Is it possible to mix tweeds with dark suits?

The acquisition of Nuveen by TIAA-CREF raises one big question: how do you merge two established fund firms with very distinct, and very different, cultures.

The answer, apparently, is very slowly.

Executives at TIAA-CREF declined comment on the deal through an external spokesperson. However, Morningstar editorial director for Morningstar's Fund Research group Laura Lutton said that she spoke to TIAA-CREF executives Monday morning about the deal and that they told her that not much would be changed, in the short term at least.

Here is what she had to say on the subject:

I do think the cultures are very different, but TIAA-CREF has told us that they are not going to merge the firms from an operational standpoint. That takes some of the potential challenges out of the picture.

I don't think that we are going to see significant changes in the short term. They told us that we are not going to see significant changes in the short term.

They told us that they had some agreements in place to keep personnel in their seats and that there are no plans to merge the governance infrastructure. They would retain their separate branding, their separate mutual fund boards, as well as no changes in their pricing structures, of which there are significant differences. I don't know that we are going to see anything new overnight.

In a media statement, TIAA-CREF executives had this to say:

Nuveen will operate as a separate subsidiary within TIAA-CREF's Asset Management business, retaining its current multi-boutique business model and continuing to support its investment affiliates through scaled distribution, marketing and administrative services. John Amboian will remain the chief executive officer of Nuveen, and Nuveen's current leadership and key investment team will stay in place.

The acquisition, at the very least, represents a a chance for TIAA-CREF to aggressively develop its retail brand after a number of miss-starts. As recently as December 2013, TIAA-CREF asset management chief John Panagakis explained to MFWire's efforts to build out its footprint in the DC I-O space.

Meanwhile, Lutton sees a number of distribution opportunities for TIAA-CREF coming from the Nuveen deal, including an opportunity to enter Europe.

One of the things that interested me, when we spoke with them this morning. Nuveen has a UCITs platform, and she said she is interested in Europe as a potential new channel for TIAA-CREF products. Nuveen is admittedly not a big player in Europe, with just about $400 million in AUM there.

We are interested in how they will leverage this platform in what would be a new market for their strategies.

Both firms will also benefit from having two sets of sales teams, of course.

The Sales Teams
TIAA-CREF's intermediary distribution team consists of nine people. It is led by Tony Carmenate, managing director and head of intermediary distribution. Jake Rie serves as senior director of national accounts while James Ramirez is director. Both Eric Johnson and Natalie Horton are sales desk advisors at the external sales desk.

The firm's director for the Western U.S. is Jeffrey Schwartz, while the director for the Central U.S. is Shariff Husseini. The director for the Southeast is Kerry Perl, and the director for the Northeast is David Isacovici.

Meanwhile, Nuveen has 16 people in their RIA and Family Office Distribution teams. The managing director is David Archer, and the senior vice president/sales business manager is Meghann Peterson, while Phil Gaechter is the managing director for internal sales and service. Lauralee Settles is assistant vice president/ business development analyst while Brian Brummell is vice president/manager of internal sales and service.

Nuveen's Western team consists of Michael Sindici senior vice president and advisor consultant; Heidi Kaney, vice president and advisor consultant, and Ed Rhee, internal advisor consultant.

The firm's Midwestern team consists of two vice presidents/advisor consultants, Bill Coumas, Dominick Trapasso, and internal advisor consultant Paddy Stanton. Trapasso also appears to work on the Northeastern team.

In addition to Trapasso, Nuveen's Northeastern team consists of vice president/advisor Greg Bell and internal advisor consultant Liz Clifford.

The Southeast team consists of vice president/advisor consultant Fred McAuley and internal advisor consultant Dan Jermak. 

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