Nuveen's Joel Levy tapped to chair ICI's Municipal Securities Advisory Committee

BY SourceMedia | MUNICIPAL | 05/06/25 03:30 PM EDT By Kathie O'Donnell

Joel Levy, a managing director and portfolio manager at Nuveen, has been named chairman of the Investment Company Institute'sMunicipal Securities Advisory Committee.

A spokesperson for ICI, an asset management industry association, confirmed that Levy was tapped for the post. Levy succeeds Cynthia Clemson, co-head of municipals and a portfolio manager on the municipals team of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management division of Morgan Stanley (MS).

Clemson, who had chaired the committee since 2020, stepped down at the end of her second term, the ICI spokesperson said.

ICI's Municipal Securities Advisory Committee provides a forum for examining regulatory and legislative issues impacting municipal fundsas well as the implications of any changes occurring in the muni market, the spokesperson said. It also provides a forum for members to discuss policy objectives.

Levy ? a member of The Bond Buyer's Rising Stars Class of 2017 ? assumed the role of chair in late April, she said.

The muni market "plays a vital role in financing essential public infrastructure nationwide," Levy said in an April 29 post on LinkedIn.

"As chair, I look forward to working with my colleagues to support sound public policy, investor confidence, and responsible stewardship in municipal finance," he said in the post.

Levy, who joined Nuveen in October 2011, co-manages several SPDR Nuveen exchange traded funds as well as several taxable and tax-exempt strategies across retail and institutional portfolios,a Nuveen spokesperson said.

He is also the lead portfolio manager for the municipal investment program of the TIAA general account and several Nuveen municipal funds. TIAA is Nuveen's parent company.

ICI has more than 90 committees, task forces and working groups made up of member firms that tackle complex regulatory, operations and business issues relating to fund managers as well as fund boards and fund shareholders, the ICI spokesperson said.

According to its website, ICI "is the leading association representing regulated funds globally." ICI's members manage $37.9 trillion invested in funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ? such as mutual funds, ETFs and closed-end funds ? as well as another $9.3 trillion in regulated fund assets managed outside the U.S., the ICI spokesperson said.

In general the bond market is volatile, and fixed income securities carry interest rate risk. (As interest rates rise, bond prices usually fall, and vice versa. This effect is usually more pronounced for longer-term securities.) Fixed income securities also carry inflation risk and credit and default risks for both issuers and counterparties. Unlike individual bonds, most bond funds do not have a maturity date, so avoiding losses caused by price volatility by holding them until maturity is not possible.

Lower-quality debt securities generally offer higher yields, but also involve greater risk of default or price changes due to potential changes in the credit quality of the issuer. Any fixed income security sold or redeemed prior to maturity may be subject to loss.

Before investing, consider the funds' investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity for a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

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