Fund&#8217;s benchmark index, the Russell 1000 Index, at the time the position is taken. As a result, the Fund will invest significantly in large capitalization companies.<br/><br/>When the Fund takes a long position in a security, it purchases the security outright. When the Fund takes a short position, it sells a security that the Fund does not own at the current market price and delivers to the buyer a security that the Fund has borrowed. The Fund is obligated to return the security to the lender, which is accomplished by a later purchase of the security by the Fund. Until the borrowed security is replaced, the Fund is required to pay to the lender amounts equal to any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. In addition, to borrow the security, the Fund may be required to pay a premium to the lender. The Fund will sell a security short if it expects that it will be able to make this later purchase at a lower price than the price at which it sold the security short. The use of both long and short positions allows the sub-adviser to invest based on both its positive and negative views on individual stocks. The Fund may use all or a portion of the proceeds of its short sales to purchase additional long positions. The Fund intends to generally maintain a net long exposure to the equity market (long market value minus short market value) that is greater than the 0% exposure which a &#8220;market neutral&#8221; fund is designed to provide, but less than 100% exposure provided by a fund that invests only in long positions. This net long exposure is expected to be at least 40% under normal market conditions. The goal is to allow the Fund to benefit from a rising market, although to a lesser extent than a &#8220;long-only&#8221; fund, while still affording some protection from a falling market because of the Fund&#8217;s short positions, which are designed to perform inversely to the market.<br/><br/>The Fund&#8217;s sub-adviser will select securities using an investment process that combines quantitative techniques, fundamental analysis and risk management, with the sub-adviser taking long positions in companies that it has identified as attractive and short positions in companies that it expects to underperform. Securities generally are added to the portfolio as long or short positions based both on security rankings provided by multi-factor quantitative models and on fundamental analysis of the securities. However, the sub-adviser will utilize risk management techniques to establish constraints on the amounts invested in individual securities and sectors. As a result, the sub-adviser may take a long position in a security which receives a low ranking from the quantitative models, in order to maintain a required minimum position in that security. The Fund&#8217;s sub-adviser will generally sell a security if its model ranking declines or fundamental research reveals a deterioration of the company&#8217;s fundamentals.<br/><br/>The Fund may enter into stock index futures contracts to manage cash flows into and out of the Fund. Principal Risks The value of your investment in this Fund will change daily. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund include:<br/><br/><b>Equity Security Risk</b>&#8212;Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular company, industry, or sector of the market.<br/><br/><b>Frequent Trading Risk</b>&#8212;The Fund&#8217;s portfolio turnover rate may exceed 100%. Frequent trading of portfolio securities may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed. Frequent trading may also increase the amount of commissions or mark-ups to broker-dealers that the Fund pays when it buys and sells securities, which may detract from the Fund&#8217;s performance.<br/><br/><b>Futures Contract Risk</b>&#8212;The use of futures contracts involves additional risks and transaction costs, which could leave the Fund in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. Futures contracts may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in futures contracts could have a large impact on performance.<br/><br/><b>Investment Strategy Risk</b>&#8212;Proprietary and third party data and systems are utilized to support decision making for the Fund. Data imprecision, software or other technology malfunctions, programming inaccuracies and similar circumstances may impair the performance of these systems, which may negatively affect Fund performance. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the quantitative models used in managing the Fund will perform as anticipated or enable the Fund to achieve its objective.<br/><br/><b>Large Cap Stock Risk</b>&#8212;To the extent the Fund invests in large capitalization stocks, the Fund may underperform funds that invest primarily in stocks of smaller capitalization companies during periods when the stocks of such companies are in favor.<br/><br/><b>Short Sales Risk</b>&#8212;The Fund will incur a loss as a result of a short sale if the price of the security sold short increases in value between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund purchases the security to replace the borrowed security. In addition, a lender may request, or market conditions may dictate, that securities sold short be returned to the lender on short notice, which may result in the Fund having to buy the securities sold short at an unfavorable price. If this occurs, any anticipated gain to the Fund may be reduced or eliminated or the short sale may result in a loss. In a rising stock market, the Fund&#8217;s short positions may significantly impact the Fund&#8217;s overall performance and cause the Fund to underperform traditional long-only equity funds or to sustain losses, particularly in a sharply rising market. The use of short sales may also cause the Fund to have higher expenses than other funds.<br/><br/>Short sales are speculative transactions and involve special risks, including greater reliance on the sub-adviser&#8217;s ability to accurately anticipate the future value of a security. Because losses on short sales arise from increases in the value of the security sold short, such losses are theoretically unlimited. By contrast, a loss on a long position arises from decreases in the value of the security and is limited by the fact that a security&#8217;s value cannot go below zero.<br/><br/>By investing the proceeds received from selling securities short, the Fund is engaging in a form of leverage. The use of leverage may increase the Fund&#8217;s exposure to long positions and make any change in the Fund&#8217;s net asset value greater than it would be without the use of leverage. This could result in increased volatility of returns. The value of your investment in this Fund will change daily. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Fund Performance The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund&#8217;s performance information prior to March 1, 2013, reflects the Fund&#8217;s performance under the management of a different sub-adviser using investment strategies that differed significantly from those currently in place. The Fund&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling (800) 257-8787. The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund&#8217;s performance from year to year for Class A shares. (800) 257-8787 www.nuveen.com/performance The Fund&#8217;s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. <b>Class A Annual Total Return</b> 0.2009 0.1112 -0.0476 0.1083 The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund&#8217;s performance from year to year for Class A shares. The performance of the other share classes will differ due to their different expense structures. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown. During the four-year period ended December 31, 2012, the Fund&#8217;s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 16.68% and -17.82%, respectively, for the quarters ended June 30, 2009 and September 30, 2011. The table below shows the variability of the Fund&#8217;s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of a broad measure of market performance and an index of funds with similar investment objectives. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.<br/><br/>Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. Performance reflects fee waivers, if any, in effect during the periods presented. If any such waivers were not in place, returns would be reduced. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown. <b>Average Annual Total Returns<br/>for the Periods Ended<br/>December 31, 2012 All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary. 0.0446 0.0313 0.0463 0.0992 0.1111 0.1526 0.0528 0.1642 0.0794 0.0729 0.0676 0.0871 0.0982 0.1564 0.074 0.1769 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 2008-12-30 <div style="display:none">~ http://www.nuveen.com/role/ScheduleShareholderFeesNuveenEquityLongShortFund column period compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.nuveen.com/role/ScheduleAnnualFundOperatingExpensesNuveenEquityLongShortFund column period compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.nuveen.com/role/ScheduleAnnualTotalReturnsNuveenEquityLongShortFundBarChart column period compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.nuveen.com/role/ScheduleAverageAnnualTotalReturnsTransposedNuveenEquityLongShortFund column period compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.nuveen.com/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleNuveenEquityLongShortFund column period compact * ~</div> <div style="display:none">~ http://www.nuveen.com/role/ScheduleExpenseExampleNoRedemptionNuveenEquityLongShortFund column period compact * ~</div> year-to-date total return 2013-03-31 0.0916 highest 2009-06-30 0.1668 lowest 2011-09-30 -0.1782 The contingent deferred sales charge on Class C shares applies only to redemptions within 12 months of purchase. Fee applies to the following types of accounts under $1,000 held directly with the Fund: individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Coverdell Education Savings Accounts and accounts established pursuant to the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) or Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA). Management Fees and Remainder of Other Expenses have been restated to reflect current contractual fees. Amounts have been restated and are estimated based on current prime brokerage arrangements and the portfolio at April 30, 2013. The Fund's investment adviser has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses through July 31, 2016 so that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding 12b-1 distribution and/or service fees, interest expenses, taxes, acquired fund fees and expenses, fees incurred in acquiring and disposing of portfolio securities (including prime broker fees and charges on short sales), dividend expense on securities sold short, and extraordinary expenses) do not exceed 1.40% of the average daily net assets of any class of Fund shares. The expense limitation expiring July 31, 2016 may be terminated or modified prior to that date only with the approval of the Board of Trustees of the Fund. Class A year-to-date total return as of March 31, 2013 was 9.16%. As of March 1, 2013 Nuveen Asset Management, LLC became the Fund's sub-adviser and began managing the Fund using investment strategies that differ from those utilized by the prior sub-adviser. Accordingly, the broad measure of market performance has also been changed from the Russell 1000 Growth Index to the Russell 1000 Index to more accurately reflect the Fund's current investment strategies.