Investment results of the Lifestyle Funds

Performance for the six months ended November 30, 2020

All of the five Lifestyle Funds produced gains for the six-month period and
outperformed their respective composite benchmarks. Institutional Class
returns ranged from 7.22% for the Lifestyle Income Fund to 23.47% for the
Lifestyle Aggressive Growth Fund. The performance tables show returns for all
share classes of the funds.
The margin of outperformance of individual Lifestyle Funds, in relation to
their respective composite benchmarks, ranged from 0.53 of a percentage point
for the Lifestyle Aggressive Growth Fund to 1.85 percentage points for the
Lifestyle Income Fund. (All results for the Lifestyle Funds are for the Institutional
Class.)

Stocks and bonds advanced amid economic rebound

U.S. markets posted healthy gains for the period as the economic implications
of the COVID-19 pandemic diminished. Real gross domestic product (GDP),
which measures the value of all goods and services produced in the United
States, contracted at an annualized rate of 31.4% during the second quarter of
2020. GDP recovered dramatically during the third quarter, however, expanding
at an annualized rate of 33.1%, according to the government’s “second”
estimate. The unemployment rate, which began the period in double digits,
eased over the six months to 6.7% in November. Core inflation, which includes
all items except food and energy, rose to 1.6% over the twelve months ended
November 30, 2020. Oil prices climbed higher over the period.
The Federal Reserve left the federal funds target rate unchanged throughout
the period, maintaining the key short-term interest-rate measure at 0.00%–
0.25%. Policymakers said they do not intend to raise the rate without ongoing
signs of solid economic recovery.
Domestic and international equities generated strong gains for the period.
The Russell 3000®Index, a broad measure of the U.S. stock market, advanced
22.59%. The MSCI ACWI ex USA Investable Market Index (IMI), which measures
the performance of large-, mid- and small-cap equities in 22 of 23 developed-
markets countries (excluding the United States) and 26 emerging-markets
countries, rose 23.69% in U.S.-dollar terms.
U.S. investment-grade bonds posted steady gains for the period. The broad
domestic investment-grade fixed-rate bond market, as measured by the
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, returned 1.79%. Short-term
bonds, as measured by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 1–3 Year
Government/Credit Index, returned 0.55%.

14 2020 Semiannual Report TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Funds