Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in equity securities of large-capitalization growth companies. The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of large domestic companies, as defined by the Fund’s benchmark index, the Russell 1000®Growth Index, that the Fund’s investment adviser, Teachers Advisors, LLC (“Advisors”), believes present the opportunity for growth. Large-capitalization companies are those that have market capitalizations within the range of the companies in the Russell 1000®Index. The market capitalization range is determined based on the companies in the index as of the last business day of the month in which the index was most recently reconstituted and may be updated to reflect any changes to the index composition and the market capitalization of companies in the index. Growth companies are those that are constituents of at least one of the following indexes on the last business day of the month in which its most recent reconstitution was completed (as adjusted by changes to an index between reconstitutions): Russell 3000 Growth Index, S&P Composite 1500®Growth Index, MSCI World IMI Growth Index. Generally, these equity securities will be those of large capitalized companies in new and emerging areas of the economy and companies with distinctive products or promising markets. Advisors looks for companies that it believes have the potential for strong earnings and/or sales growth, or that appear to be mispriced based on current earnings, assets or growth prospects. The Fund may invest in large, well-known, established companies, particularly when Advisors believes that the companies offer new or innovative products, services or processes that may enhance their future earnings. The Fund is classified as a non-diversified investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means it may invest a significant portion of its assets in a relatively small number of issuers, which may increase risk as compared to a fund that is classified as a diversified investment company.

The Fund also seeks to invest in companies expected to benefit from prospective acquisitions, reorganizations, corporate restructurings or other special situations. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in foreign investments. The Fund may also purchase and sell futures, options, swaps and other equity derivatives to carry out the Fund’s investment strategies.