Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE) N-CSRS Certified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number 811-22003

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

Nuveen Investments

333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606

(Address of principal executive offices)  (Zip code)

Gifford R. Zimmerman

Nuveen Investments

333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:   (312) 917-7700                    

Date of fiscal year end:   December 31                       

Date of reporting period:   June 30, 2019                    

Form N-CSR is to be used by management investment companies to file reports with the Commission not later than 10 days after the transmission to stockholders of any report that is required to be transmitted to stockholders under Rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (17 CFR 270.30e-1). The Commission may use the information provided on Form N-CSR in its regulatory, disclosure review, inspection, and policy making roles.

A registrant is required to disclose the information specified by Form N-CSR, and the Commission will make this information public. A registrant is not required to respond to the collection of information contained in Form N-CSR unless the Form displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) control number. Please direct comments concerning the accuracy of the information collection burden estimate and any suggestions for reducing the burden to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549-0609. The OMB has reviewed this collection of information under the clearance requirements of 44 U.S.C. ss.3507.

ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.

Closed-End Funds

30 June 2019

Nuveen

Closed-End Funds

JCE Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Fund’s website (www.nuveen.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically anytime by contacting the financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) through which you hold your Fund shares or, if you are a direct investor, by enrolling at www.nuveen.com/e-reports.

You may elect to receive all future shareholder reports in paper free of charge at any time by contacting your financial intermediary or, if you are a direct investor, (i) by calling 800-257-8787 and selecting option #2 or (ii) by logging into your Investor Center account at www.computershare.com/investor and clicking on “Communication Preferences.” Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account with your financial intermediary or, if you are a direct investor, to all your directly held Nuveen Funds and any other directly held funds within the same group of related investment companies.

Semiannual Report

IMPORTANT DISTRIBUTION NOTICE

for Shareholders of the Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE)

Semiannual Shareholder Report for the period ending June 30, 2019

The Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE) seeks to offer attractive cash flow to its shareholders, by converting the expected long-term total return potential of the Fund’s portfolio of investments into regular quarterly distributions. Following is a discussion of the Managed Distribution Policy the Fund uses to achieve this.

The Fund pays quarterly common share distributions that seek to convert the Fund’s expected long-term total return potential into regular cash flow. As a result, the Fund’s regular common share distributions (presently $0.2500 per share, respectively) may be derived from a variety of sources, including:

• net investment income consisting of regular interest and dividends,

• realized capital gains or,

• possibly, returns of capital representing in certain cases unrealized capital appreciation.

Such distributions are sometimes referred to as “managed distributions.” The Fund seeks to establish a distribution rate that roughly corresponds to the Adviser’s projections of the total return that could reasonably be expected to be generated by the Fund over an extended period of time. The Adviser may consider many factors when making such projections, including, but not limited to, long-term historical returns for the asset classes in which the Fund invests. As portfolio and market conditions change, the distribution amount and distribution rate on the Common Shares under the Fund’s Managed Distribution Policy could change.

When it pays a distribution, the Fund provides holders of its Common Shares a notice of the estimated sources of the Fund’s distributions (i.e., what percentage of the distributions is estimated to constitute ordinary income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains, and/or a non-taxable return of capital) on a year-to-date basis. It does this by posting the notice on its website (www.nuveen.com/cef), and by sending it in written form.

You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund’s investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund’s Managed Distribution Policy. The Fund’s actual financial performance will likely vary from month-to-month and from year-to-year, and there may be extended periods when the distribution rate will exceed the Fund’s actual total returns. The Managed Distribution Policy provides that the Board may amend or terminate the Policy at any time without prior notice to Fund shareholders. There are presently no reasonably foreseeable circumstances that might cause the Fund to terminate its Managed Distribution Policy.

Table of Contents

Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders	4
Portfolio Managers’ Comments	5
Common Share Information	7
Risk Considerations	9
Performance Overview and Holding Summaries	10
Shareholder Meeting Report	12
Portfolio of Investments	13
Statement of Assets and Liabilities	21
Statement of Operations	22
Statement of Changes in Net Assets	23
Financial Highlights	24
Notes to Financial Statements	26
Additional Fund Information	34
Glossary of Terms Used in this Report	35
Reinvest Automatically, Easily and Conveniently	36
Annual Investment Management Agreement Approval Process	37

3

Chairman’s Letter to Shareholders

Dear Shareholders,

The worries weighing on markets at the end of 2018 appeared to dissipate in early 2019 as positive economic and corporate earnings news, more dovish signals from central banks and trade progress boosted investor confidence. However, political noise and trade disputes continue to drive short-term market volatility and weigh on longer-term outlooks. Investors are concerned that increased tariffs and a protracted stalemate between the U.S. and its trading partners could dampen business and consumer sentiment, weakening spending and potentially impacting the global economy. Acknowledging similar concerns, the U.S. Federal Reserve recently lowered its benchmark interest rate 0.25% for the first time in a decade and will stop reducing its bond portfolio sooner than planned to help stimulate the U.S. economy. As the current U.S. economic expansion has reached the10-year mark this summer, it’s important to note that economic expansions don’t die of old age, but mature economic cycles can be more vulnerable to an exogenous shock.

Until a clearer picture on trade emerges, more bouts of market turbulence are likely in the meantime. While the downside risks warrant careful monitoring, we believe the likelihood of a near-term recession remains low. Global economic growth is moderating but still expanding, with demand driven by the historically low unemployment in the U.S., Japan and across Europe. Some central banks have begun to adjust monetary policy to help sustain growth and others continue to emphasize their readiness to act, while China’s authorities remain committed to keeping economic growth rates steady with fiscal and monetary policy.

The opportunity set may be narrower, but we believe there is still scope for gains in this environment. Patience and maintaining perspective can help you weather periodic market volatility. We encourage you to work with your financial advisor to assess short-term market movements in the context of your time horizon, risk tolerance and investment goals. On behalf of the other members of the Nuveen Fund Board, we look forward to continuing to earn your trust in the months and years ahead.

Sincerely,

Terence J. Toth

Chairman of the Board

August 23, 2019

4

Portfolio Managers’ Comments

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE)

The equity portion of the Fund is managed by Intech Investment Management LLC (Intech), an independently managed subsidiary of Janus Henderson Group plc. The portfolio management team is composed of Dr. Adrian Banner, CEO/CIO and Vassilios Papathanakos, PhD. The Fund also employs a call option strategy managed by Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (NAM), an affiliate of Nuveen, LLC. Portfolio managers David A. Friar and Jody I. Hrazanek oversee this program.

Effective February 28, 2019, Joseph W. Runnels, CFA is no longer a portfolio manager of the Fund.

Here the Intech team members, along with the NAM team, discuss their management strategies and the performance of the Fund for thesix-month reporting period ended June 30, 2019.

How did the Fund perform during thissix-month reporting period ended June 30, 2019?

The table in the Performance Overview and Holding Summaries section of this report provides total returns for thesix-month,one-year, five-year andten-year periods ended June 30, 2019. The Fund’s total returns at net asset value (NAV) are compared with the performance of a corresponding market index. For thesix-month reporting period ended June 30, 2019 the Fund performed in line with the S&P 500^® Index and outperformed the Blended Index.

What key strategies were used to manage the Fund during thissix-month reporting period ended June 30, 2019?

The investment objective of the Fund is to provide an attractive level of total return, primarily through long-term capital appreciation and secondarily through income and gains. The Fund invests in a portfolio of common stocks selected from the stocks comprising the S&P 500^®, using a proprietary mathematical process designed by Intech and also employs risk reduction techniques. Typically, the Fund’s equity portfolio will hold150-450 stocks included in the S&P 500^®.

The Fund also employs an option strategy that seeks to enhance the Fund’s risk-adjusted performance over time by means of attempting to reduce volatility of the Fund’s returns relative to the returns of the S&P 500^®. The Fund expects to write (sell) index call options and call options on custom basket of equities with a notional value of up to 50% of the value of the equity portfolio. The goal of the Fund’s equity portfolio is to produce long-term returns in excess of the S&P 500^® with an equal or lesser amount of risk.

Intech uses a purely portfolio-theoretic methodology and does not specifically select stocks or overweight sectors in response to market conditions or expectations. The Fund’s equity holdings are modified in an attempt to construct a portfolio that is slightly more efficient than the S&P 500^®, by using an optimization program that analyzes a stock’s relative volatility and its return correlation with other equities. Effectively, the investment process tends to favor stocks with higher relative volatility and lower correlation as they offer more potential to capture volatility through regular

This material is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy, sell or hold a security or an investment strategy and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Investment decisions should be made based on an investor’s objectives and circumstances and in consultation with his or her advisors.

Certain statements in this report are forward-looking statements. Discussions of specific investments are for illustration only and are not intended as recommendations of individual investments. The forward-looking statements and other views expressed herein are those of the portfolio managers as of the date of this report. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements and the views expressed herein are subject to change at any time, due to numerous market and other factors. The Fund disclaims any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein.

Refer to the Glossary of Terms Used in this report for further definition of the terms used within this section.

5

Portfolio Managers’ Comments(continued)

rebalancing. Intech’s investment process doesn’t select stocks based on their potential for future performance, but combines securities based on how their stock prices move relative to the index in order to increase the potential for trading profits at time of rebalancing.

After a largesell-off in the fourth quarter of 2018, U.S. equity markets have made strong double digit gains and reached newall-time highs in the first half of 2019. These gains came despite heightened volatility and asell-off of over 6% during the month of May 2019. From a sector perspective, information technology has been the strongest performing segment while defensive sectors have tended to underperform.

The strategy benefited from its smaller size positioning during the reporting period. While an average underweight to information technology and overweight to health care detracted, favorable selection effects within the financials and health care sectors more than offset the negative impact from adverse sector positioning and contributed to overall relative performance during the reporting period.

As mentioned previously, the Fund also wrote call options with average expirations between 30 and 90 days. This was done in an effort to enhance returns, although it meant the Fund did relinquish some of the upside potential of its equity portfolio. During the reporting period, stock market volatility, as measured by the Board Options Exchange (Cboe) Volatility Index (the “VIX”), eased from highs around 20 at the start of the reporting period, steadily declined until April 2019, but spiked again in May and June 2019. As a result, the Fund maintained an overwrite percentage during most of the reporting period averaging around 33%. NAM utilized Russell 2000^® Index options. Unlike other indexes, the Russell 2000^® Index had periods of flat performance throughout the reporting period. NAM was able to collect more premium income as it was a favorable environment for writing options on the Russell 2000^® Index which contributed to performance. However, the strategy overall detracted from performance as the writing of index call options limited equity market participation, as expected given that the market advanced at an above-average rate during a majority of the first half of 2019.

6

Common Share Information

DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION

The following 19(a) Notice presents the Fund’s most current distribution information as of May 31, 2019 as required by certain exempted regulatory relief the Fund has received.

Because the ultimate tax character of your distributions depends on the Fund’s performance for its entire fiscal year (which is the calendar year for the Fund) as well as certain fiscal year-end (FYE) tax adjustments, estimated distribution source information you receive with each distribution may differ from the tax information reported to you on your Fund’s IRS Form 1099 statement.

DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION – AS OF MAY 31, 2019

This notice provides shareholders with information regarding fund distributions, as required by current securities laws. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund’s investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund’s Managed Distribution Policy.

The Fund may in certain periods distribute more than its income and net realized capital gains, and the Fund currently estimates that it has done so for the fiscal year-to-date period. In such instances, a portion of the distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund’s investment performance and should not be confused with “yield” or “income.”

The amounts and sources of distributions set forth below are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes. More details about the Fund’s distributions and the basis for these estimates are available on www.nuveen.com/cef.

The following table provides estimates of the Fund’s distribution sources, reflecting year-to-date cumulative experience through the latest month-end. The Fund attributes these estimates equally to each regular distribution throughout the year. Consequently, the estimated information shown below is for the current distribution, and also represents an updated estimate for all prior months in the year.

Data as of May 31, 2019

			Estimated Per Share Sources of Distribution1								Estimated Percentage of the Distribution
JCE (FYE 12/31)	Per Share Distribution		Net Investment Income		Long- Term Gains		Short- Term Gains		Return of Capital		Net Investment Income			Long-Term Gains			Short-Term Gains			Return of Capital
Current Quarter	$	0.2500	$	0.0215	$	0.000	$	0.0000	$	0.2285		8.6	%		0.0	%		0.0	%		91.4	%
Fiscal YTD	$	0.5000	$	0.0429	$	0.000	$	0.0000	$	0.4571		8.6	%		0.0	%		0.0	%		91.4	%

¹  Net investment income (NII) is a projection through the end of the current calendar quarter using actual data through the stated month-end date above. Capital gain amounts are as of the stated date above. The estimated per share sources above include an allocation of the NII based on prior year attributions which can be expected to differ from the actual final attributions for the current year.

The following table provides information regarding JCE’s distributions and total return performance over various time periods. This information is intended to help you better understand whether returns for the specified time periods were sufficient to meet distributions.

Data as of May 31, 2019

							Annualized						Cumulative
JCE (FYE 12/31) Inception Date	Quarterly Distribution		Fiscal YTD Distribution		Net Asset Value (NAV)		5-Year Return on NAV			Fiscal YTD Dist Rate on NAV 1			Fiscal YTD Return on NAV			Fiscal YTD Dist Rate on NAV 1
Mar 2007	$	0.2500	$	0.5000	$	13.92		7.15	%		7.18	%		11.70	%		3.59	%

¹  As a percentage of 5/31/19 NAV.

7

Common Share Information(continued)

Change in Method of Publishing Nuveen Closed-End Fund Distribution Amounts

Beginning on or about November 1, 2019, the Nuveen Closed-End Funds will be discontinuing the practice of announcing Fund distribution amounts and timing via press release. Instead, information about the Nuveen Closed-End Funds’ monthly and quarterly periodic distributions to shareholders will be posted and can be found on Nuveen’s enhanced closed-end fund resource page, which is at www.nuveen.com/closed-end-fund-distributions, along with other Nuveen closed-end fund product updates. Shareholders can expect regular distribution information to be posted on www.nuveen.com on the first business day of each month. To ensure that our shareholders have timely access to the latest information, a subscribe function can be activated at this link here, or at this web page(www.nuveen.com/en-us/people/about-nuveen/for-the-media).

COMMON SHARE EQUITY SHELF PROGRAM

During the current reporting period, the Fund was authorized by the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue additional common shares through an equity shelf program (“Shelf Offering”). Under this program the Fund, subject to market conditions, may raise additional capital from time to time in varying amounts and offering methods at a net price at or above the Fund’s NAV per common share. Under the Shelf Offering, the Fund was authorized to issue additional shares as shown in the accompanying table.

	JCE
Additional authorized common shares		1,600,000	*

* Represents additional authorized common shares for the period February 25, 2019 through June 30, 2019.

During the current reporting period, the Fund did not sell common shares through its shelf program.

Refer to the Notes to Financial Statements, Note 4 – Fund Shares, Common Shares Equity Shelf Programs and Offering Costs for further details of Shelf Offerings and the Fund’s transactions.

COMMON SHARE REPURCHASES

During August 2019 (subsequent to the close of this reporting period), the Fund’s Board of Trustees reauthorized an open-market share repurchase program, allowing the Fund to repurchase an aggregate of up to approximately 10% of its outstanding shares.

As of June 30, 2019, and since the inception of the Fund’s repurchase program, the Fund has cumulatively repurchased and retired its outstanding common shares as shown in the accompanying table.

	JCE
Common shares cumulatively repurchased and retired		449,800
Common shares authorized for repurchase		1,600,000

During the current reporting period, the Fund did not repurchase any of its outstanding common shares.

OTHER COMMON SHARE INFORMATION

As of June 30, 2019, and during the current reporting period, the Fund’s common share price was trading at a premium/(discount) to its common share NAV as shown in the accompanying table.

	JCE
Common share NAV	$	14.51
Common share price	$	14.04
Premium/(Discount) to NAV		(3.24	)%
6-month average premium/(discount) to NAV		(2.88	)%

8

Risk Considerations

Fund shares are not guaranteed or endorsed by any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (JCE)

Investing in closed-end funds involves risk; principal loss is possible. There is no guarantee the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. Closed-end fund shares may frequently trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value.Common stock returns often have experienced significant volatility. The Fund may not participate in any appreciation of its equity portfolio as fully as it would if the Fund did not sellcall options. In addition, the Fund will continue to bear the risk of declines in the value of the equity portfolio. Becauseindex options are settled in cash, sellers of index call options, such as the Fund, cannot provide in advance for their potential settlement obligations by acquiring and holding the underlying securities. For these and other risks, includingtax risk, please see the Fund’s webpage at www.nuveen.com/JCE.

9

JCE Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Performance Overview and Holding Summaries as of June 30, 2019

Refer to Glossary of Terms Used in this Report for further definition of terms used within this section.

Average Annual Total Returns as of June 30, 2019

	Cumulative		Average Annual
	6-Month		1-Year		5-Year		10-Year
JCE at Common Share NAV		18.44%		6.80%		8.07%		13.50%
JCE at Common Share Price		20.88%		3.61%		8.31%		15.51%
Blended Index		14.36%		6.79%		8.36%		11.50%
S&P 500® Index		18.54%		10.42%		10.71%		14.70%

Past performance is not predictive of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the data shown. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders may have to pay on Fund distributions or upon the sale of Fund shares. Returns at NAV are net of Fund expenses, and assume reinvestment of distributions. Comparative index return information is provided for the Fund’s shares at NAV only. Indexes are not available for direct investment.

Common Share Price Performance —Weekly Closing Price

10

This data relates to the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio of investments as of the end of the reporting period. It should not be construed as a measure of performance for the Fund itself. Holdings are subject to change.

Fund Allocation

(% of net assets)

Common Stocks	99.0%
Repurchase Agreements	1.4%
Other Assets Less Liabilities	(0.4)%
Net Assets	100%

Portfolio Composition

(% of total investments)

Health Care Equipment & Supplies	8.6%
IT Services	6.5%
Equity Real Estate Investment Trust	6.4%
Specialty Retail	6.1%
Capital Markets	4.8%
Health Care Providers & Services	4.8%
Insurance	4.6%
Software	4.1%
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels	3.9%
Aerospace & Defense	3.4%
Electric Utilities	3.1%
Multiline Retail	2.8%
Road & Rail	2.5%
Pharmaceuticals	2.3%
Commercial Services & Supplies	2.1%
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment	1.9%
Media	1.8%
Life Sciences Tools & Services	1.8%
Food Products	1.7%
Chemicals	1.6%
Food & Staples Retailing	1.6%
Multi-Utilities	1.6%
Communications Equipment	1.6%
Other	19.0%
Repurchase Agreements	1.4%
Total	100%

Top Five Issuers

(% of total investments)

Intuitive Surgical Inc	2.7%
Boeing Co/The	2.3%
Progressive Corp/The	1.9%
CME Group Inc	1.8%
HCA Inc	1.7%

11

Shareholder Meeting Report

The annual meeting of shareholders was held in the offices of Nuveen on April 10, 2019 for JCE; at this meeting the shareholders were asked to elect Board Members.

	JCE
	Common Shares
Approval of the Board Members was reached as follows:
Judith M. Stockdale
For		14,241,989
Withhold		687,947
Total		14,929,936
Carole E. Stone
For		14,252,677
Withhold		677,259
Total		14,929,936
Margaret L. Wolff
For		14,266,135
Withhold		663,801
Total		14,929,936
William C. Hunter
For		14,242,066
Withhold		687,870
Total		14,929,936

12

JCE	Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund Portfolio of Investments    June 30, 2019
	(Unaudited)

Shares		Description (1)	Value
		LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS – 99.0%
		COMMON STOCKS – 99.0%
		Aerospace & Defense – 3.5%
	14,488	Boeing Co/The, (2)	$	5,273,777
	10,800	Textron Inc		572,832
	4,555	TransDigm Group Inc, (3)		2,203,709
		Total Aerospace & Defense		8,050,318
		Air Freight & Logistics – 0.6%
	15,000	CH Robinson Worldwide Inc		1,265,250
	2,893	Expeditors International of Washington Inc		219,463
		Total Air Freight & Logistics		1,484,713
		Airlines – 0.4%
	10,900	United Continental Holdings Inc		954,295
		Banks – 1.5%
	3,824	Comerica Inc		277,775
	8,399	Fifth Third Bancorp		234,332
	55,500	Huntington Bancshares Inc/OH, (2)		767,010
	361	M&T Bank Corp		61,395
	17,760	People’s United Financial Inc		298,013
	3,101	PNC Financial Services Group Inc		425,705
	59,374	Regions Financial Corp, (2)		887,048
	3,072	SunTrust Banks Inc		193,075
	678	SVB Financial Group, (3)		152,272
	3,115	Zions Bancorp NA		143,228
		Total Banks		3,439,853
		Biotechnology – 0.8%
	1,057	Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc, (3)		138,446
	2,880	Amgen Inc		530,726
	8,314	Incyte Corp, (3)		706,358
	1,799	Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, (3)		563,087
		Total Biotechnology		1,938,617
		Building Products – 0.3%
	3,666	Allegion PLC		405,276
	6,092	Masco Corp		239,050
		Total Building Products		644,326
		Capital Markets – 4.9%
	2,874	Bank of New York Mellon Corp/The		126,887
	21,300	CME Group Inc		4,134,543
	1,607	E*TRADE Financial Corp		71,672
	17,447	Franklin Resources Inc		607,155
	7,925	Moody’s Corp		1,547,832
	5,000	MSCI Inc		1,193,950
	6,681	Nasdaq Inc		642,512
	7,835	S&P Global Inc		1,784,735
	10,937	T Rowe Price Group Inc		1,199,898
		Total Capital Markets		11,309,184
		Chemicals – 1.6%
	692	Air Products & Chemicals Inc		156,648
	8,245	CF Industries Holdings Inc		385,124
	991	Ecolab Inc		195,663

13

JCE	Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund(continued)
	Portfolio of Investments    June 30, 2019
	(Unaudited)

Shares		Description (1)	Value
		Chemicals(continued)
	2,726	FMC Corp	$	226,122
	3,433	International Flavors & Fragrances Inc		498,094
	34,644	Mosaic Co/The, (2)		867,139
	3,305	Sherwin-Williams Co/The		1,514,649
		Total Chemicals		3,843,439
		Commercial Services & Supplies – 2.1%
	4,400	Cintas Corp		1,044,076
	9,916	Copart Inc, (3)		741,122
	25,900	Republic Services Inc		2,243,976
	20,700	Rollins Inc		742,509
	593	Waste Management Inc		68,414
		Total Commercial Services & Supplies		4,840,097
		Communications Equipment – 1.6%
	248	Arista Networks Inc, (3)		64,386
	754	Cisco Systems Inc		41,266
	5,500	F5 Networks Inc, (3)		800,965
	29,620	Juniper Networks Inc		788,781
	11,967	Motorola Solutions Inc		1,995,258
		Total Communications Equipment		3,690,656
		Construction & Engineering – 0.3%
	6,500	Jacobs Engineering Group Inc		548,535
	2,131	Quanta Services Inc		81,383
		Total Construction & Engineering		629,918
		Consumer Finance – 0.7%
	3,238	American Express Co		399,699
	14,700	Discover Financial Services		1,140,573
	3,806	Synchrony Financial		131,954
		Total Consumer Finance		1,672,226
		Containers & Packaging – 0.9%
	2,185	Avery Dennison Corp		252,761
	20,035	Ball Corp		1,402,249
	8,814	Sealed Air Corp		377,063
		Total Containers & Packaging		2,032,073
		Distributors – 0.2%
	3,480	Genuine Parts Co		360,458
		Diversified Telecommunication Services – 0.0%
	10,543	CenturyLink Inc		123,986
		Electric Utilities – 3.1%
	2,085	American Electric Power Co Inc		183,501
	3,806	Edison International		256,562
	4,432	Entergy Corp		456,186
	3,467	Evergy Inc		208,540
	3,858	Eversource Energy		292,282
	21,300	Exelon Corp		1,021,122
	9,700	FirstEnergy Corp		415,257
	18,151	NextEra Energy Inc		3,718,414
	4,365	Pinnacle West Capital Corp		410,703
	2,884	PPL Corp		89,433
	2,797	Xcel Energy Inc		166,393
		Total Electric Utilities		7,218,393
		Electrical Equipment – 0.7%
	18,400	AMETEK Inc		1,671,456

14

Shares		Description (1)	Value
		Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components – 1.6%
	21,705	Amphenol Corp, Class A	$	2,082,378
	19,723	Corning Inc		655,395
	309	IPG Photonics Corp, (3)		47,663
	9,775	Keysight Technologies Inc, (3)		877,893
		Total Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components		3,663,329
		Energy Equipment & Services – 0.1%
	11,459	Baker Hughes a GE Co		282,235
		Entertainment – 0.5%
	2,487	Netflix Inc		913,525
	6,305	Viacom Inc		188,330
		Total Entertainment		1,101,855
		Equity Real Estate Investment Trust – 6.4%
	4,075	American Tower Corp		833,134
	14,643	Apartment Investment & Management Co, Class A		733,907
	5,115	AvalonBay Communities Inc.		1,039,266
	4,145	Crown Castle International Corp		540,301
	16,865	Digital Realty Trust Inc		1,986,528
	4,412	Duke Realty Corp		139,463
	10,300	Equity Residential		781,976
	311	Essex Property Trust Inc.		90,790
	8,352	Extra Space Storage Inc.		886,147
	12,900	HCP Inc		412,542
	2,897	Host Hotels & Resorts Inc.		52,783
	5,100	Iron Mountain Inc		159,630
	16,719	Kimco Realty Corp, (2)		308,967
	6,700	Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc.		788,992
	15,206	Prologis Inc, (2)		1,218,001
	14,946	Realty Income Corp		1,030,826
	3,004	Regency Centers Corp		200,487
	2,800	Simon Property Group Inc		447,328
	27,875	UDR Inc.		1,251,309
	25,100	Welltower Inc		2,046,403
		Total Equity Real Estate Investment Trust		14,948,780
		Food & Staples Retailing – 1.6%
	10,055	Costco Wholesale Corp		2,657,134
	4,646	Kroger Co/The		100,865
	8,900	Sysco Corp		629,408
	6,260	Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc		342,234
		Total Food & Staples Retailing		3,729,641
		Food Products – 1.7%
	31,700	Archer-Daniels-Midland Co		1,293,360
	18,900	Hormel Foods Corp		766,206
	2,286	Kellogg Co		122,461
	4,621	Lamb Weston Holdings Inc		292,786
	9,364	McCormick & Co Inc/MD		1,451,514
		Total Food Products		3,926,327
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies – 8.6%
	27,416	Abbott Laboratories		2,305,685
	3,300	ABIOMED Inc, (3)		859,617
	414	Align Technology Inc, (3)		113,312
	34,300	Baxter International Inc		2,809,170
	4,870	Becton Dickinson and Co, (2)		1,227,289
	24,746	Boston Scientific Corp		1,063,583
	2,671	Cooper Cos Inc/The		899,833
	12,597	DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc		735,161
	2,380	Edwards Lifesciences Corp, (3)		439,681

15

JCE	Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund(continued)
	Portfolio of Investments    June 30, 2019
	(Unaudited)

Shares		Description (1)	Value
		Health Care Equipment & Supplies(continued)
	24,215	Hologic Inc	$	1,162,804
	4,600	IDEXX Laboratories Inc, (3)		1,266,518
	12,200	Intuitive Surgical Inc		6,399,510
	4,600	ResMed Inc		561,338
	244	Teleflex Inc		80,801
	813	Varian Medical Systems Inc, (3)		110,674
		Total Health Care Equipment & Supplies		20,034,976
		Health Care Providers & Services – 4.8%
	5,370	Anthem Inc		1,515,468
	36,450	Centene Corp, (2), (3)		1,911,438
	5,254	Cigna Corp		827,768
	28,694	HCA Inc		3,878,568
	13,200	Henry Schein Inc		922,680
	5,750	Humana Inc		1,525,475
	1,670	Universal Health Services Inc, Class B		217,751
	1,125	WellCare Health Plans Inc, (3)		320,704
		Total Health Care Providers & Services		11,119,852
		Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure – 1.0%
	4,949	Carnival Corp		230,376
	388	Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc, (3)		284,358
	2,714	Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc		265,267
	12,439	MGM Resorts International		355,382
	4,045	Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, (3)		216,933
	3,077	Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd		372,963
	6,109	Yum! Brands Inc		676,083
		Total Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure		2,401,362
		Household Durables – 0.3%
	2,107	Garmin Ltd		168,139
	847	Leggett & Platt Inc		32,499
	2,784	Whirlpool Corp		396,330
		Total Household Durables		596,968
		Household Products – 1.3%
	30,672	Church & Dwight Co Inc		2,240,896
	5,055	Clorox Co/The		773,971
		Total Household Products		3,014,867
		Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers – 1.4%
	104,498	AES Corp/VA, (2)		1,751,387
	42,400	NRG Energy Inc, (2)		1,489,088
		Total Independent Power & Renewable Electricity Producers		3,240,475
		Insurance – 4.7%
	14,600	Aflac Inc		800,226
	17,800	Allstate Corp/The		1,810,082
	577	Aon PLC		111,349
	9,987	Arthur J Gallagher & Co		874,761
	6,700	Assurant Inc		712,746
	7,781	Cincinnati Financial Corp		806,656
	199	Everest Re Group Ltd		49,189
	1,834	Hartford Financial Services Group Inc/The		102,191
	755	Lincoln National Corp		48,660
	1,356	Loews Corp		74,133
	7,754	MetLife Inc		385,141
	3,150	Principal Financial Group Inc		182,448
	55,200	Progressive Corp/The, (2)		4,412,136
	2,355	Prudential Financial Inc		237,855
	6,771	Unum Group		227,167
		Total Insurance		10,834,740

16

Shares		Description (1)	Value
		Internet & Direct Marketing Retail – 0.1%
	3,622	eBay Inc	$	143,069
		IT Services – 6.6%
	1,302	Accenture PLC		240,570
	17,905	Automatic Data Processing Inc		2,960,234
	6,500	Fiserv Inc, (3)		592,540
	7,000	Gartner Inc, (3)		1,126,580
	1,329	Global Payments Inc		212,813
	11,343	Mastercard Inc, Class A		3,000,564
	15,000	Paychex Inc		1,234,350
	13,788	PayPal Holdings Inc, (2)		1,578,174
	9,896	Total System Services Inc		1,269,360
	13,200	VeriSign Inc		2,760,912
	1,575	Visa Inc, Class A		273,341
		Total IT Services		15,249,438
		Life Sciences Tools & Services – 1.8%
	4,110	Agilent Technologies Inc		306,894
	6,315	Illumina Inc, (3)		2,324,867
	4,505	IQVIA Holdings Inc, (3)		724,854
	214	Mettler-Toledo International Inc, (3)		179,760
	2,700	PerkinElmer Inc		260,118
	760	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc		223,197
	415	Waters Corp, (3)		89,325
		Total Life Sciences Tools & Services		4,109,015
		Machinery – 1.1%
	3,938	Cummins Inc		674,737
	6,538	Deere & Co		1,083,412
	2,400	Ingersoll-Rand PLC		304,008
	3,237	PACCAR Inc		231,963
	311	Parker-Hannifin Corp		52,873
	1,217	Snap-on Inc		201,584
	414	Stanley Black & Decker Inc		59,869
	826	Xylem Inc/NY		69,087
		Total Machinery		2,677,533
		Media – 1.8%
	1,919	Charter Communications Inc, (3)		758,350
	8,800	Discovery Inc, (3)		270,160
	47,648	Discovery Inc, (2), (3)		1,355,586
	3,715	DISH Network Corp, Class A		142,693
	9,023	Fox Corp		330,603
	21,521	Fox Corp		786,162
	13,016	News Corp, Class A		175,586
	5,914	Omnicom Group Inc		484,652
		Total Media		4,303,792
		Metals & Mining – 0.0%
	6,427	Freeport-McMoRan Inc		74,618
		Multiline Retail – 2.8%
	10,300	Dollar General Corp		1,392,148
	25,700	Dollar Tree Inc, (3)		2,759,923
	14,600	Kohl’s Corp		694,230
	4,913	Macy’s Inc		105,433
	19,323	Target Corp		1,673,565
		Total Multiline Retail		6,625,299
		Multi-Utilities – 1.6%
	20,600	Ameren Corp		1,547,266
	7,320	CenterPoint Energy Inc		209,571

17

JCE	Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund(continued)
	Portfolio of Investments    June 30, 2019
	(Unaudited)

Shares		Description (1)	Value
		Multi-Utilities(continued)
	13,600	CMS Energy Corp	$	787,576
	1,086	DTE Energy Co		138,878
	9,500	NiSource Inc		273,600
	6,400	Public Service Enterprise Group Inc		376,448
	4,465	WEC Energy Group Inc		372,247
		Total Multi-Utilities		3,705,586
		Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels – 3.9%
	9,115	Apache Corp		264,062
	33,600	ConocoPhillips		2,049,600
	1,884	Diamondback Energy Inc		205,300
	17,600	Hess Corp		1,118,832
	1,112	HollyFrontier Corp		51,463
	53,900	Kinder Morgan Inc/DE, (2)		1,125,432
	28,600	Marathon Oil Corp		406,406
	2,978	Noble Energy Inc		66,707
	6,200	Occidental Petroleum Corp		311,736
	32,600	ONEOK Inc, (2)		2,243,206
	1,997	Phillips 66		186,799
	3,837	Valero Energy Corp		328,486
	28,360	Williams Cos Inc		795,214
		Total Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels		9,153,243
		Personal Products – 0.6%
	22,360	Coty Inc		299,624
	5,803	Estee Lauder Cos Inc/The		1,062,587
		Total Personal Products		1,362,211
		Pharmaceuticals – 2.3%
	3,425	Allergan PLC		573,448
	19,100	Eli Lilly & Co		2,116,089
	11,286	Merck & Co Inc		946,331
	9,431	Pfizer Inc		408,551
	11,427	Zoetis Inc		1,296,850
		Total Pharmaceuticals		5,341,269
		Professional Services – 1.0%
	5,800	IHS Markit Ltd, (3)		369,576
	11,943	Nielsen Holdings PLC		269,912
	13,600	Robert Half International Inc		775,336
	5,600	Verisk Analytics Inc		820,176
		Total Professional Services		2,235,000
		Real Estate Management & Development – 0.1%
	6,394	CBRE Group Inc, (3)		328,012
		Road & Rail – 2.5%
	43,653	CSX Corp, (2)		3,377,433
	1,768	Kansas City Southern		215,378
	10,250	Norfolk Southern Corp		2,043,132
	808	Union Pacific Corp		136,641
		Total Road & Rail		5,772,584
		Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment – 1.9%
	61,650	Advanced Micro Devices Inc, (2), (3)		1,872,310
	555	Analog Devices Inc		62,643
	2,349	Applied Materials Inc		105,493
	5,126	KLA-Tencor Corp		605,893
	1,090	Lam Research Corp		204,746
	2,662	Qorvo Inc, (3)		177,316
	12,605	Xilinx Inc		1,486,382
		Total Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment		4,514,783

18

Shares		Description (1)					Value
		Software – 4.1%
	3,900	Adobe Inc					$	1,149,135
	7,427	Cadence Design Systems Inc, (3)						525,906
	6,300	Citrix Systems Inc						618,282
	13,300	Fortinet Inc, (3)						1,021,839
	9,145	Intuit Inc						2,389,863
	5,904	Microsoft Corp						790,900
	1,982	Red Hat Inc, (3)						372,140
	17,600	salesforcecom Inc						2,670,448
	605	Synopsys Inc, (3)						77,857
		Total Software						9,616,370
		Specialty Retail – 6.1%
	3,542	Advance Auto Parts Inc						545,964
	2,600	AutoZone Inc, (3)						2,858,622
	6,465	Foot Locker Inc						271,013
	8,137	L Brands Inc						212,376
	8,820	O’Reilly Automotive Inc, (3)						3,257,402
	18,155	Ross Stores Inc						1,799,524
	49,055	TJX Cos Inc/The, (2)						2,594,028
	6,411	Tractor Supply Co						697,517
	5,810	Ulta Beauty Inc, (3)						2,015,431
		Total Specialty Retail						14,251,877
		Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals – 1.2%
	893	Apple Inc						176,743
	21,900	NetApp Inc						1,351,230
	5,296	Seagate Technology PLC						249,548
	13,106	Western Digital Corp						623,190
	11,201	Xerox Corp						396,627
		Total Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals						2,797,338
		Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods – 1.2%
	1,890	Capri Holdings Ltd, (3)						65,545
	5,000	NIKE Inc, Class B						419,750
	25,300	VF Corp						2,209,955
		Total Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods						2,695,250
		Trading Companies & Distributors – 0.8%
	14,800	Fastenal Co						482,332
	461	United Rentals Inc, (3)						61,142
	5,000	WW Grainger Inc						1,341,150
		Total Trading Companies & Distributors						1,884,624
		Water Utilities – 0.3%
	6,471	American Water Works Co Inc						750,636
		Total Long-Term Investments (cost $193,820,584)						230,390,962
Principal Amount (000)		Description (1)	Coupon		Maturity		Value
		SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS – 1.4%
		REPURCHASE AGREEMENTS – 1.4%
$	3,212	Repurchase Agreement with Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, dated 6/28/19, repurchase price $3,212,334, collateralized by $3,310,000, U.S. Treasury Notes, 1.625%, due 2/15/26, value $3,279,045		1.200%		7/01/19	$	3,212,013
		Total Short-Term Investments (cost $3,212,013)						3,212,013
		Total Investments (cost $197,032,597) – 100.4%						233,602,975
		Other Assets Less Liabilities – (0.4)% (4)						(1,022,477	)
		Net Assets Applicable to Common Shares – 100%					$	232,580,498

19

JCE	Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund(continued)
	Portfolio of Investments    June 30, 2019
	(Unaudited)

Investments in Derivatives

Options Written

Description (5)	Type		Number of Contracts			Notional Amount (6)			Exercise Price		Expiration Date		Value
RUSSELL 2000® Index		Call		(375	)	$	(60,000,000	)		1,600		7/19/19	$	(406,875	)
RUSSELL 2000® Index		Call		(300	)		(47,250,000	)		1,575		7/19/19		(652,500	)
Total Options Written (premiums received $635,524)				(675	)	$	(107,250,000	)					$	(1,059,375	)

For Fund portfolio compliance purposes, the Fund’s industry classifications refer to any one or more of the industrysub-classifications used by one or more widely recognized market indexes or ratings group indexes, and/or as defined by Fund management. This definition may not apply for purposes of this report, which may combine industrysub-classifications into sectors for reporting ease.

(1) All percentages shown in the Portfolio of Investments are based on net assets applicable to common shares unless otherwise noted.

(2) Investment, or portion of investment, has been pledged to collateralized the net payment obligations for investments in derivatives.

(3) Non-income producing; issuer has not declared a dividend within the past twelve months.

(4) Other assets less liabilities includes the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of certainover-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives as presented on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, when applicable. The unrealized appreciation (depreciation) ofOTC-cleared and exchange-traded derivatives is recognized as part of the cash collateral at brokers and/or the receivable or payable for variation margin as presented on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, when applicable. Other assets less liabilities also includes the value of options as presented on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

(5) Exchange-traded, unless otherwise noted.

(6) For disclosure purposes, Notional Amount is calculated by multiplying the Number of Contracts by the Strike Price by 100.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

20

Statement of Assets and Liabilities

June 30, 2019

(Unaudited)

Assets
Long-term investments, at value (cost $193,820,584)	$	230,390,962
Short-term investments, at value (cost approximates value)		3,212,013
Cash		2,797
Receivables for:
Dividends		178,351
Interest		321
Investments sold		3,882,705
Deferred offering costs		230,000
Other assets		32,876
Total assets		237,930,025
Liabilities
Options written, at value (premiums received $635,524)		1,059,375
Payable for dividends		3,921,601
Accrued expenses:
Management fees		172,042
Trustees fees		29,710
Shelf offering costs		108,878
Other		57,921
Total liabilities		5,349,527
Net assets applicable to common shares	$	232,580,498
Common shares outstanding		16,028,573
Net asset value (“NAV”) per common share outstanding	$	14.51
Net assets applicable to common shares consist of:
Common shares, $0.01 par value per share	$	160,286
Paid-in-surplus		197,597,415
Total distributable earnings		34,822,797
Net assets applicable to common shares	$	232,580,498
Authorized common shares		Unlimited

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

21

Statement of Operations

Six Months Ended June 30, 2019

(Unaudited)

Investment income
Dividends	$	1,824,043
Interest		10,343
Total investment income		1,834,386
Expenses
Management fees		1,011,503
Custodian fees		27,430
Trustees fees		3,233
Professional fees		23,129
Shareholder reporting expenses		16,855
Shareholder servicing agent fees		361
Stock exchange listing fees		3,403
Investor relations expenses		5,507
Other		25,261
Total expenses		1,116,682
Net investment income (loss)		717,704
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss)
Net realized gain (loss) from:
Investments		490,797
Options written		(476,999	)
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Investments		36,946,660
Options written		(405,095	)
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		36,555,363
Net increase (decrease) in net assets applicable to common shares from operations	$	37,273,067

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

22

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

(Unaudited)

	Six Months Ended 6/30/19			Year Ended 12/31/18
Operations
Net investment income (loss)	$	717,704		$	1,110,055
Net realized gain (loss) from:
Investments		490,797			13,442,959
Futures contracts		—			31,255
Options written		(476,999	)		1,752,574
Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of:
Investments		36,946,660			(31,601,847	)
Futures contracts		—			(44,113	)
Options written		(405,095	)		(162,987	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets applicable to common shares from operations		37,273,067			(15,472,104	)
Distributions to Common Shareholders
Dividends		(8,014,287	)		(17,785,983	)
Decrease in net assets applicable to common shares from distributions to common shareholders		(8,014,287	)		(17,785,983	)
Capital Share Transactions
Net proceeds from common shares issued to shareholders due to reinvestment of distributions		—			105,172
Net increase (decrease) in net assets applicable to common shares from capital share transactions		—			105,172
Net increase (decrease) in net assets applicable to common shares		29,258,780			(33,152,915	)
Net assets applicable to common shares at the beginning of period		203,321,718			236,474,633
Net assets applicable to common shares at the end of period	$	232,580,498		$	203,321,718

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

23

Financial Highlights

(Unaudited)

Selected data for a common share outstanding throughout each period:

			Investment Operations								Less Distributions to Common Shareholders												Common Share
	Beginning Common Share NAV		Net Investment Income (Loss)(a)		Net Realized/ Unrealized Gain (Loss)			Total			From Net Investment Income			From Accumu- lated Net Realized Gains			Return of Capital			Total			Ending NAV		Ending Share Price
Year Ended 12/31:
2019(d)	$	12.68	$	0.04	$	2.29		$	2.33		$	(0.50	)	$	—		$	—		$	(0.50	)	$	14.51	$	14.04
2018		14.76		0.07		(1.04	)		(0.97	)		(0.07	)		(1.04	)		—			(1.11	)		12.68		12.03
2017		14.27		0.18		2.84			3.02			(0.17	)		(2.36	)		—			(2.53	)		14.76		14.60
2016		14.93		0.13		0.35			0.48			(0.13	)		(0.44	)		(0.57	)		(1.14	)		14.27		13.08
2015		17.49		0.09		0.10			0.19			(0.10	)		(2.65	)		—			(2.75	)		14.93		14.27
2014		17.91		0.16		1.93			2.09			(0.16	)		(2.35	)		—			(2.51	)		17.49		17.47

24

						Common Share Supplemental Data/ Ratio Applicable to Common Shares
Common Share Total Returns								Ratios to Average Net Assets
Based on NAV(b)			Based on Share Price(b)			Ending Net Assets (000)		Expenses			Net Investment Income (Loss)			Portfolio Turnover Rate(c)
	18.44	%		20.88	%	$	232,580		1.00	%*		0.64	%*		25	%
	(7.17	)		(10.86	)		203,322		1.01			0.47			121
	21.72			31.85			236,475		1.02			1.18			159
	3.25			(0.41	)		228,600		1.03			0.87			110
	1.64			(1.70	)		239,280		1.03			0.54			93
	12.08			18.31			280,261		1.03			0.87			111

(a) Per share Net Investment Income (Loss) is calculated using the average daily shares method.

(b) Total Return Based on Common Share NAV is the combination of changes in common share NAV, reinvested dividend income at NAV and reinvested capital gains distributions at NAV, if any. The last dividend declared in the period, which is typically paid on the first business day of the following month, is assumed to be reinvested at the ending NAV. The actual reinvest price for the last dividend declared in the period may often be based on the Fund’s market price (and not its NAV), and therefore may be different from the price used in the calculation. Total returns are not annualized.

Total Return Based on Common Share Price is the combination of changes in the market price per share and the effect of reinvested dividend income and reinvested capital gains distributions, if any, at the average price paid per share at the time of reinvestment. The last dividend declared in the period, which is typically paid on the first business day of the following month, is assumed to be reinvested at the ending market price. The actual reinvestment for the last dividend declared in the period may take place over several days, and in some instances may not be based on the market price, so the actual reinvestment price may be different from the price used in the calculation. Total returns are not annualized.

(c) Portfolio Turnover Rate is calculated based on the lesser of long-term purchases or sales (as disclosed in Note 5 – Investment Transactions) divided by the average long-term market value during the period.

(d) For the six months ended June 30, 2019.

* Annualized.

See accompanying notes to financial statements.

25

Notes to Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

1. General Information and Significant Accounting Policies

General Information

Fund Information

Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund (the “Fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), as amended, as a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Fund’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and trade under the ticker symbol “JCE.” The Fund was organized as a Massachusetts business trust on January 9, 2007.

The end of the reporting period for the Fund is June 30, 2019, and the period covered by these Notes to Financial Statements is the six months ended June 30, 2019 (the “current fiscal period”).

Investment Adviser

The Fund’s investment adviser is Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), a subsidiary of Nuveen, LLC (“Nuveen”). Nuveen is the investment management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA). The Adviser has overall responsibility for management of the Fund, oversees the management of the Fund’s portfolio, manages the Fund’s business affairs and provides certain clerical, bookkeeping and other administrative services and if necessary, asset allocation decisions. The Adviser has entered into sub-advisory agreements with Intech Investment Management LLC (“Intech”), an independently managed indirect subsidiary of Janus Henderson Group plc., and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC, (“NAM”), a subsidiary of the Adviser, (each a “Sub-Adviser” and collectively, the “Sub-Advisers”). Intech manages the Fund’s investment portfolio, while NAM manages the Fund’s investments in option contracts.

Investment Objectives and Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund’s investment objective is to provide an attractive level of total return, primarily through long-term capital appreciation and secondarily through income and gains. The Fund invests in a portfolio of common stocks selected by employing a proprietary mathematical process designed by Intech that seeks to provide, over time, risk-adjusted excess returns (“alpha”) above the S&P 500^® Index (the “Index”) with an equal or lesser amount of relative investment risk. Under normal market circumstances, the Equity Portfolio will consist of a diversified portfolio of approximately 150 to 450 common stocks. The Fund will also employ an option strategy that seeks to enhance the Fund’s risk-adjusted returns through a meaningful reduction in the volatility of the Fund’s returns relative to the returns of the Index over extended periods of time, the Fund writes (sells) index call options and call options on custom baskets of securities (the “Option Strategy”). NAM is responsible for managing the Fund’s Option Strategy. Under normal market circumstances, the notional value of the call options written by the Fund may be up to 50% of the value of the Fund’s managed assets. In applying the Option Strategy, NAM is responsible for determining the notional value, timing, type and terms of the options strategies used by the Fund. NAM actively manages the Fund’s options positions. In NAM’s discretion, the Fund may purchase back call options or allow them to expire. To determine the options strategies used, NAM considers market factors, such as current market levels and volatility, and option specific factors, including but not limited to premium/cost, exercise price and expiration. NAM typically seeks to invest in call options that, based on the current market conditions and market expectations, provide an opportunity to deliver enhanced risk-adjusted returns. This will often lead to a portfolio that has exposure to multiple strike prices and expiration dates in any investment period. Due to U.S. federal income tax considerations, the Fund intends to limit the overlap between the stocks held in the Equity Portfolio and the stocks underlying the Fund’s call options to less than 70% (generally based on the value of such components) on an ongoing basis.

Significant Accounting Policies

The Fund is an investment company and follows accounting and reporting guidance under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Topic 946 “Financial Services – Investment Companies.” The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund in the preparation of its financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

Investment Transactions

Investment transactions are recorded on a trade date basis. Realized gains and losses from investment transactions are determined on the specific identification method, which is the same basis used for federal income tax purposes. Investments purchased on a when-issued/delayed delivery basis may have extended settlement periods. Any investments so purchased are subject to market fluctuation during this period. The Fund has earmarked securities in its portfolio with a current value at least equal to the amount of the when-issued/delayed delivery purchase commitments.

As of the end of the reporting period, the Fund did not have any when issued/delayed delivery purchase commitments.

26

Investment Income

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or, for foreign securities, when information is available. Non-cash dividends received in the form of stock, if any, are recognized on the ex-dividend date and recorded at fair value. Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis. Interest income also reflectspayment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest and paydown gains and losses, if any. PIK interest represents income received in the form of securities in lieu of cash.

Professional Fees

Professional fees presented on the Statement of Operations consist of legal fees incurred in the normal course of operations, audit fees, tax consulting fees and, in some cases, workout expenditures. Workout expenditures are incurred in an attempt to protect or enhance an investment or to pursue other claims or legal actions on behalf of Fund shareholders. If a refund is received for workout expenditures paid in a prior reporting period, such amounts will be recognized as “Legal fee refund” on the Statement of Operations.

Dividends and Distributions to Common Shareholders

Distributions to common shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. The amount and timing of distributions are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP.

The Fund makes quarterly cash distributions to common shareholders of a stated dollar amount per share. Subject to approval and oversight by the Fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Fund seeks to maintain a stable distribution level designed to deliver the long-term return potential of the Fund’s investment strategy through regular quarterly distributions (a “Managed Distribution Program”). Total distributions during a calendar year generally will be made from the Fund’s net investment income, net realized capital gains and net unrealized capital gains in the Fund’s portfolio, if any. The portion of distributions paid attributed to net unrealized gains, if any, is distributed from the Fund’s assets and is treated by shareholders as a nontaxable distribution (“return of capital”) for tax purposes. In the event that total distributions during a calendar year exceed the Fund’s total return on net asset value (“NAV”), the difference will reduce NAV per share. If the Fund’s total return on NAV exceeds total distributions during a calendar year, the excess will be reflected as an increase in NAV per share. The final determination of the source and character of all distributions paid by the Fund during the fiscal year is made after the end of the fiscal year and is reflected in the financial statements contained in the annual report as of December 31 each year.

Compensation

The Fund pays no compensation directly to those of its trustees who are affiliated with the Adviser or to its officers, all of whom receive remuneration for their services to the Fund from the Adviser or its affiliates. The Board has adopted a deferred compensation plan for independent trustees that enables trustees to elect to defer receipt of all or a portion of the annual compensation they are entitled to receive from certain Nuveen-advised funds. Under the plan, deferred amounts are treated as though equal dollar amounts had been invested in shares of select Nuveen-advised funds.

Indemnifications

Under the Fund’s organizational documents, its officers and trustees are indemnified against certain liabilities arising out of the performance of their duties to the Fund. In addition, in the normal course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that provide general indemnifications to other parties. The Fund’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown as this would involve future claims that may be made against the Fund that have not yet occurred. However, the Fund has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these contracts and expects the risk of loss to be remote.

Netting Agreements

In the ordinary course of business, the Fund may enter into transactions subject to enforceable master repurchase agreements, International Swaps and Derivative Association, Inc. (ISDA) master agreements or other similar arrangements (“netting agreements”). Generally, the right to offset in netting agreements allows the Fund to offset certain securities and derivatives with a specific counterparty, when applicable, as well as any collateral received or delivered to that counterparty based on the terms of the agreements. Generally, the Fund manages its cash collateral and securities collateral on a counterparty basis.

The Fund’s investments subject to netting agreements as of the end of the reporting period, if any, are further described in Note 3 – Portfolio Securities and Investments in Derivatives.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets applicable to common shares from operations during the current fiscal period. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

27

Notes to Financial Statements(continued)

2. Investment Valuation and Fair Value Measurements

The fair valuation input levels as described below are for fair value measurement purposes.

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received upon selling an investment or transferring a liability in an orderly transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. A three-tier hierarchy is used to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity. Unobservable inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs are based on the best information available in the circumstances. The following is a summary of the three-tiered hierarchy of valuation input levels.

Level 1 –	Inputs are unadjusted and prices are determined using quoted prices in active markets for identical securities.
Level 2 –	Prices are determined using other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, credit spreads, etc.).
Level 3 –	Prices are determined using significant unobservable inputs (including management’s assumptions in determining the fair value of investments).

Common stocks and other equity-type securities are valued at the last sales price on the securities exchange on which such securities are primarily traded and are generally classified as Level 1. Securities primarily traded on the Nasdaq National Market (“Nasdaq”) are valued at the Nasdaq Official Closing Price and are generally classified as Level 1. However, securities traded on a securities exchange or Nasdaq for which there were no transactions on a given day or securities not listed on a securities exchange or Nasdaq are valued at the quoted bid price and are generally classified as Level 2.

Prices of fixed-income securities are provided by an independent pricing service (“pricing service”) approved by the Board. The pricing service establishes a security’s fair value using methods that may include consideration of the following: yields or prices of investments of comparable quality, type of issue, coupon, maturity and rating, market quotes or indications of value from security dealers, evaluations of anticipated cash flows or collateral, general market conditions and other information and analysis, including the obligor’s credit characteristics considered relevant. These securities are generally classified as Level 2. In pricing certain securities, particularly less liquid and lower quality securities, the pricing service may consider information about a security, its issuer or market activity provided by the Adviser. These securities are generally classified as Level 2 or Level 3 depending on the observability of the significant inputs.

Index options are valued at the 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) close price of the NYSE, and are generally classified as Level 1. Options traded in the over-the-counter market are valued using an evaluated mean price and are generally classified as Level 2.

Repurchase agreements are valued at contract amount plus accrued interest, which approximates market value. These securities are generally classified as Level 2.

Certain securities may not be able to be priced by the pre-established pricing methods as described above. Such securities may be valued by the Board and/or its appointee at fair value. These securities generally include, but are not limited to, restricted securities (securities which may not be publicly sold without registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) for which a pricing service is unable to provide a market price; securities whose trading has been formally suspended; debt securities that have gone into default and for which there is no current market quotation; a security whose market price is not available from a pre-established pricing source; a security with respect to which an event has occurred that is likely to materially affect the value of the security after the market has closed but before the calculation of the Fund’s NAV (as may be the case in non-U.S. markets on which the security is primarily traded) or make it difficult or impossible to obtain a reliable market quotation; and a security whose price, as provided by the pricing service, is not deemed to reflect the security’s fair value. As a general principle, the fair value of a security would appear to be the amount that the owner might reasonably expect to receive for it in a current sale. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities, which may include consideration of the following: yields or prices of investments of comparable quality, type of issue, coupon, maturity and rating, market quotes or indications of value from security dealers, evaluations of anticipated cash flows or collateral, general market conditions and other information and analysis, including the obligor’s credit characteristics considered relevant. These securities are generally classified as Level 2 or Level 3 depending on the observability of the significant inputs. Regardless of the method employed to value a particular security, all valuations are subject to review by the Board and/or its appointee.

28

The inputs or methodologies used for valuing securities are not an indication of the risks associated with investing in those securities. The following is a summary of the Fund’s fair value measurements as of the end of the reporting period:

	Level 1			Level 2		Level 3		Total
Long-Term Investments*:
Common Stocks	$	230,390,962		$	—	$	—	$	230,390,962
Short-Term Investments:
Repurchase Agreements		—			3,212,013		—		3,212,013
Investments in Derivatives:
Options Written		(1,059,375	)		—		—		(1,059,375	)
Total	$	229,331,587		$	3,212,013	$	—	$	232,543,600

* Refer to the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments for industry classifications.

3. Portfolio Securities and Investments in Derivatives

Portfolio Securities

Repurchase Agreements

In connection with transactions in repurchase agreements, it is the Fund’s policy that its custodian take possession of the underlying collateral securities, the fair value of which exceeds the principal amount of the repurchase transaction, including accrued interest, at all times. If the counterparty defaults, and the fair value of the collateral declines, realization of the collateral may be delayed or limited.

The following table presents the repurchase agreements for the Fund that are subject to netting agreements as of the end of the reporting period, and the collateral delivered related to those repurchase agreements.

Counterparty	Short-Term Investments, at Value		Collateral Pledged (From) Counterparty*			Net Exposure
Fixed Income Clearing Corporation	$	3,212,013	$	(3,212,013	)	$	—

* As of the end of the reporting period, the value of the collateral pledged from the counterparty exceeded the value of the repurchase agreements. Refer to the Fund’s Portfolio of Investments for details on the repurchase agreements.

Zero Coupon Securities

A zero coupon security does not pay a regular interest coupon to its holders during the life of the security. Income to the holder of the security comes from accretion of the difference between the original purchase price of the security at issuance and the par value of the security at maturity and is effectively paid at maturity. The market prices of zero coupon securities generally are more volatile than the market prices of securities that pay interest periodically.

Investments in Derivatives

The Fund is authorized to invest in certain derivative instruments, such as futures, options and swap contracts. The Fund limits its investments in futures, options on futures and swap contracts to the extent necessary for the Adviser to claim the exclusion from registration by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity pool operator with respect to the Fund. The Fund records derivative instruments at fair value, with changes in fair value recognized on the Statement of Operations, when applicable. Even though the Fund’s investments in derivatives may represent economic hedges, they are not considered to be hedge transactions for financial reporting purposes.

Options Transactions

When the Fund writes an option, an amount equal to the net premium received (the premium less commission) is recognized as a component of “Options written, at value” on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and is subsequently adjusted to reflect the current value of the written option until the option is exercised or expires or the Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction. The changes in the value of options written during the fiscal period are recognized as a component of “Change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of options written” on the Statement of Operations. When an option is exercised or expires or the Fund enters into a closing purchase transaction, the difference between the net premium received and any amount paid at expiration or on executing a closing purchase transaction, including commission, is recognized as a component of “Net realized gain (loss) from options written” on the Statement of Operations. The Fund, as a writer of an option has no control over whether the underlying instrument may be sold (called) or purchased (put) and as a result bears the risk of an unfavorable change in the market value of the instrument or index underlying the written option. There is also the risk the Fund may not be able to enter into a closing transaction because of an illiquid market.

29

Notes to Financial Statements(continued)

During the current fiscal period, the Fund continued to write call options on stock indexes, while investing in a portfolio of equities, to enhance returns while foregoing some upside potential of its equity portfolio.

The average notional amount of outstanding options written during the current fiscal period was as follows:

Average notional amount of outstanding options written* $68,458,333

* The average notional amount is calculated based on the outstanding notional at the beginning of the current fiscal period and at the end of each fiscal quarter within the current fiscal period.

The following table presents the fair value of all options written by the Fund as of the end of the reporting period, the location of these instruments on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and the primary underlying risk exposure.

		Location on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Underlying Risk Exposure	Derivative Instrument	Asset Derivatives			(Liability) Derivatives
		Location	Value		Location	Value
Equity price	Options written	—	$	—	Options written, at value	$	(1,059,375	)

The following table presents the amount of net realized gain (loss) and change in net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) recognized on options written on the Statement of Operations during the current fiscal period, and the primary underlying risk exposure.

Underlying Risk Exposure	Derivative Instrument	Net Realized Gain (Loss) from Options Written			Change in Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) of Options Written
Equity price	Options written	$	(476,999	)	$	(405,095	)

Market and Counterparty Credit Risk

In the normal course of business the Fund may invest in financial instruments and enter into financial transactions where risk of potential loss exists due to changes in the market (market risk) or failure of the other party to the transaction to perform (counterparty credit risk). The potential loss could exceed the value of the financial assets recorded on the financial statements. Financial assets, which potentially expose the Fund to counterparty credit risk, consist principally of cash due from counterparties on forward, option and swap transactions, when applicable. The extent of the Fund’s exposure to counterparty credit risk in respect to these financial assets approximates their carrying value as recorded on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities.

The Fund helps manage counterparty credit risk by entering into agreements only with counterparties the Adviser believes have the financial resources to honor their obligations and by having the Adviser monitor the financial stability of the counterparties. Additionally, counterparties may be required to pledge collateral daily (based on the daily valuation of the financial asset) on behalf of the Fund with a value approximately equal to the amount of any unrealized gain above a pre-determined threshold. Reciprocally, when the Fund has an unrealized loss, the Fund has instructed the custodian to pledge assets of the Fund as collateral with a value approximately equal to the amount of the unrealized loss above a pre-determined threshold. Collateral pledges are monitored and subsequently adjusted if and when the valuations fluctuate, either up or down, by at least the pre-determined threshold amount.

4. Fund Shares

Common Shares

Common Shares Equity Shelf Programs and Offering Costs

The Fund has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) authorizing the Fund to issue additional common shares through one or more equity shelf programs (“Shelf Offering”), which became effective with the SEC during the current fiscal period.

Under this Shelf Offering, the Fund, subject to market conditions, may raise additional equity capital by issuing additional common shares from time to time in varying amounts and by different offering methods at a net price at or above the Fund’s NAV per common share. In the event the Fund’s Shelf Offering registration statement is no longer current, the Fund may not issue additional common shares until a post-effective amendment to the registration statement has been filed with the SEC.

30

Additional authorized common shares, common shares sold and offering proceeds, net of offering costs under the Fund’s Shelf Offering during the Fund’s current and prior fiscal period were as follows:

	Six Months Ended 6/30/19
Additional authorized common shares		1,600,000	*
Common shares sold		—
Offering proceeds, net of offerings cost		—

* Represents additional authorized common shares for the period February 25, 2019 through June 30, 2019.

Costs incurred by the Fund in connection with its initial shelf registration are recorded as a prepaid expense and recognized as “Deferred offering costs” on the Statement of Assets and Liabilities. These costs are amortized pro rata as shares are sold and are recognized as a component of “Proceeds from shelf offering, net of offering costs” on the Statement of Changes in Net Assets. Any deferred offering costs remaining one year after effectiveness of the initial shelf registration will be expensed. Costs incurred by the Funds to keep the shelf registration current are expensed as incurred and recognized as a component of “Other expenses” on the Statement of Operations.

Common Shares Transactions

Transactions in common shares during the Fund’s current and prior fiscal period were as follows:

	Six Months Ended 6/30/19		Year Ended 12/31/18
Common shares issued to shareholders due to reinvestment of distributions		—		6,887

5. Investment Transactions

Long-term purchases and sales (excluding derivative transactions) during the current fiscal period aggregated $55,020,817 and $64,121,066, respectively.

6. Income Tax Information

The Fund intends to distribute substantially all of its net investment company taxable income to shareholders and to otherwise comply with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies. In any year when the Fund realizes net capital gains, the Fund may choose to distribute all or a portion of its net capital gains to shareholders, or alternatively, to retain all or a portion of its net capital gains and pay federal corporate income taxes on such retained gains.

For all open tax years and all major taxing jurisdictions, management of the Fund has concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions that would require recognition in the financial statements. Open tax years are those that are open for examination by taxing authorities (i.e., generally the last four tax year ends and the interim tax period since then). Furthermore, management of the Fund is also not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change in the next twelve months.

The following information is presented on an income tax basis. Differences between amounts for financial statement and federal income tax purposes are primarily due to timing differences in recognizing certain gains and losses on investment transactions and the recognition of unrealized gain or loss for tax (mark-to-market) on futures contracts and certain options contracts. To the extent that differences arise that are permanent in nature, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts as detailed below. Temporary differences do not require reclassification. Temporary and permanent differences do not impact the NAV of the Fund.

The tables below present the cost and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of the Fund’s investment portfolio, as determined on a federal income tax basis, as of June 30, 2019.

For purposes of this disclosure, derivative tax cost is generally the sum of any upfront fees or premiums exchanged and any amounts unrealized for income statement reporting but realized in income and/or capital gains for tax reporting. If a particular derivative category does not disclose any tax unrealized appreciation or depreciation, the change in value of those derivatives have generally been fully realized for tax purposes.

Tax cost of investments	$	197,096,175
Gross unrealized:
Appreciation	$	41,079,785
Depreciation		(4,572,985	)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of investments	$	36,506,800

Tax cost of options written	$	(1,059,375)
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) of options written		—

31

Notes to Financial Statements(continued)

Permanent differences, primarily due to real estate investment trust adjustments, resulted in reclassifications among the Fund’s components of common shares net assets as of December 31, 2018, the Fund’s last tax year end.

The tax components of undistributed net ordinary income and net long-term capital gains as of December 31, 2018, the Fund’s last tax year end, were as follows:
Undistributed net ordinary income	$	—
Undistributed net long-term capital gains		6,002,179
The tax character of distributions paid during the Fund’s last tax year ended December 31, 2018 was designated for purposes of the dividends paid deduction as follows:
Distributions from net ordinary income1	$	1,178,049
Distributions from net long-term capital gains		16,607,934

¹  Net ordinary income consists of net taxable income derived from dividends, interest, and net short-term capital gains, if any.

7. Management Fees

The Fund’s management fee compensates the Adviser for overall investment advisory and administrative services and general office facilities. The Sub-Advisers are compensated for their services to the Fund from the management fees paid to the Adviser.

The Fund’s management fee consists of two components – a fund-level fee, based only on the amount of assets within the Fund, and a complex-level fee, based on the aggregate amount of all eligible fund assets managed by the Adviser. This pricing structure enables Fund shareholders to benefit from growth in the assets within the Fund as well as from growth in the amount of complex-wide assets managed by the Adviser.

The annual fund-level fee, payable monthly, is calculated according to the following schedule:

Average Daily Managed Assets*	Fund-Level Fee Rate
For the first $500 million		0.7500	%
For the next $500 million		0.7250
For the next $500 million		0.7000
For the next $500 million		0.6750
For managed assets over $2 billion		0.6500

The annual complex-level fee, payable monthly, is calculated by multiplying the current complex-wide fee rate, determined according to the following schedule by the Fund’s daily managed assets:

Complex-Level Eligible Asset Breakpoint Level*	Effective Complex-Level Fee Rate at Breakpoint Level
$55 billion		0.2000	%
$56 billion		0.1996
$57 billion		0.1989
$60 billion		0.1961
$63 billion		0.1931
$66 billion		0.1900
$71 billion		0.1851
$76 billion		0.1806
$80 billion		0.1773
$91 billion		0.1691
$125 billion		0.1599
$200 billion		0.1505
$250 billion		0.1469
$300 billion		0.1445

* For the complex-level fees, managed assets include closed-end fund assets managed by the Adviser that are attributable to certain types of leverage. For these purposes, leverage includes the funds’ use of preferred stock and borrowings and certain investments in the residual interest certificates (also called inverse floating rate securities) in tender option bond (TOB) trusts, including the portion of assets held by a TOB trust that has been effectively financed by the trust’s issuance of floating rate securities, subject to an agreement by the Adviser as to certain funds to limit the amount of such assets for determining managed assets in certain circumstances. The complex-level fee is calculated based upon the aggregate daily managed assets of all Nuveen open-end and closed-end funds that constitute “eligible assets.” Eligible assets do not include assets attributable to investments in other Nuveen funds or assets in excess of a determined amount (originally $2 billion) added to the Nuveen fund complex in connection with the Adviser’s assumption of the management of the former First American Funds effective January 1, 2011. As of June 30, 2019, the complex-level fee for the Fund was 0.1577%.

32

8. Borrowing Arrangements

Inter-Fund Borrowing and Lending

The SEC has granted an exemptive order permitting registered open-end and closed-end Nuveen funds to participate in an inter-fund lending facility whereby the Nuveen funds may directly lend to and borrow money from each other for temporary purposes (e.g., to satisfy redemption requests or when a sale of securities “fails,” resulting in an unanticipated cash shortfall) (the “Inter-Fund Program”). The closed-end Nuveen funds, including the Fund covered by this shareholder report, will participate only as lenders, and not as borrowers, in the Inter-Fund Program because such closed-end funds rarely, if ever, need to borrow cash to meet redemptions. The Inter-Fund Program is subject to a number of conditions, including, among other things, the requirements that (1) no fund may borrow or lend money through the Inter-Fund Program unless it receives a more favorable interest rate than is typically available from a bank or other financial institution for a comparable transaction; (2) no fund may borrow on an unsecured basis through the Inter-Fund Program unless the fund’s outstanding borrowings from all sources immediately after the inter-fund borrowing total 10% or less of its total assets; provided that if the borrowing fund has a secured borrowing outstanding from any other lender, including but not limited to another fund, the inter-fund loan must be secured on at least an equal priority basis with at least an equivalent percentage of collateral to loan value; (3) if a fund’s total outstanding borrowings immediately after an inter-fund borrowing would be greater than 10% of its total assets, the fund may borrow through the inter-fund loan on a secured basis only; (4) no fund may lend money if the loan would cause its aggregate outstanding loans through the Inter-Fund Program to exceed 15% of its net assets at the time of the loan; (5) a fund’s inter-fund loans to any one fund shall not exceed 5% of the lending fund’s net assets; (6) the duration of inter-fund loans will be limited to the time required to receive payment for securities sold, but in no event more than seven days; and (7) each inter-fund loan may be called on one business day’s notice by a lending fund and may be repaid on any day by a borrowing fund. In addition, a Nuveen fund may participate in the Inter-Fund Program only if and to the extent that such participation is consistent with the fund’s investment objective and investment policies. The Board is responsible for overseeing the Inter-Fund Program.

The limitations detailed above and the other conditions of the SEC exemptive order permitting the Inter-Fund Program are designed to minimize the risks associated with Inter-Fund Program for both the lending fund and the borrowing fund. However, no borrowing or lending activity is without risk. When a fund borrows money from another fund, there is a risk that the loan could be called on one day’s notice or not renewed, in which case the fund may have to borrow from a bank at a higher rate or take other actions to payoff such loan if an inter-fund loan is not available from another fund. Any delay in repayment to a lending fund could result in a lost investment opportunity or additional borrowing costs.

During the current reporting period, the Fund did not enter into any inter-fund loan activity.

9. New Accounting Pronouncements

Fair Value Measurement: Disclosure Framework

During August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-13 (“ASU 2018-13”),Fair Value Measurement: Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurements.ASU 2018-13 modifies the disclosures required by Topic 820,Fair Value Measurements. The amendments in ASU 2018-13 are effective for all entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Management has early implemented this guidance and it did not have a material impact on the Fund’s financial statements.

10. Subsequent Events

Complex-Level Management Fee

Effective August 1, 2019 (subsequent to the close of the reporting period), “eligible assets” of the complex-level management fee will include certain assets of certain Nuveen funds that were reorganized into funds advised by an affiliate of the Adviser during the 2019 calendar year.

33

Additional Fund Information

Board of Trustees
Margo Cook*	Jack B. Evans	William C. Hunter	Albin F. Moschner	John K. Nelson
Judith M. Stockdale	Carole E. Stone	Terence J. Toth	Margaret L. Wolff	Robert L. Young

* Interested Board Member.

Fund Manager Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC 333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 Custodian State Street Bank
& Trust Company One Lincoln Street Boston, MA 02111 Legal Counsel Chapman and Cutler LLP Chicago, IL 60603 Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP One North Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606 Transfer Agent and
Shareholder Services Computershare Trust Company, N.A. 250 Royall Street Canton, MA 02021 (800) 257-8787

Portfolio of Investments Information

The Fund is required to file its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year as an exhibit to its report on Form N-PORT. You may obtain this information on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Nuveen Funds’ Proxy Voting Information

You may obtain (i) information regarding how each fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities held during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30, without charge, upon request, by calling Nuveen toll-free at (800) 257-8787 or on Nuveen’s website at www.nuveen.com and (ii) a description of the policies and procedures that each fund used to determine how to vote proxies relating to portfolio securities without charge, upon request, by calling Nuveen toll free at (800) 257-8787. You may also obtain this information directly from the SEC. Visit the SEC on-line at http://www.sec.gov.

CEO Certification Disclosure

The Fund’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has submitted to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) the annual CEO certification as required by Section 303A.12(a) of the NYSE Listed Company Manual. The Fund has filed with the SEC the certification of its CEO and Chief Financial Officer required by Section 302 of theSarbanes-Oxley Act.

Common Share Repurchases

The Fund intends to repurchase, through its open-market share repurchase program, shares of its own common stock at such times and in such amounts as is deemed advisable. During the period covered by this report, the Fund repurchased shares of its common stock, as shown in the accompanying table. Any future repurchases will be reported to shareholders in the next annual or semi-annual report.

	JCE
Common shares repurchased		—

FINRA BrokerCheck

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) provides information regarding the disciplinary history of FINRA member firms and associated investment professionals. This information as well as an investor brochure describing FINRA BrokerCheck is available to the public by calling the FINRA BrokerCheck Hotline number at (800) 289-9999 or by visiting www.FINRA.org.

34

Glossary of Terms Used in this Report

∎ Average Annual Total Return: This is a commonly used method to express an investment’s performance over a particular, usually multi-year time period. It expresses the return that would have been necessary each year to equal the investment’s actual cumulative performance (including change in NAV or market price and reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions, if any) over the time period being considered.

∎ Blended Index: A blend of returns consisting of 1) 50% of the S&P 500^® Index and 2) 50% of the CBOE S&P 500^® Buy/write Index(BXM), which is a passive total return index based on selling the near-term, at-the-money S&P 500^® Index (SPX) call option against the S&P 500^® Index portfolio each month, on the day the current contract expires. Index returns assume reinvestment of distributions, but do not include the effects of any applicable sales charges or management fees.

∎ Chicago Board of Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index^® (VIX^®): An index that is a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500^® option prices. Since its introduction in 1993, VIX has been considered by many to be the world’s premier barometer of investor sentiment and market volatility (www.cboe.com). Index returns assume reinvestment of distributions, but do not include the effects of any applicable sales charges or management fees.

∎ Net Asset Value (NAV) Per Share: A fund’s Net Assets is equal to its total assets (securities, cash, accrued earnings and receivables) less its total liabilities. NAV per share is equal to the fund’s Net Assets divided by its number of shares outstanding.

∎ Russell 2000^® Index: A market-weighted index published by the Frank Russell Company measuring the performance of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000^® Index. The Russell 3000^® is made up of 3,000 of the largest U.S. stocks and represents approximately 98% of the U.S. equity market. The Russell 2000^® serves as a benchmark for small-cap stocks in the U.S. Index returns assume reinvestment of distributions, but do not reflect any applicable sales charges or management fees.

∎ S&P 500^®: An unmanaged index generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Index returns assume reinvestment of distributions, but do not reflect any applicable sales charges or management fees.

35

Reinvest Automatically, Easily and Conveniently

Nuveen makes reinvesting easy. A phone call is all it takes to set up your reinvestment account.

Nuveen Closed-End Funds Automatic Reinvestment Plan

Your Nuveen Closed-End Fund allows you to conveniently reinvest distributions in additional Fund shares.

By choosing to reinvest, you’ll be able to invest money regularly and automatically, and watch your investment grow through the power of compounding. Just like distributions in cash, there may be times when income or capital gains taxes may be payable on distributions that are reinvested.

It is important to note that an automatic reinvestment plan does not ensure a profit, nor does it protect you against loss in a declining market.

Easy and convenient

To make recordkeeping easy and convenient, each quarter you’ll receive a statement showing your total distributions, the date of investment, the shares acquired and the price per share, and the total number of shares you own.

How shares are purchased

The shares you acquire by reinvesting will either be purchased on the open market or newly issued by the Fund. If the shares are trading at or above net asset value at the time of valuation, the Fund will issue new shares at the greater of the net asset value or 95% of the then-current market price. If the shares are trading at less than net asset value, shares for your account will be purchased on the open market. If the Plan Agent begins purchasing Fund shares on the open market while shares are trading below net asset value, but the Fund’s shares subsequently trade at or above their net asset value before the Plan Agent is able to complete its purchases, the Plan Agent may cease open-market purchases and may invest the uninvested portion of the distribution in newly-issued Fund shares at a price equal to the greater of the shares’ net asset value or 95% of the shares’ market value on the last business day immediately prior to the purchase date. Distributions received to purchase shares in the open market will normally be invested shortly after the distribution payment date. No interest will be paid on distributions awaiting reinvestment. Because the market price of the shares may increase before purchases are completed, the average purchase price per share may exceed the market price at the time of valuation, resulting in the acquisition of fewer shares than if the distribution had been paid in shares issued by the Fund. A pro rata portion of any applicable brokerage commissions on open market purchases will be paid by Plan participants. These commissions usually will be lower than those charged on individual transactions.

Flexible

You may change your distribution option or withdraw from the Plan at any time, should your needs or situation change.

You can reinvest whether your shares are registered in your name, or in the name of a brokerage firm, bank, or other nominee. Ask your investment advisor if his or her firm will participate on your behalf. Participants whose shares are registered in the name of one firm may not be able to transfer the shares to another firm and continue to participate in the Plan.

The Fund reserves the right to amend or terminate the Plan at any time. Although the Fund reserves the right to amend the Plan to include a service charge payable by the participants, there is no direct service charge to participants in the Plan at this time.

Call today to start reinvesting distributions

For more information on the Nuveen Automatic Reinvestment Plan or to enroll in or withdraw from the Plan, speak with your financial advisor or call us at (800) 257-8787.

36

Annual Investment Management Agreement Approval Process

(Unaudited)

At a meeting held onMay 21-23, 2019 (the“May Meeting”), the Board of Trustees (the“Board” and each Trustee, a“Board Member”) of the Fund, including the Board Members who are not “interested persons” (as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the“1940 Act”)) (the“Independent Board Members”), approved the renewal of the management agreement (the“Investment Management Agreement”) with Nuveen Fund Advisors, LLC (the“Adviser”) pursuant to which the Adviser serves as investment adviser to the Fund and thesub-advisory agreements (the“Sub-Advisory Agreements”) with each of Nuveen Asset Management, LLC (“NAM”) and Intech Investment Management LLC (“Intech,” and NAM and Intech each a“Sub-Adviser”) pursuant to which theSub-Advisers serve as thesub-advisers to the Fund. Following an initialtwo-year period, the Board, including the Independent Board Members, is required under the 1940 Act to review and approve the Investment Management Agreement andSub-Advisory Agreements on behalf of the Fund on an annual basis. The Investment Management Agreement andSub-Advisory Agreements are collectively referred to as the“Advisory Agreements” and the Adviser and eachSub-Adviser are collectively, the“Fund Advisers” and each, a“Fund Adviser.”

In response to a request on behalf of the Independent Board Members by independent legal counsel, the Board received and reviewed prior to the May Meeting extensive materials specifically prepared for the annual review of Advisory Agreements by the Adviser as well as by Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Broadridge”), an independent provider of investment company data. The materials provided in connection with the annual review covered a breadth of subject matter including, but not limited to, a description of the nature, extent and quality of services provided by the Fund Advisers; a review of eachSub-Adviser and investment team; an analysis of fund performance in absolute terms and as compared to the performance of certain peer funds and benchmarks with a focus on any performance outliers; an analysis of the fees and expense ratios of the Nuveen funds in absolute terms and as compared to those of certain peer funds with a focus on any expense outliers; a description of portfolio manager compensation; a review of the secondary market trading of shares of the Nuveenclosed-end funds (including, among other things, an analysis of performance, distribution and valuation and capital raising trends in the broaderclosed-end fund market and in particular with respect to Nuveenclosed-end funds; a review of the leverage management actions taken on behalf of the Nuveenclosed-end funds and their resulting impact on performance; and a description of the distribution management process and any capital management activities); a review of the performance of various service providers; a description of various initiatives Nuveen had undertaken or continued during the year for the benefit of particular fund(s) and/or the complex; a description of the profitability or financial data of Nuveen and theSub-Advisers; and a description of indirect benefits received by the Fund Advisers as a result of their relationships with the Nuveen funds. The Board Members held anin-person meeting onApril 17-18, 2019 (the“April Meeting”), in part, to review and discuss the performance of the Nuveen funds and the Adviser’s evaluation of the varioussub-advisers to the Nuveen funds. The Independent Board Members asked questions and requested additional information that was provided for the May Meeting.

The information prepared specifically for the annual review of the Advisory Agreements supplemented the information provided to the Board and its committees throughout the year. The Board and its committees met regularly during the year and the information provided and topics discussed were relevant to the review of the Advisory Agreements. Some of these reports and other data included, among other things, materials that outlined the investment performance of the Nuveen funds; strategic plans of the Adviser which may impact the services it provides to the Nuveen funds; the review of the Nuveen funds and applicable investment teams; the management of leverage financing forclosed-end funds; the secondary market trading of theclosed-end funds and any actions to address discounts; compliance, regulatory and risk management matters; the trading practices of the varioussub-advisers; valuation of securities; fund expenses; and overall market and regulatory developments. The Board further continued its practice of seeking to meet periodically with the varioussub-advisers to the Nuveen funds and their investment teams, when feasible. The Independent Board Members considered the review of the Advisory Agreements to be an ongoing process and employed the accumulated information, knowledge, and experience the Board Members had gained during their tenure on the boards governing the Nuveen funds and working with the Fund Advisers in their review of the Advisory Agreements. The contractual arrangements are a result of multiple years of review, negotiation and information provided in connection with the boards’ annual review of the Nuveen funds’ advisory arrangements and oversight of the Nuveen funds.

The Independent Board Members were advised by independent legal counsel during the annual review process as well as throughout the year, including meeting in executive sessions with such counsel at which no representatives from the Adviser or a

37

Annual Investment Management Agreement Approval Process(continued)

(Unaudited)

Sub-Adviser were present. In connection with their annual review, the Independent Board Members also received a memorandum from independent legal counsel outlining their fiduciary duties and legal standards in reviewing the Advisory Agreements.

In deciding to renew the Advisory Agreements, the Independent Board Members did not identify a particular factor or information as determinative or controlling, but rather the decision reflected the comprehensive consideration of all the information provided, and each Board Member may have attributed different levels of importance to the various factors and information considered in connection with the approval process. The following summarizes the principal factors and information, but not all the factors, the Board considered in deciding to renew the Advisory Agreements and its conclusions.

A. Nature, Extent and Quality of Services

In evaluating the renewal of the Advisory Agreements, the Independent Board Members received and considered information regarding the nature, extent and quality of the applicable Fund Adviser’s services provided to the Fund with particular focus on the services and enhancements to such services provided during the last year. The Board recognized that the Adviser provides a comprehensive set of services necessary to operate the Nuveen funds in a highly regulated industry and noted that the scope of such services has expanded over the years as a result of regulatory, market and other developments, such as the development of the liquidity management program and expanded compliance programs. Some of the functions the Adviser is responsible for include, but are not limited to: product management (such as analyzing a fund’s position in the marketplace, setting dividends, preparing shareholder and intermediary communications and other due diligence support); investment oversight (such as analyzing fund performance,sub-advisers and investment teams and analyzing trade executions of portfolio transactions, soft dollar practices and securities lending activities); securities valuation services (such as executing the daily valuation process for portfolio securities and developing and recommending changes to valuation policies and procedures); risk management (such as overseeing operational and investment risks, including stress testing); fund administration (such as preparing fund tax returns and other tax compliance services, overseeing the Nuveen funds’ independent public accountants and other service providers; managing fund budgets and expenses; and helping to fulfill the funds’ regulatory filing requirements); oversight of shareholder services and transfer agency functions (such as oversight and liaison of transfer agent service providers which include registered shareholder customer service and transaction processing); Board relations services (such as organizing and administering Board and committee meetings, preparing various reports to the Board and committees and providing other support services); compliance and regulatory oversight services (such as developing and maintaining a compliance program to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, monitoring compliance with applicable fund policies and procedures and adherence to investment restrictions, and evaluating the compliance programs of the Nuveen fundsub-advisers and certain other service providers); legal support and oversight of outside law firms (such as with respect to filing and updating registration statements; maintaining various regulatory registrations; and providing legal interpretations regarding fund activities, applicable regulations and implementation of policies and procedures); and leverage, capital and distribution management services. In reviewing the scope and quality of services, the Board recognized the continued efforts and resources the Adviser and its affiliates have employed to continue to enhance their services for the benefit of the complex as well as particular Nuveen funds over recent years. Such service enhancements have included, but are not limited to:

• Fund Improvements and Product Management Initiatives – continuing to proactively manage the Nuveen fund complex as a whole and at the individual fund level with an aim to enhance the shareholder outcomes through, among other things, repositioning funds, merging funds, reviewing and updating investment policies and benchmarks, modifying the composition of certain portfolio management teams and analyzing various data to help devise such improvements;

• Capital Initiatives – continuing to invest capital to support new funds with initial capital as well as to facilitate modifications to the strategies or structure of existing funds;

• Compliance Program Initiatives – continuing efforts to enhance the compliance program through, among other things, internally integrating various portfolio management teams and aligning compliance support accordingly, completing a comprehensive review of existing policies and procedures and revising such policies and procedures as appropriate, enhancingcompliance-related technologies and workflows, and optimizing compliance shared services across the organization and affiliates;

38

• Risk Management and Valuation Services – continuing efforts to strengthen the risk management functions, including through, among other things, enhancing the interaction and reporting between the investment risk management team and various affiliates, increasing the efficiency of risk monitoring performed on the Nuveen funds through improved reporting, continuing to implement risk programs designed to provide a more disciplined and consistent approach to identifying and mitigating operational risks, continuing progress on implementing a liquidity program that complies with the new liquidity regulatory requirements and continuing to oversee the daily valuation process;

• Additional Compliance Services – continuing investment of time and resources necessary to develop the compliance policies and procedures and other related tools necessary to meet the various new regulatory requirements affecting the Nuveen funds that have been adopted over recent years;

• Government Relations – continuing efforts of various Nuveen teams and affiliates to advocate and communicate their positions with lawmakers and other regulatory bodies on issues that will impact the Nuveen funds;

• Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery and Information Services – establishing an information security program to help identify and manage information security risks, periodically testing disaster recovery plans, maintaining and updating business continuity plans and providing reports to the Board, at least annually, addressing, among other things, management’s security risk assessment, cyber risk profile, incident tracking and other relevant information technology risk-related reports;

• Expanded Dividend Management Services – continuing to expand the services necessary to manage the dividends among the varying types of Nuveen funds that have developed as the Nuveen complex has grown in size and scope; and

• with respect specifically toclosed-end funds, such initiatives also included:

• Leverage Management Services – continuing to actively manage leverage including developing new leverage instruments, refinancing existing leverage and negotiating reductions in associated leverage expenses;

• Capital Management Services – ongoing capital management efforts through a share repurchase program as well as a shelf offering program that raises additional equity capital in seeking to enhance shareholder value;

• Data and Market Analytics – continuing focus on analyzing data and market analytics to better understand the ownership cycles and secondary market experience ofclosed-end funds; and

• Closed-end Fund Investor Relations Program – maintaining theclosed-end fund investor relations program which, among other things, raises awareness, provides educational materials and cultivates advocacy forclosed-end funds and the Nuveenclosed-end fund product line.

In addition to the services provided by the Adviser, the Board also considered the risks borne by the Adviser and its affiliates in managing the Nuveen funds, including entrepreneurial, operational, reputational, regulatory and litigation risks.

The Board further considered the division of responsibilities between the Adviser and theSub-Advisers and recognized that theSub-Advisers and their investment personnel generally are responsible for the management of the Fund’s portfolio or a portion thereof. The Board noted that the Adviser oversees theSub-Advisers and considered an analysis of eachSub-Adviser provided by the Adviser which included, among other things, theSub-Adviser’s assets under management and changes thereto, a summary of the investment team and changes thereto, the investment approach of the team and the performance of the Nuveen fundssub-advised by eachSub-Adviser over various periods. The Board further considered at the May Meeting or prior meetings evaluations of eachSub-Adviser’s compliance program and trade execution. The Board noted that the Adviser recommended the renewal of theSub-Advisory Agreements.

Based on its review, the Board determined, in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment, that it was satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund under each applicable Advisory Agreement.

B. The Investment Performance of the Fund and Fund Advisers

In evaluating the quality of the services provided by the Fund Advisers, the Board also received and considered the investment performance of the Nuveen funds they advise. In this regard, the Board reviewed Fund performance over the

39

Annual Investment Management Agreement Approval Process(continued)

(Unaudited)

quarter,one-,three- andfive-year periods ending December 31, 2018 as well as performance data for the first quarter of 2019 ending March 29, 2019. Unless otherwise indicated, the performance data referenced below reflects the periods ended December 31, 2018. The Board considered the Adviser’s analysis of each fund’s performance, with particular focus on funds that were considered performance outliers and the factors contributing to their performance. The Board also noted that it received performance data of the Nuveen funds during its quarterly meetings throughout the year and took into account the discussions that occurred at these Board meetings regarding fund performance. In this regard, in its evaluation of Nuveen fund performance at meetings throughout the year, the Board considered performance information for the funds for different time periods, both absolute and relative to appropriate benchmarks and peers, with particular attention to information indicating underperformance of the respective funds and discussed with the Adviser the reasons for such underperformance.

The Board reviewed both absolute and relative fund performance during the annual review. With respect to the latter, the Board considered fund performance in comparison to the performance of peer funds (the“Performance Peer Group”) and recognized and/or customized benchmarks (i.e., generally benchmarks derived from multiple recognized benchmarks). The Board also reviewed, in relevant part, the returns of the sleevesub-advised by Intech for the quarter,one-,three- andfive-year periods ending December 31, 2018, as well as performance information reflecting the first quarter of 2019. In considering performance data, the Board is aware of certain inherent limitations with such data, including that differences between the objective(s), strategies and other characteristics of the Nuveen funds compared to the respective Performance Peer Group and/or benchmark(s) (such as differences in the use of leverage) will necessarily contribute to differences in performance results and limit the value of the comparative information. To assist the Board in its review of the comparability of the relative performance, the Adviser has ranked the relevancy of the peer group to the funds as low, medium or high. Depending on the facts and circumstances, however, the Board may be satisfied with a fund’s performance notwithstanding that its performance may be below its benchmark or peer group for certain periods. In addition, the performance data may vary significantly depending on the end date selected, and shareholders may evaluate fund performance based on their own holding period which may differ from the performance periods reviewed by the Board leading to different results. Further, the Board considered a fund’s performance in light of the overall financial market conditions during the respective periods. As noted above, the Board reviewed, among other things, Nuveen fund performance over various periods ended December 31, 2018, and the Board was aware of the market decline in the fourth quarter of 2018 and considered performance from the first quarter of 2019 as well. The Board also noted that a shorter period of underperformance may significantly impact longer term performance.

In addition to the foregoing, the Board recognized the importance of secondary market trading to shareholders and considered the evaluation of premiums and discounts at which the shares of the Nuveenclosed-end funds trade to be a continuing priority for the Board. The Board and/or itsClosed-end Fund committee consider premium and discount data at each quarterly meeting throughout the year as well as during the annual review.

In their review of performance, the Independent Board Members focused, in particular, on the Adviser’s analysis of Nuveen funds determined to be underperforming performance outliers. The Board recognized that some periods of underperformance may only be temporary while other periods of underperformance may indicate a broader issue that may require a corrective action. Accordingly, with respect to any Nuveen funds for which the Board had identified performance issues, the Board monitors such funds closely until performance improves, discusses with the Adviser the reasons for such results, considers whether any steps are necessary or appropriate to address such issues, and reviews the results of any efforts undertaken.

The Board noted that the Fund’s performance was below its benchmark in theone-,three- andfive-year periods. The Board noted, however, that the Fund ranked in the second quartile of the Performance Peer Group for thefive-year period and the third quartile in theone- andthree-year periods. In considering performance, the Board recognized that the Performance Peer Group was classified as low for relevancy. The Board considered the factors that contributed to the Fund’s underperformance compared to its benchmark and was satisfied with the explanation.

C. Fees, Expenses and Profitability

1. Fees and Expenses

In its annual review, the Board considered the fees paid to the Fund Advisers and the total operating expense ratio of each Nuveen fund. More specifically, the Independent Board Members reviewed, among other things, each fund’s gross and net

40

management fee rates and net total expense ratio in relation to those of a comparable universe of funds (the“Peer Universe”) established by Broadridge. The Independent Board Members reviewed the methodology Broadridge employed to establish its Peer Universe and recognized that differences between the applicable fund and its respective Peer Universe as well as changes to the composition of the Peer Universe from year to year may limit some of the value of the comparative data. The Independent Board Members also considered a fund’s operating expense ratio as it more directly reflected the shareholder’s costs in investing in the respective fund.

In their review, the Independent Board Members considered, in particular, each fund with a net expense ratio (excluding investment-related costs of leverage) of six basis points or higher compared to that of its peer average (each, an“Expense Outlier Fund”), and an analysis as to the factors contributing to each such fund’s higher relative net expense ratio. In addition, although the Board reviewed a fund’s total net expenses both including and excludinginvestment-related expenses (i.e., leverage costs) and taxes for certain of theclosed-end funds, the Board recognized that leverage expenses will vary across the Nuveen funds and in comparison to peers because of differences in the forms and terms of leverage employed by the respective fund. Accordingly, in reviewing the comparative data between a fund and its peers, the Board generally considered the fund’s net expense ratio and fees (excluding leverage costs and leveraged assets) to be higher if they were over 10 basis points higher, slightly higher if they were 6 to 10 basis points higher, in line if they were within approximately 5 basis points higher than the peer average and below if they were below the peer average of the Peer Universe. The Independent Board Members also considered, in relevant part, a fund’s net management fee and net total expense ratio in light of its performance history.

In their review of the fee arrangements for the Nuveen funds, the Independent Board Members considered the management fee schedules, including thecomplex-wide andfund-level breakpoint schedules, as applicable. The Board noted that across the Nuveen fund complex, the complex-wide fee breakpoints reduced fees by $51.5 million and fund-level breakpoints reduced fees by $55.1 million in 2018.

With respect to theSub-Advisers, the Board considered thesub-advisory fee paid to eachSub-Adviser, including any breakpoint schedule, and as described below, comparative data of the fees theSub-Adviser charges to other clients, if any.

The Independent Board Members noted that the Fund had a net management fee and a net expense ratio below its respective peer average. Based on its review of the information provided, the Board determined that the Fund’s management fees (as applicable) to a Fund Adviser were reasonable in light of the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Fund.

2. Comparisons with the Fees of Other Clients

In determining the appropriateness of fees, the Board also reviewed information regarding the fee rates the respective Fund Advisers charged to certain other types of clients and the type of services provided to these other clients. With respect to the Adviser and/or NAM, such other clients may include: retail and institutional managed accounts;sub-advised funds outside the Nuveen family; foreign investment companies offered by Nuveen; and collective investment trusts. The Board further noted that the Adviser also advised certain exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) sponsored by Nuveen.

The Board recognized that NAM was an affiliatedsub-adviser and reviewed, among other things, the range of fees assessed for managed accounts and foreign investment companies offered by Nuveen. The Board also reviewed the fee range and average fee rate of certain selected investment strategies offered in retail and institutional managed accounts by NAM and of thenon-Nuveen investment companiessub-advised by affiliatedsub-advisers.

In addition to the comparative fee data, the Board also reviewed, among other things, a description of the different levels of services provided to certain other clients compared to the services provided to the Nuveen funds as well as the differences in portfolio investment policies, investor profiles, account sizes and regulatory requirements, all of which contribute to the variations in the fee schedules. The Board noted, among other things, the wide range of services in addition to investment management services provided to the Nuveen funds when the Adviser is principally responsible for all aspects of operating the funds, including the increased regulatory requirements that must be met in managing the funds, the larger account sizes of managed accounts and the increased entrepreneurial, legal and regulatory risks that the Adviser incurs in sponsoring and managing the funds. Further, with respect to ETFs, the Board considered that Nuveen ETFs are passively managed compared to the active management of other Nuveen funds which contributed to the differences in fee levels between the Nuveen ETFs

41

Annual Investment Management Agreement Approval Process(continued)

(Unaudited)

and other Nuveen funds. In general, higher fee levels reflect higher levels of service provided by the Adviser, increased investment management complexity, greater product management requirements, and higher levels of business risk or some combination of these factors. The Board further considered, with respect to NAM, that theSub-Adviser’s fee is essentially for portfolio management services and therefore more comparable to the fees it receives for retail wrap accounts and other externalsub-advisory mandates. The Board concluded the varying levels of fees were justified given, among other things, the inherent differences in the products and the level of services provided to the Nuveen funds versus other clients, the differing regulatory requirements and legal liabilities and the entrepreneurial, legal and regulatory risks incurred in sponsoring and advising a registered investment company.

The Board recognized that Intech was an unaffiliatedsub-adviser. With respect to Intech, the Independent Board Members reviewed the average fee rates that suchSub-Adviser charges for other clients. The Independent Board Members noted that theSub-Advisory Agreement with Intech, including the fee thereunder, was the result of arm’s length negotiations and Intech’s fees were reasonable in relation to the fees it assessed other clients.

3. Profitability of Fund Advisers

In conjunction with their review of fees, the Independent Board Members considered information regarding Nuveen’s level of profitability for its advisory services to the Nuveen funds for the calendar years 2018 and 2017. The Board reviewed, among other things, Nuveen’s net margins(pre-tax) (both including and excluding distribution expenses); gross and net revenue margins(pre- andpost-tax); revenues, expenses, and net income(pre-tax andafter-tax and before distribution) of Nuveen for fund advisory services; and comparative profitability data comparing the adjusted margins of Nuveen compared to the adjusted margins of certain peers with publicly available data and with the most comparable assets under management (based on asset size and asset composition) for each of the last two calendar years. The Board also reviewed the revenues and expenses the Adviser derived from its ETF product line that was launched in 2016. The Independent Board Members noted that Nuveen’s net margins were higher in 2018 than the previous year and considered the key drivers behind the revenue and expense changes that impacted Nuveen’s net margins between the years. The Board considered the costs of investments in the Nuveen business, including the investment of seed capital in certain Nuveen funds and additional investments in infrastructure and technology. The Independent Board Members also noted that Nuveen’s adjusted margins from its relationships with the Nuveen funds were on the low range compared to the adjusted margins of the peers; however, the Independent Board Members recognized the inherent limitations of the comparative data of other publicly traded peers given that the calculation of profitability is rather subjective and numerous factors (such as types of funds, business mix, cost of capital, methodology to allocate expenses and other factors) can have a significant impact on the results.

The Independent Board Members also reviewed a description of the expense allocation methodology employed to develop the financial information and a summary of the history of changes to the methodology over theten-year period from 2008 to 2018, and recognized that other reasonable allocation methodologies could be employed and lead to significantly different results. The Board noted that two Independent Board Members, along with independent counsel, serve as the Board’s liaisons to review profitability and discuss any proposed changes to the methodology prior to the full Board’s review.

Aside from Nuveen’s profitability, the Board recognized that the Adviser is a subsidiary of Nuveen, LLC, the investment management arm of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (“TIAA”). As such, the Board also reviewed a balance sheet for TIAA reflecting its assets, liabilities and capital and contingency reserves for the 2018 and 2017 calendar years to consider the financial strength of TIAA having recognized the importance of having an adviser with significant resources.

In addition to Nuveen, the Independent Board Members also considered the profitability of theSub-Advisers from their relationships with the Nuveen funds. With respect to NAM, the Independent Board Members reviewed suchSub-Adviser’s revenues, expenses and revenue margins(pre- andpost-tax) for its advisory activities for the calendar year ended December 31, 2018. The Independent Board Members also reviewed a profitability analysis reflecting the revenues, expenses and revenue margin(pre- andpost-tax) by asset type for NAM for the calendar year ending December 31, 2018 and thepre- andpost-tax revenue margin from 2018 and 2017. With respect to Intech, the Independent Board Members considered a profitability and margin analysis for theSub-Adviser, including revenues, expenses and operating margins for its advisory services to the Fund for the calendar years 2018 and 2017.

42

In evaluating the reasonableness of the compensation, the Independent Board Members also considered any other ancillary benefits derived by the respective Fund Adviser from its relationship with the Nuveen funds as discussed in further detail below.

Based on a consideration of all the information provided, the Board noted that Nuveen’s and eachSub-Adviser’s level of profitability was acceptable and not unreasonable in light of the services provided.

D. Economies of Scale and Whether Fee Levels Reflect These Economies of Scale

With respect to economies of scale, the Independent Board Members noted that although economies of scale are difficult to measure, the Adviser shares the benefits of economies of scale in various ways including breakpoints in the management fee schedule (subject to limited exceptions), fee waivers and/or expense limitations, the pricing of Nuveen funds at scale at inception and investments in its business which can enhance the services provided to the funds for the fees paid. With respect to breakpoint schedules, because the Board had previously recognized that economies of scale may occur not only when the assets of a particular Nuveen fund grow but also when the assets in the complex grow, the Nuveen funds generally pay the Adviser a management fee comprised of afund-level component and acomplex-level component each with its own breakpoint schedule, subject to certain exceptions. In general terms, the breakpoint schedule at the fund level reduces fees as assets in the particular fund pass certain thresholds and the breakpoint schedule at the complex level reduces fees on the Nuveen funds as the eligible assets in the complex pass certain thresholds. The Independent Board Members reviewed, among other things, the fund-level and complex-level fee schedules. With respect to the Nuveenclosed-end funds, the Independent Board Members noted that, although such funds may fromtime-to-time make additional share offerings, the growth of their assets would occur primarily through the appreciation of such funds’ investment portfolios.

In addition, the Independent Board Members recognized the Adviser’s continued reinvestment in its business through, among other things, investments in its business infrastructure and information technology, portfolio accounting system as well as other systems and platforms that will, among other things, support growth, simplify and enhance information sharing, and enhance the investment process to the benefit of all of the Nuveen funds.

Based on its review, the Board concluded that the current fee arrangements together with the Adviser’s reinvestment in its business appropriately shared any economies of scale with shareholders.

E. Indirect Benefits

The Independent Board Members received and considered information regarding other benefits the respective Fund Adviser or its affiliates may receive as a result of their relationship with the Nuveen funds. The Board considered that an affiliate of the Adviser serves asco-manager in the initial public offerings of newclosed-end funds for which it may receive revenue and serves as an underwriter on shelf offerings of existingclosed-end funds for which it receives compensation. In addition, the Independent Board Members also noted that NAM engages in soft dollar transactions pursuant to which it may receive the benefit of research products and other services provided by broker-dealers executing portfolio transactions on behalf of the applicable Nuveen funds. The Board, however, noted that the benefits for NAM when transacting in fixed-income securities may be more limited as such securities generally trade on a principal basis and therefore do not generate brokerage commissions. Further, the Board noted that although NAM may benefit from the receipt of research and other services that it may otherwise have to pay for out of its own resources, the research may also benefit the Nuveen funds to the extent it enhances the ability of suchSub-Adviser to manage such funds or is acquired through the commissions paid on portfolio transactions of other clients. The Board noted that Intech does not participate in soft dollar arrangements with respect to Fund portfolio transactions.

Based on their review, the Board concluded that any indirect benefits received by a Fund Adviser as a result of its relationship with the Fund were reasonable and within acceptable parameters.

F. Other Considerations

The Board Members did not identify any single factor discussed previously asall-important or controlling. The Board Members, including the Independent Board Members, concluded that the terms of each Advisory Agreement were fair and reasonable, that the respective Fund Adviser’s fees were reasonable in light of the services provided to the Fund and that the Advisory Agreements be renewed.

43

Nuveen:

Serving Investors for Generations

Since 1898, financial advisors and their clients have relied on Nuveen to provide
dependable investment solutions through continued adherence to proven, long-term investing
principles. Today, we offer a range of high quality solutions designed to
be integral components of a well-diversified core portfolio.

Focused on meeting investor needs.

Nuveen is the investment manager of TIAA. We have grown into one of the world’s premier global asset managers, with specialist knowledge across all major asset classes and particular strength in solutions that provide income for investors and that draw on our expertise in alternatives and responsible investing. Nuveen is driven not only by the independent investment processes across the firm, but also the insights, risk management, analytics and other tools and resources that a truly world-class platform provides. As a global asset manager, our mission is to work in partnership with our clients to create solutions which help them secure their financial future.

Find out how we can help you.

To learn more about how the products and services of Nuveen may be able to help you meet your financial goals, talk to your financial advisor, or call us at(800) 257-8787. Please read the information provided carefully before you invest. Investors should consider the investment objective and policies, risk considerations, charges and expenses of any investment carefully.

Where applicable, be sure to obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other relevant information. To obtain a prospectus, please contact your securities representative or Nuveen, 333 W. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL 60606. Please read the prospectus carefully before you invest or send money.

Learn more about Nuveen Funds at:www.nuveen.com/closed-end-funds

Nuveen Securities, LLC, member FINRA and SIPC  |  
333 West Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60606  |  www.nuveen.com ESA-F-0619D
        915401-INV-B-08/20

Item 2. Code of Ethics.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 3. Audit Committee Financial Expert.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 4. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 5. Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 6. Schedule of Investments.

(a) See Portfolio of Investments in Item 1.

(b) Not applicable.

Item 7. Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 8. Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable to this filing.

Item 9. Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.

Not applicable.

Item 10. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the registrant’s Board implemented after the registrant last provided disclosure in response to this item.

Item 11. Controls and Procedures.

(a) The registrant’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) (17 CFR 270.30a-3(c))) are effective, as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of the controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(b)) and Rules 13a-15(b) or 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (17 CFR 240.13a-15(b) or 240.15d-15(b)).

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-3(d)) that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12. Disclosure of Securities Lending Activities for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.

Not applicable.

Item 13. Exhibits.

File the exhibits listed below as part of this Form.

(a)(1) Any code of ethics, or amendment thereto, that is the subject of the disclosure required by Item 2, to the extent that the registrant intends to satisfy the Item 2 requirements through filing of an exhibit: Not applicable to this filing.

(a)(2) A separate certification for each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(a)) in the exact form set forth below: See EX-99.CERT attached hereto.

(a)(3) Any written solicitation to purchase securities under Rule 23c-1 under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.23c-1) sent or given during the period covered by the report by or on behalf of the registrant to 10 or more persons: Not applicable.

(a)(4) Change in the registrant’s independent public accountant. Not applicable.

(b) If the report is filed under Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, provide the certifications required by Rule 30a-2 (b) under the 1940 Act (17 CFR 270.30a-2(b)), Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13a-14(b) or 240.15d-14(b)), and Section 1350 of Chapter 63 of Title 18 of the United States Code (18 U.S.C. 1350) as an Exhibit. A certification furnished pursuant to this paragraph will not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. 78r), or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. Such certification will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, except to the extent that the registration specifically incorporates it by reference: See EX-99.906 CERT attached hereto.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant) Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund

By (Signature and Title)	/s/ Gifford R. Zimmerman
	Gifford R. Zimmerman
	Vice President and Secretary

Date: September 5, 2019

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title)	/s/ Cedric H. Antosiewicz
	Cedric H. Antosiewicz
	Chief Administrative Officer
	(principal executive officer)

Date: September 5, 2019

By (Signature and Title)	/s/ E. Scott Wickerham
	E. Scott Wickerham
	Vice President and Controller
	(principal financial officer)

Date: September 5, 2019