Nuveen Asset Management, LLC
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
Effective Date: January 1, 2011
I. General Principles
A. Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“Adviser”) is an investment sub-adviser for certain of the Nuveen Funds (the “Funds”) and investment adviser for institutional and other separately managed accounts (collectively, with the Funds, “Accounts”). As such, Accounts may confer upon Adviser complete discretion to vote proxies. It is Adviser’s duty to vote proxies in the best interests of its clients (which may involve affirmatively deciding that voting the proxies may not be in the best interests of certain clients on certain matters1). In voting proxies, Adviser also seeks to enhance total investment return for its clients.
B. If Adviser contracts with another investment adviser to act as a sub-adviser for an Account, Adviser may delegate proxy voting responsibility to the sub-adviser. Where Adviser has delegated proxy voting responsibility, the sub-adviser will be responsible for developing and adhering to its own proxy voting policies, subject to oversight by Adviser.
C. Adviser’s Investment Policy Committee (“IPC”), comprised of the firm’s most senior investment professionals, is charged with oversight of the proxy voting policies and procedures. The IPC is responsible for (1) approving the proxy voting policies and procedures, and (2) oversight of the activities of Adviser’s Proxy Voting Committee (“PVC”). The PVC is responsible for providing an administrative framework to facilitate and monitor Adviser’s exercise of its fiduciary duty to vote client proxies and fulfill the obligations of reporting and recordkeeping under the federal securities laws.
II. Policies
The IPC, after reviewing and concluding that such policies are reasonably designed to vote proxies in the best interests of clients, has approved and adopted the proxy voting policies of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. ("ISS"), a leading national provider of proxy voting administrative and research services. As a result, such policies set forth Adviser’s positions on recurring proxy issues and criteria for addressing non-recurring issues. These policies are reviewed periodically by ISS, and therefore are subject to change. Even though it has adopted ISS policies, Adviser maintains the fiduciary responsibility for all proxy voting decisions.
| 1 | Adviser may not vote proxies associated with the securities of any issuer if as a result of voting, subsequent purchases or sales of such securities would be blocked. However, Adviser may decide, on an individual security basis that it is in the best interests of its clients to vote the proxy associated with such a security, taking into account the loss of liquidity. In addition, Adviser may not to vote proxies where the voting would in Adviser’s judgment result in some other financial, legal, regulatory disability or burden to the client (such as imputing control with respect to the issuer) or subject to resolution of any conflict of interest as provided herein, to Adviser. |
III. Procedures
A. Supervision of Proxy Voting Service. The PVC shall supervise the relationship with Adviser’s proxy voting service, ISS. ISS apprises Adviser of shareholder meeting dates, provides research on proxy proposals and voting recommendations, and casts the actual proxy votes. ISS also serves as Adviser’s proxy voting record keeper and generates reports on how proxies were voted.
B. Conflicts of Interest.
| 1. | The following relationships or circumstances may give rise to conflicts of interest:2 |
| a. | The issuer or proxy proponent (e.g., a special interest group) is Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm and affiliate of Adviser (“MDP”), or a company that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with MDP. |
| b. | The issuer is an entity in which an executive officer of Adviser or a spouse or domestic partner of any such executive officer is or was (within the past three years of the proxy vote) an executive officer or director. |
| c. | The issuer is a registered or unregistered fund for which Adviser or another Nuveen adviser serves as investment adviser or sub-adviser. |
| d. | Any other circumstances that Adviser is aware of where Adviser’s duty to serve its clients’ interests, typically referred to as its “duty of loyalty,” could be materially compromised. |
| 2. | Adviser will vote proxies in the best interest of its clients regardless of such real or perceived conflicts of interest. By adopting ISS policies, Adviser believes the risk related to conflicts will be minimized. |
| 3. | To further minimize this risk, the IPC will review ISS’ conflict avoidance policy at least annually to ensure that it adequately addresses both the actual and perceived conflicts of interest the proxy voting service may face. |
| 2 | A conflict of interest shall not be considered material for the purposes of these Policies and Procedures in respect of a specific vote or circumstance if the matter to be voted on relates to a restructuring of the terms of existing securities or the issuance of new securities or a similar matter arising out of the holding of securities, other than common equity, in the context of a bankruptcy or threatened bankruptcy of the issuer, even if a conflict described in III.B.1a.-d is present. |
| 4. | In the event that ISS faces a material conflict of interest with respect to a specific vote, the PVC shall direct ISS how to vote. The PVC shall receive voting direction from the Head of Research, who will seek voting direction from appropriate investment personnel. Before doing so, however, the PVC will confirm that Adviser faces no material conflicts of its own with respect to the specific proxy vote. |
| 5. | If the PVC concludes that a material conflict does exist, it will recommend to the IPC a course of action designed to address the conflict. Such actions could include, but are not limited to: |
| a. | Obtaining instructions from the affected client(s) on how to vote the proxy; |
| b. | Disclosing the conflict to the affected client(s) and seeking their consent to permit Adviser to vote the proxy; |
| c. | Voting in proportion to the other shareholders; |
| d. | Recusing an IPC member from all discussion or consideration of the matter, if the material conflict is due to such person’s actual or potential conflict of interest; or |
| e. | Following the recommendation of a different independent third party. |
| 6. | In addition to all of the above-mentioned and other conflicts, members of the IPC and the PVC must notify Adviser’s Chief Compliance Officer of any direct, indirect or perceived improper influence exerted by any employee, officer or director within the MDP affiliate or Fund complex with regard to how Adviser should vote proxies. The Chief Compliance Officer will investigate the allegations and will report the findings to Adviser’s President and the General Counsel. If it is determined that improper influence was attempted, appropriate action shall be taken. Such appropriate action may include disciplinary action, notification of the appropriate senior managers within the MDP affiliate, or notification of the appropriate regulatory authorities. In all cases, the IPC shall not consider any improper influence in determining how to vote proxies, and will vote in the best interests of clients. |
C. Proxy Vote Override. From time to time, a portfolio manager of an Account (a “Portfolio Manager”) may initiate action to override the ISS recommendation for a particular vote. Any such override by a NAM Portfolio Manager (but not a sub-adviser Portfolio Manager) shall be reviewed by Adviser’s Legal Department for material conflicts. If the Legal Department determines that no material conflicts exist, the approval of one investment professional on the IPC or the Head of Equity Research shall authorize the override. If a material conflict exists the
conflict and, ultimately, the override recommendation will be addressed pursuant to the procedures described above under “Conflicts of Interest.”
D. Securities Lending.
| 1. | In order to generate incremental revenue, some clients may participate in a securities lending program. If a client has elected to participate in the lending program then it will not have the right to vote the proxies of any securities that are on loan as of the shareholder meeting record date. A client, or a Portfolio Manager, may place restrictions on loaning securities and/or recall a security on loan at any time. Such actions must be affected prior to the record date for a meeting if the purpose for the restriction or recall is to secure the vote. |
| 2. | Portfolio Managers and/or analysts who become aware of upcoming proxy issues relating to any securities in portfolios they manage, or issuers they follow, will consider the desirability of recalling the affected securities that are on loan or restricting the affected securities prior to the record date for the matter. If the proxy issue is determined to be material, and the determination is made prior to the shareholder meeting record date the Portfolio Manager(s) will contact the Securities Lending Agent to recall securities on loan or restrict the loaning of any security held in any portfolio they manage, if they determine that it is in the best interest of shareholders to do so. Training regarding the process to recall securities on loan or restrict the loaning of securities is given to all Portfolio Managers and analysts. |
E. Proxy Voting for ERISA Clients. If a proxy voting issue arises for an ERISA client, Adviser is prohibited from voting shares with respect to any issue advanced by a party in interest of the ERISA client.
F. Proxy Voting Records. As required by Rule 204-2 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Adviser shall make and retain five types of records relating to proxy voting; (a) proxy voting policies and procedures; (b) proxy statements received for client and fund securities; (c) records of votes cast on behalf of clients and funds; (d) records of written requests for proxy voting information and written responses from the Adviser to either a written or oral request; and (e) any documents prepared by the adviser that were material to making a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for the decision. Adviser may rely on ISS to make and retain on Adviser’s behalf records pertaining to the rule.
G. Fund of Funds Provision. In instances where Adviser provides investment advice to a fund of funds that acquires shares of affiliated funds or three percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of an unaffiliated fund, the acquiring fund shall vote the shares in the same proportion as the vote of all other shareholders of the acquired fund. If compliance with this policy results in a vote of any shares in a manner different than the ISS
recommendation, such vote will not require compliance with the Proxy Vote Override procedures set forth above.
H. Legacy Securities. To the extent that Adviser receives proxies for securities that are transferred into an Account’s portfolio that were not recommended or selected by Adviser and are sold or expected to be sold promptly in an orderly manner (“legacy securities”), Adviser will generally instruct ISS to refrain from voting such proxies. In such circumstances, since legacy securities are expected to be sold promptly, voting proxies on such securities would not further Adviser’s interest in maximizing the value of client investments. Adviser may agree to an institutional Account’s special request to vote a legacy security proxy, and would instruct ISS to vote such proxy in accordance with its guidelines.
I. Review and Reports.
| 1. | The PVC shall maintain a review schedule. The schedule shall include reviews for the proxy voting policy (including the policies of any sub-adviser), the proxy voting record, account maintenance, and other reviews as deemed appropriate by the PVC. The PVC shall review the schedule at least annually. |
| 2. | The PVC will report to the IPC with respect to all identified conflicts and how they were addressed. These reports will include all Accounts, including those that are sub-advised. With respect to the review of votes cast on behalf of investments by the Funds, such review will also be reported to the Board of Directors of the Funds at each of their regularly scheduled meetings. Adviser also shall provide the Funds that it sub-advises with information necessary for preparing Form N-PX. |
K. Vote Disclosure to Clients. Adviser’s institutional and separately managed account clients can contact their relationship manager for more information on Adviser’s policies and the proxy voting record for their account. The information available includes name of issuer, ticker/CUSIP, shareholder meeting date, description of item and Adviser’s vote.
IV. Policy Owner
IPC
V. Responsible Parties
IPC
PVC
ADV Review Team
Last Amended 1/1/11