TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America) has provided retirement and insurance services to nonprofit organizations and their employees for over 100 years. Iconic industrialist Andrew Carnegie founded the financial services company with a unique charter. It's required to operate on a nonprofit basis, and that allows it to return its profit to participants and reinvest to grow its business to drive future profit returns.
TIAA has grown into one of the country's largest financial services organizations. It invented the variable annuity in 1952, forming the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) to manage the innovative product. It also acquired Nuveen in 2014 to expand its asset management capabilities. The Fortune 500 organization had $1.3 trillion in assets under management (AUM) in mid-2024. It served over 4.7 million individual customers and more than 12,000 institutional clients. It offers a variety of financial products and services, including annuities, 401(k) plans, and 529 plans.
You might be one of TIAA's clients and might be wondering if you can invest directly in the company. Here's everything you need to know about investing in TIAA.
Is it publicly traded?
Is TIAA publicly traded?
TIAA isn't a publicly traded company. It was a private company owned by its board of governors. Its charter requires that it operate without profit; instead, it returns profits to participants and reinvests in growing its business so it can grow future participant returns.
When will TIAA IPO?
TIAA didn't have an IPO on the calendar in mid-2024. The financial services company might never go public. Its board of governors owns the organization, which operates as a nonprofit. Unless TIAA's board changes its charter, it wouldn't be suitable as a publicly traded company.
How to invest
How to buy TIAA stock
You can't buy stock in TIAA. It's a private, nonprofit company. However, you can invest with the company if you work in the nonprofit industries it serves. Those who invest in the company share in its profits because it returns them to participants in its retirement plans.
Meanwhile, even though you can't invest directly in TIAA, you can invest in the financial services industry. Many publicly traded companies provide investment, retirement, and insurance services. Here are some TIAA alternatives investors can consider instead:
BlackRock
BlackRock (BLK -2.08%) is a leading global investment manager. The company had a staggering $10.5 trillion in AUM in mid-2024. It manages mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other assets for individual and institutional clients. The company's diversified financial product portfolio includes equity, fixed income, multi-assets, alternative investments, and cash management.
Fixed Annuity
Prudential
Prudential (PRU -0.72%) is a global financial services company. It offers several financial products and services, including life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, asset management, real estate services, and retirement-related services. The company had $1.5 trillion in AUM in mid-2024 and served 50 million customers in over 50 countries.
T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price (TROW -1.53%) is a global investment management company. It had nearly $1.5 trillion in AUM in mid-2024. The company offers mutual funds, retirement planning services, and financial advisory services.
Those who want to invest in one of TIAA's publicly traded competitors can purchase shares in any brokerage account. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to invest in stocks.
Step 1: Open a brokerage account
You'll have to open and fund a brokerage account before buying shares of any company. If you still need to open one, here are some of the best-rated brokers and trading platforms. Take your time researching the brokers to find the best one for you.
Step 2: Figure out your budget
Before making your first trade, you'll need to determine a budget for how much money you want to invest. You'll then want to decide how to allocate that money. The Motley Fool's investing philosophy recommends building a diversified portfolio of 25 or more stocks you plan to hold for at least five years.
That might seem like a daunting task for those starting out. However, you don't have to get there all at once. For example, if you have $1,000 available to start investing, you might want to begin by allocating that money equally across around 10 stocks and then grow your portfolio from there.
Step 3: Research related companies
It's essential to thoroughly research a company before buying its shares. You should learn how it makes money and study its balance sheet and other factors to ensure you have a solid grasp on whether the company can grow value for its shareholders over the long term.
You should also research related companies. Some notable competitors to TIAA include Blackrock, Prudential, and T. Rowe Price. Investors should take the time to study these rivals before investing with TIAA or buying its shares in a future IPO.
Step 4: Place an order
Once you've opened and funded a brokerage account, set your investing budget, and researched the stock and its competitors, it's time to buy shares. The process is relatively straightforward. Go to your brokerage account's order page and fill in all the relevant information, including:
- The number of shares you want to buy or the amount you want to invest to purchase fractional shares.
- The stock ticker (BLK for BlackRock, PRU for Prudential, and TROW for T. Rowe Price).
- Whether you want to place a limit order or a market order. The Motley Fool recommends using a market order because it guarantees you buy shares immediately at the current market price.
Once you complete the order page, click to submit your trade and become a shareholder in one of TIAA's publicly traded competitors. Investors would follow a similar process to buy an IPO stock like TIAA if it were ever to go public. If shares become available, fill in your brokerage account's order page with the financial services company's selected stock ticker and submit your trade.
Profitability
Is TIAA profitable?
TIAA has a unique charter. It must operate on a nonprofit basis. Any excess revenue it produces after covering expenses benefits participants in its plans. It's able to return a portion of its profits to plan participants. It also retains earnings to reinvest in growing its business for future profit sharing.
While TIAA operates as a nonprofit, it's still a financially healthy organization. It has generated enough surplus to share over $3 billion in annual profits on average to plan participants over the past decade. It has done that by paying a higher interest rate than its guaranteed rate, providing contributors with a loyalty bonus, and giving traditional annuitants raises in retirement.
TIAA has also used some of its excess revenue to expand its capabilities. For example, TIAA acquired Nuveen Investments for nearly $6.3 billion in 2014. That acquisition expanded its asset management capabilities. The company also launched Churchill Asset Management to expand its fixed-income platform.
Should I invest?
Should I invest in TIAA?
You can't invest directly in TIAA. However, those who work for a nonprofit organization can often invest with the nonprofit financial services provider. Investing with the company enables you to share in its profits, a portion of which it returns to plan participants each year.
Determining whether to invest with TIAA is a personal choice. You'll need to decide whether the company offers financial products and services that will meet your needs. The company provides a lot of information on its website to help potential clients decide if TIAA is the right option for their situation. You can also talk directly with someone at the company to learn more about whether its products can help meet your needs.
ETFs
ETFs with exposure to TIAA
Since it's a private, nonprofit organization, you can't gain exposure to TIAA through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, you can use ETFs to invest in the financial services sector that's driving TIAA's growth. Here are a couple of notable ETFs to consider in the financial services industry:
- The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF -0.89%): This ETF provides exposure to the financial sector of the S&P 500, including banks, financial service companies, insurance companies, and mortgage REITs. It had 71 holdings in mid-2024, led by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A -0.84%)(BRK.B -0.83%) at 13.2%. This fund has a 0.09% ETF expense ratio.
- iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK -0.54%): This fund focuses on companies that provide insurance services. It held 54 stocks in mid-2024, including Prudential (eighth largest at 4.7% of its assets). The ETF had a 0.4% expense ratio.
- Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH -0.91%): This ETF aims to provide broad exposure to the financial sector. It had 393 stocks in mid-2024, led by JPMorgan Chase (JPM -1.46%) at 8.6% of its value. The fund had a 0.1% expense ratio.
Related investing topics
The bottom line on TIAA
TIAA has been helping nonprofit organizations and their employees secure their retirements for over a century. While you can't invest directly in the company, those who are eligible can invest with it and participate in its success. That model, where plan participants share in the company's profits, makes it stand out in the financial services industry.
FAQ
Investing in TIAA FAQ
Can I invest with TIAA?
Not everyone can invest with TIAA. The company focuses on providing annuities and insurance to employees of nonprofit organizations. However, eligibility for a TIAA IRA extends a little further to include family members of those who work in the nonprofit industries it services, including a spouse or domestic partner, parents and grandparents, siblings, and children and grandchildren.
Can I buy shares of TIAA?
You can't buy shares of TIAA. It's a private company owned by its board of governors. Its charter requires it to operate without a profit, allowing it to return earnings to participants and reinvest in its business.
Is TIAA a publicly traded company?
TIAA is not a publicly traded company. It's a stock New York Life Insurance company owned by its board of governors. TIAA's charter requires that it operate without profit, enabling it to return earnings to participants and reinvest in its business.
