SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
OCTOBER 1, 2011
TIAA-CREF LIFECYCLE RETIREMENT INCOME FUND
of the TIAA-CREF Funds
Class Ticker: Institutional TLRIX Retirement TLIRX Retail TLRRX Premier TPILX
Before you invest, you may want to review the Funds prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Funds prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.tiaa-cref.org/lc_pro. You can also get this information at no cost by calling 800 223-1200 or by sending an e-mail request to disclosure@tiaa-cref.org. The Funds prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (SAI), each dated October 1, 2011, as subsequently supplemented, and the sections of the Funds shareholder reports dated September 30, 2010 and May 31, 2011 from Portfolio of Investments through Notes to Financial Statements, are incorporated into this Summary Prospectus by reference and may be obtained free of charge at the website, phone number or e-mail address noted above.
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund seeks high total return over time primarily through income, with a secondary emphasis on capital appreciation.
FEES AND EXPENSES
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund.
SHAREHOLDER FEES (deducted directly from gross amount of transaction)
Retail Class | Retirement | Premier | Institutional | |||||
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (percentage of offering price) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||||
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||||
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Reinvested Dividends and Other Distributions | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||||
Redemption or Exchange Fee | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||||
Account Maintenance Fee (annual fee on accounts under $2,000) | $15 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund ■ Summary Prospectus 1
ANNUAL FUND OPERATING EXPENSES (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
|
| Retail Class |
| Retirement Class |
| Premier Class |
| Institutional Class |
|
Management Fees | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.10% | |||||
Distribution (Rule 12b-1) Fees1 | 0.12% | 0.05% | 0.15% | | |||||
Other Expenses | 0.17% | 0.38% | 0.14% | 0.13% | |||||
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses2 | 0.38% | 0.38% | 0.38% | 0.38% | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses | 0.77% | 0.91% | 0.77% | 0.61% | |||||
Waivers and Expense Reimbursements3,4 | 0.14% | 0.28% | 0.24% | 0.23% | |||||
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement | 0.63% |
| 0.63% |
| 0.53% |
| 0.38% |
| |
1 | The Retail Class of the Fund has adopted a Distribution (12b-1) Plan that reimburses the Funds distributor, Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc. (TPIS), for its expenses in providing distribution, promotional and/or shareholder services to Retail Class shares at the annual rate of up to 0.25% of average daily net assets attributable to Retail Class shares. The Retirement Class of the Fund has adopted a Distribution (12b-1) Plan that reimburses the Funds distributor, TPIS, for providing distribution, promotional and/or shareholder services to the Retirement Class shares at the annual rate of 0.05% of average daily net assets attributable to Retirement Class shares. In addition, TPIS has contractually agreed not to seek payment of this fee under the Plan for Retirement Class shares through September 30, 2012, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. | ||||||||
2 | Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are the Funds proportionate amount of the expenses of any investment companies or pools in which it invests. These expenses are not paid directly by Fund shareholders. Instead, Fund shareholders bear these expenses indirectly because they reduce Fund performance. Because Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses are included in the chart above, the Funds operating expenses here will not correlate with the expenses included in the Financial Highlights in this Prospectus and the Funds May 31, 2011 annual report. | ||||||||
3 | Under the Funds expense reimbursement arrangements, the Funds investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, Inc. (Advisors), has contractually agreed to reimburse the Fund for any Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses and extraordinary expenses) that exceed: (i) 0.25% of average daily net assets for Retail Class shares; (ii) 0.25% of average daily net assets for Retirement Class shares; (iii) 0.15% of average daily net assets for Premier Class shares; and (iv) 0.00% of average daily net assets for Institutional Class shares of the Fund. These expense reimbursement arrangements will continue through at least September 30, 2012, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. | ||||||||
4 | Advisors has contractually agreed to waive the Funds Management Fees equal to, on an annual basis, 0.10%. This waiver will remain in effect through September 30, 2012, unless changed with approval of the Board of Trustees. |
Example
This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in shares of 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 redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Funds operating expenses, before expense reimbursements, remain the same. The example assumes that the Funds fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement will remain in place through September 30, 2012 but that there will be no waiver or expense reimbursement agreement in effect thereafter.
2 Summary Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
| Retail Class |
| Retirement Class |
| Premier Class |
| Institutional Class |
| ||||
1 Year | $ | 64 | $ | 64 | $ | 54 | $ | 39 | ||||
3 Years | $ | 232 | $ | 262 | $ | 222 | $ | 172 | ||||
5 Years | $ | 414 | $ | 476 | $ | 404 | $ | 317 | ||||
10 Years | $ | 941 |
| $ | 1,094 |
| $ | 932 |
| $ | 740 |
|
PORTFOLIO TURNOVER
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or turns over 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 Funds performance. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2010, the Funds portfolio turnover rate was 33% of the average value of its portfolio. During the eight-month fiscal period ended May 31, 2011, the Funds portfolio turnover rate was 7% (not annualized) of the average value of its portfolio.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
The Fund is a fund of funds that invests in Institutional Class shares of other funds of the TIAA-CREF Funds and potentially in other investment pools or investment products (collectively, the Underlying Funds). The Fund invests in Underlying Funds according to a relatively stable asset allocation strategy that will not gradually adjust over time and is designed for investors who are already in or entering retirement (i.e., have already passed their retirement year).
The Fund expects to allocate approximately 40.00% of its assets to equity Underlying Funds and 60.00% of its assets to fixed-income Underlying Funds. These allocations represent targets for equity and fixed-income asset classes. Target allocations may be changed and actual allocations may vary up to 10% from the targets. Within the equity and fixed-income asset classes, the Fund allocates its investments to particular market sectors (U.S. equity, international equity, fixed-income, short-term fixed-income and inflation-protected assets) represented by various Underlying Funds. These market sector allocations may vary by up to 10% from the Funds target market sector allocations. The Funds current target market sector allocations for June 30, 2012, which may change, are approximately as follows: U.S. Equity: 30.00%; International Equity: 10.00%; Fixed-Income: 40.00%; Short-Term Fixed-Income: 10.00%; and Inflation-Protected Assets: 10.00%.
The Funds target market sector allocations to Underlying Funds may include the TIAA-CREF Growth & Income Fund, Large-Cap Growth Fund, Large-Cap Value Fund, Mid-Cap Growth Fund, Mid-Cap Value Fund, Small-Cap
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund ■ Summary Prospectus 3
Equity Fund, Enhanced Large-Cap Growth Index Fund and Enhanced Large-Cap Value Index Fund (U.S. Equity); International Equity Fund, Enhanced International Equity Index Fund and Emerging Markets Equity Fund (International Equity); Bond Fund, Bond Plus Fund and High-Yield Fund (Fixed-Income); Short-Term Bond Fund and Money Market Fund (Short-Term Fixed-Income); and Inflation-Linked Bond Fund (Inflation-Protected Assets).
Additional or replacement Underlying Funds for each market sector, as well as additional or replacement market sectors, may be included when making future allocations if Advisors believes that such Underlying Funds and/or market sectors are appropriate in light of the Funds desired levels of risk and potential return at the particular time. The Funds portfolio management team may also add a new market sector if it believes that will help to achieve the Funds investment objective. The relative allocations among Underlying Funds within a market sector may be changed at any time without notice to shareholders. If 10% or more of a Funds assets are expected to be invested in any Underlying Fund or market sectors not listed above, shareholders will receive prior notice of such change. Investors should note that the Fund has a significant level of equity exposure and this exposure could cause fluctuation in the value of the Fund depending on the performance of the equity markets generally.
The Funds asset class allocations, market sector allocations within each asset class, and Underlying Fund allocations within each market sector, as of June 30, 2011, are listed in the chart below. These allocations will change over time.
Asset Class | Allocation | Market Sector | Allocation | Underlying Funds | Allocation | ||
EQUITY | 40.94% | U.S. Equity | 30.64% | · Large-Cap Growth Fund | 5.72% | ||
· Enhanced Large-Cap Growth Index Fund | 5.67% | ||||||
· Enhanced Large-Cap Value Index Fund | 5.55% | ||||||
· Large-Cap Value Fund | 5.54% | ||||||
· Growth & Income Fund | 4.77% | ||||||
· Small-Cap Equity Fund | 2.55% | ||||||
· Mid-Cap Value Fund | 0.44% | ||||||
· Mid-Cap Growth Fund | 0.40% | ||||||
International Equity | 10.30% | · International Equity Fund | 3.83% | ||||
· Enhanced International Equity Index Fund | 3.81% | ||||||
· Emerging Markets Equity Fund | 2.66% | ||||||
FIXED-INCOME | 59.06% | Fixed-Income | 39.37% | · Bond Fund | 38.38% | ||
· High-Yield Fund | 0.50% | ||||||
· Bond Plus Fund | 0.49% | ||||||
Short-Term
| 9.86% | · Short-Term Bond Fund |
| ||||
Inflation-Protected | 9.83% | · Inflation-Linked Bond Fund | 9.83% | ||||
Total | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
4 Summary Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT RISKS
You could lose money over short or long periods by investing in this Fund. Accordingly, an investment in the Fund or the Underlying Funds typically is subject to the following principal investment risks:
· Asset Allocation RiskThe risk that the Fund may not achieve its target allocations. In addition, there is the risk that the asset allocations may not achieve the desired risk-return characteristic or that the selection of Underlying Funds and the allocations among them will result in the Fund underperforming other similar funds or cause an investor to lose money.
· Equity Investments RiskA significant portion of the assets of the Fund is allocated to Underlying Funds investing primarily in equity investments. Therefore, the value of the Fund may increase or decrease as a result of its indirect interest in equity investments. Equity investments generally have greater price volatility than fixed income instruments.
· Market RiskThe risk that market prices of investments held by an Underlying Fund may fall rapidly or unpredictably due to a variety of factors, including changing economic, political or market conditions. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry or sector of the economy, or it may affect the market as a whole.
· Issuer Risk (often called Financial Risk)The risk that the issuers earnings prospects and overall financial position will deteriorate, causing a decline in the value of its financial instruments over short or extended periods of time.
· Style RiskThe risk that use of a particular investing style (such as growth or value investing) may fall out of favor in the marketplace for various periods of time and result in underperformance relative to the broader market sector or significant declines in the value of an Underlying Funds portfolio securities.
· Risks of Growth InvestingThe risks that growth stocks can perform differently from the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Growth stocks can also be more volatile, and experience sharper price fluctuations, than other stocks.
· Risks of Value InvestingThe risks that value stocks can perform differently from the market as a whole and other types of stocks. Value stocks can also continue to be undervalued by the market for long periods of time.
· Large-Cap RiskThe risk that large-capitalization companies are more mature and may grow more slowly than the economy as a whole and tend to go in and out of favor based on market and economic conditions.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund ■ Summary Prospectus 5
· Mid-Cap RiskThe risk that the stocks of mid-capitalization companies often have greater price volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity than the stocks of larger, more established companies.
· Small-Cap RiskThe risk that the stocks of small-capitalization companies often experience greater price volatility than large- or mid-sized companies because small-cap companies are often newer or less established than larger companies and are likely to have more limited resources, products and markets. Securities of small-cap companies are often less liquid than securities of larger companies as a result of there being a smaller market for their securities.
· Foreign Investment RiskForeign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market due to increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, currency, market or economic developments and can result in greater price volatility and perform differently from financial instruments of U.S. issuers. This risk may be heightened in emerging or developing markets. Foreign investments may also be less liquid and more difficult to value than investments in U.S. issuers.
· Emerging Markets RiskThe risk of foreign investment often increases in countries with emerging markets. For example, these countries may have more unstable governments than developed countries, and their economies may be based on only a few industries. Because their financial markets may be very small, share prices of financial instruments in emerging market countries may be volatile and difficult to determine. Financial instruments of issuers in these countries may be less liquid than those of issuers in more developed countries. In addition, foreign investors such as the Fund are subject to a variety of special restrictions in many such countries.
· Enhanced Index RiskCertain Underlying Funds that are enhanced index funds may also underperform their benchmark indices due to differences between the investments of the Underlying Funds and their respective benchmark indices.
· Quantitative Analysis RiskThe risk that stocks selected by the Funds or an Underlying Funds investment adviser using quantitative modeling and analysis could perform differently from the market as a whole.
· Fixed-Income Investments RiskA significant portion of the assets of the Fund is allocated to Underlying Funds investing primarily in fixed-income investments. Therefore, the value of the Fund may increase or decrease as a result of its indirect interest in fixed-income investments.
· Income Volatility RiskThe risk that the level of current income from a portfolio of fixed-income investments declines in certain interest rate environments.
6 Summary Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund
· Credit Risk (a type of Issuer Risk)The risk that the issuer of bonds may not be able or willing to meet interest or principal payments when the bonds become due.
· Market Volatility, Liquidity and Valuation Risk (types of Market Risk)The risk that volatile or dramatic reductions in trading activity make it difficult for an Underlying Fund to properly value its investments and that an Underlying Fund may not be able to purchase or sell an investment at an attractive price, if at all.
· Call RiskThe risk that, during periods of falling interest rates, an issuer may call (or repay) a fixed-income security prior to maturity, resulting in a decline in an Underlying Funds income.
· Interest Rate Risk (a type of Market Risk)The risk that increases in interest rates can cause the prices of fixed-income investments to decline. This risk is heightened to the extent the Fund invests in longer duration fixed-income investments.
· Prepayment RiskThe risk that during periods of falling interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans sooner than expected, forcing an Underlying Fund to reinvest the unanticipated proceeds at lower interest rates and resulting in a decline in income.
· Extension RiskThe risk that during periods of rising interest rates, borrowers may pay off their mortgage loans later than expected, preventing an Underlying Fund from reinvesting principal proceeds at higher interest rates and resulting in less income than potentially available.
· Special Risks for Inflation-Indexed BondsThe risk that interest payments on, or market values of, inflation-indexed investments decline because of a decline in inflation (or deflation) or changes in investors and/or the markets inflation expectations. In addition, inflation indices may not reflect the true rate of inflation.
· Active Management RiskThe risk that the strategy, investment selection or trading execution of Advisors could cause the Fund or an Underlying Fund to underperform its benchmark index or mutual funds with similar investment objectives.
· Underlying Fund RiskThe ability of the Fund to achieve its investment objective will depend upon the ability of the Underlying Funds to achieve their investment objectives. There can be no guarantee that any Underlying Fund will achieve its investment objective.
· Derivatives RiskThe risks associated with investing in derivatives may be different and greater than the risks associated with directly investing in the underlying securities and other instruments. An Underlying Fund may use futures and options, and an Underlying Fund may also use more complex derivatives such as swaps that might present liquidity, credit and
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund ■ Summary Prospectus 7
counterparty risk. When investing in derivatives, the Fund may lose more than the principal amount invested.
There can be no assurances that the Fund or an Underlying Fund's will achieve its investment objective. You should not consider the Fund to be a complete investment program. Please see the non-summary portion of the prospectus for more detailed information about the risks described above.
PAST PERFORMANCE
The following chart and table help illustrate some of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Funds performance from year to year. The bar chart shows the annual total returns of the Retirement Class of the Fund, before taxes, in each full calendar year since inception of the class. Because the expenses vary across share classes, the performance of the Retirement Class will vary from the other share classes. Below the bar chart are the best and worst returns for a calendar quarter since inception of the Retirement Class. The performance table following the bar chart shows the Funds average annual total returns for the Retirement, Institutional, Retail and Premier Classes over the one-year, five-year, ten-year and since-inception periods (where applicable) ended December 31, 2010, and how those returns compare to those of a broad-based securities market index and a composite index based on the Funds target allocations. After-tax performance is shown only for the Retirement Class shares, and after-tax returns for the other Classes of shares will vary from the after-tax returns presented for Retirement Class shares.
The returns shown below reflect previous agreements by the Funds investment adviser to waive or reimburse the Fund and certain Underlying Funds for certain fees and expenses. Without these waivers and reimbursements, the returns of the Fund would have been lower. Past performance of the Fund (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how it will perform in the future. The indices listed below are unmanaged, and you cannot invest directly in an index. The returns for the indices reflect no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes.
For current performance information of each share class, including performance to the most recent month-end, please visit www.tiaa-cref.org.
8 Summary Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund
ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS FOR THE RETIREMENT CLASS SHARES (%)
Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund
The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended on June 30, 2011, was 4.11%.
Best quarter: 8.88%, for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. Worst quarter: -7.81%, for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS
For the Periods Ended December 31, 2010
| Inception Date |
| One Year |
|
| Since Inception |
|
Retirement Class | 11/30/07 | $ | |||||
Return Before Taxes | 10.44 | % | 1.84 | % | |||
Return After Taxes on Distributions | 9.59 | % | 0.87 | % | |||
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of | |||||||
Fund Shares | 6.87 | % | 1.02 | % | |||
Institutional Class | 11/30/07 | ||||||
Return Before Taxes | 10.69 | % | 2.09 | % | |||
Retail Class | 11/30/07 | ||||||
Return Before Taxes | 10.53 | % | 2.02 | % | |||
Premier Class | 9/30/09 | ||||||
Return Before Taxes |
|
| 10.54 | % |
| 1.88 | %* |
Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
|
| 6.54 | % |
| 5.83 | % |
Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund Composite Index |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(reflects no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes) |
|
| 10.01 | % |
| 2.60 | % |
Current performance of the Funds shares may be higher or lower than that shown above.
* The performance shown for the Premier Class that is prior to its inception date is based on performance of the Funds Retirement Class. The performance for these periods has not been restated to reflect lower expenses of the Premier Class.
The performance above is calculated from the Retirement Class inception date.
As of the close of business on December 31, 2010, the Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund Composite Index consisted of: 40.0% Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; 30.0% Russell 3000® Index; 10.0% MSCI EAFE Index; 10.0% Barclays Capital U.S. 15 Year Government/Credit Bond Index; and
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund ■ Summary Prospectus 9
10.0% Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities Index (Series-L). The Funds composite benchmark, the components that make up a composite benchmark and the method of calculating a composite benchmarks performance may vary over time.
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect during the periods shown and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investors tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(a), 401(k) or 403(b) plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). After-tax returns are shown for only one class and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser. The Funds investment adviser is Teachers Advisors, Inc.
Portfolio Managers. The following persons manage the Fund on a day-to-day basis:
Name: | Hans Erickson, CFA | John Cunniff, CFA | Pablo Mitchell |
Title: | Managing Director | Managing Director | Director |
Experience on Fund: | since 2007 | since 2007 | since 2007 |
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Retail Class shares are available for purchase through certain financial intermediaries or by contacting the Fund directly at 800 223-1200 or www.tiaa-cref.org. Retirement Class and Premier Class shares are generally available for purchase through employee benefit plans or other types of savings plans or accounts. Institutional Class shares are available for purchase directly from the Fund by certain eligible investors or through financial intermediaries.
· The minimum initial investment for Retail Class shares is $2,000 for Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and Coverdell accounts and $2,500 for all other account types. Subsequent investments for all account types must be at least $100.
· There is no minimum initial or subsequent investment for Retirement Class shares. Retirement Class shares are primarily offered through employer-sponsored employee benefit plans.
· There is a $100 million aggregate plan size and $1 million initial minimum plan-level investment requirement for Premier Class shares. Premier Class shares are primarily offered through certain financial intermediaries and employer-sponsored employee benefit plans.
· The minimum initial investment is $2 million and the minimum subsequent investment is $1,000 for Institutional Class shares, unless an investor purchases shares by or through financial intermediaries that have entered into an appropriate agreement with the Fund or its affiliates.
Redeeming Shares. You can redeem (sell) your shares of the Fund at any time. If your shares are held through a third party, please contact that person
10 Summary Prospectus ■ TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund
for applicable redemption requirements. If your shares are held directly with the Fund, contact the Fund directly in writing or by telephone.
Exchanging Shares. You can exchange shares of the Fund for the same class of shares of any other funds offered by the TIAA-CREF Funds at any time, subject to the limitations described in the Market Timing/Excessive Trading Policy section in the statutory prospectus or any limitations imposed by a third party when shares are held through a third party.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund intends to make distributions to shareholders that may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions made to tax-exempt shareholders or shareholders who hold Fund shares in a tax-deferred account are generally not subject to income tax in the current year, but redemptions made from tax-deferred accounts may be subject to income tax.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER
FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY COMPENSATION
If you purchase the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and/or its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediarys website for more information.
TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Retirement Income Fund ■ Summary Prospectus 11
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