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CREF Holds Annual Meeting
Releases Annual Socially Responsible Investing Report; Company Announces Election of Trustees

Press Release
Source: College Retirement Equities Fund
On Monday July 20, 2009, 6:50 pm EDT
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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF), the companion organization to the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), held its annual meeting today at the organization’s headquarters in New York City.

“Against the backdrop of a global recession, volatile markets, and a challenging economic recovery, TIAA-CREF is performing well,” said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., chief executive of TIAA-CREF. “We are maintaining our financial strength, investments have performed well compared with peers, and we continue to enhance the value we offer clients.”

TIAA-CREF serves more than 3.6 million individuals and 15,000 institutions in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

Mr. Ferguson cited the following examples of the organization’s progress:

Investment performance – Overall, 72% of TIAA-CREF’s funds and accounts have met or exceeded their Morningstar category median for the past three years, and 63% have met or exceeded their category median over the past five years (as of June 30, 2009). 95% of TIAA-CREF’s variable annuity accounts and mutual funds had an overall rating of three, four or five stars across all asset classes, according to Morningstar (as of June 30, 2009).1

The average crediting rate for TIAA Traditional for the 10-year period ended June 30, 2009 was 6.25% for the Retirement Annuity contract which includes a minimum guaranteed rate of 3% and additional amounts as were declared by the TIAA Board of Trustees. This is significantly higher than the average 10-year Treasury yield during that period and well above the general rate of inflation for most of the past 28 years.2

Value – Fees TIAA-CREF charges for its annuity accounts and mutual funds are generally half the mutual fund industry average (Morningstar Direct, March 2009).

Financial strength – Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) continues to receive the best possible insurance financial strength ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and A.M. Best.3 These triple-A ratings underscore TIAA’s stability, claims-paying ability, and financial strength. These ratings do not apply to variable annuities, mutual funds, or any other product or service not fully backed by TIAA’s claims-paying ability.

In other annual meeting-related actions, CREF participants:


Re-elected the following Trustees to one-year terms: Forrest Berkley, Nancy A. Eckl, Eugene Flood, Jr., Michael A. Forrester, Howell E. Jackson, Nancy L. Jacob, Bridget A. Macaskill, James M. Poterba, Maceo K. Sloan, and Laura T. Starks
Ratified the Trustees' selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as CREF's independent auditors for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009.

In addition, preliminary results of the TIAA advisory vote on executive compensation show that 81 percent of TIAA policyholders who voted approved the quality of TIAA's executive compensation plan and disclosure, including its connection to performance, achievement of TIAA's business objectives and creation of long-term value for policyholders.

TIAA was one of the first companies in the United States to voluntarily adopt and implement an advisory vote on its compensation policies and related disclosure.

“The advisory vote on executive compensation contributes to on-going dialogue between a company’s management and its stakeholders, and we are proud to offer TIAA policyholders the opportunity to vote on our own compensation policies and disclosure,” said Hye-Won Choi, head of corporate governance at TIAA-CREF.

Continued Action on Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility

TIAA-CREF released “Socially Responsible Investing at TIAA-CREF,” an annual report on the organization’s work to encourage portfolio companies to adopt practices that promote long-term shareholder value in such areas as the environment, executive compensation and corporate governance, and human rights.

Over the past year, the organization has continued action in such areas as:

Executive Compensation

TIAA-CREF continued its multi-year effort to press for shareholder voting on executive compensation at public companies. TIAA-CREF supported all of the shareholder proposals it voted on asking companies to voluntarily adopt an advisory vote on executive compensation. TIAA-CREF submitted four of its own shareholder proposals in 2009 seeking an advisory vote on executive compensation, passing at XTO Energy and receiving significant support at Chevron, Johnson & Johnson and PepsiCo. Additionally, TIAA-CREF’s dialogue with several companies helped to improve disclosure regarding executive compensation policies and avenues for shareholder feedback at those firms.

In addition to TIAA-CREF’s direct engagement with portfolio companies, Hye-Won Choi, TIAA-CREF’s head of corporate governance has represented the organization’s views among regulators and lawmakers.

Encouraging Companies to End Ties to Sudan

On March 26, 2009, TIAA-CREF announced plans to intensify pressure on portfolio companies that maintain business ties to the government of Sudan and to divest from those that fail to take meaningful steps to respect human rights within a reasonable time. TIAA-CREF encourages portfolio companies to either discontinue operations in Sudan or commit to humanitarian initiatives, such as improving education, health and water supplies.

About TIAA-CREF

TIAA-CREF is a national financial services organization with more than $350 billion in combined assets under management (3/31/09) and a leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields.

TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, and Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., members FINRA, distribute securities products.

Annuity products are issued by TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association), New York, NY.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. TIAA-CREF products may be subject to market and other risk factors. See the applicable product literature, or visit www.tiaa-cref.org for details.

Our funds have been negatively impacted due to the recent market volatility. For current performance, please visit tiaa-cref.org/performance.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 877-518-9161 or log on to www.tiaa-cref.org for a prospectus that contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

© 2009 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), New York, NY 10017

C45267

1 Fund complex defined as all TIAA-CREF Open-End Mutual Funds, its group variable annuities (e.g. CREF Accounts) and the TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Funds as defined by Morningstar Direct.

2 TIAA Traditional Annuity crediting rate represents the average rate applied to all accumulations in force under RA and GRA contracts each year. 10-year U.S. Treasury rate represents annual averages of daily yields. Inflation rate represents annual changes in the Consumer Price Index. Sources: TIAA; Bloomberg; Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are many inherent differences between the purchase of an annuity contract and an investment in a U.S. Treasury security; the interest rate paid is just one factor that should be considered when evaluating these products. It is also important to note that past performance cannot guarantee future results, and that there is no assurance that additional amounts above the TIAA Traditional Annuity’s guaranteed minimum rate will be declared in the future. Furthermore, U.S. Treasury securities are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States government, whereas the TIAA Traditional Annuity’s guaranteed rate is subject to the claims-paying ability of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association.

3 TIAA is rated A++, A.M. Best Company (as of 9/08); AAA, Fitch Ratings (as of 6/09); Aaa, Moody's Investors Service (as of 5/09); AAA, Standard & Poor's (as of 6/09) - the highest possible ratings from these independent analysts.


Contact:
TIAA-CREFChad Peterson, [e-mail]