TIAA’s investment manager Nuveen has named longtime equities manager Saira Malik its new chief investment officer.  

The $1.2 trillion firm is expected to announce Malik’s promotion to the newly created role on Monday. Malik has been with Nuveen since 2003 and most recently worked as the firm’s global equities investment chief.  

“Saira is dedicated to Nuveen’s mission of delivering strong returns to help secure the financial futures of clients and has been an essential part of the firm’s proud history and culture of deep investment expertise for nearly two decades,” said William Huffman, head of the firm’s fixed income and equity platform.  

Malik will continue to report to Huffman in her new role, according to the announcement.  

In addition to acting as the firm’s CIO, Malik will lead Nuveen’s global investment committee. She will continue to hold portfolio management and leadership responsibilities for the firm’s global equity business and will remain Nuveen’s lead portfolio manager for its CREF stock growth and global equities strategies.  

Malik has been at Nuveen since 2003, having started as an equity research analyst and working her way up to become first head of global equity research, then head of global equities portfolio management. She began her career at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where she was a small-cap growth portfolio and equity research analyst.