Explore your

FUTURE potential

Explore your

FUTURE potential

Investment Menu Redesign Guide

Northwestern University Retirement Plans

What type of investor are you? To support the financial well-being of faculty and staff, Northwestern is introducing a new four-tier investment structure at each of our two providers, Fidelity Investments and TIAA. You will have the freedom to choose investments from any or all of the tiers, based on your investment style and preference.

Tiers 1–3 offer a wide array of investment options, all monitored for their continued viability and performance by the Northwestern University Retirement Investment Committee (NURIC). Investments in tiers 1–3 will be available effective July 27, 2016.

Tier 4 provides investors who want the flexibility to invest outside the “core” menu with access to an Expanded Choice Offering, which can be accessed by opening a self-directed brokerage account. Tier 4 accounts will become available September 16, 2016. You will receive additional information about this option in August.

Some investment options are new to the Plans while others are being retained from the current menu. Review the information in this guide to help determine your investing style and learn more about your new investment options. Descriptions of each investment available in the updated menu can be found in the enclosed Investment Options Guide.

Investment Structure Overview

For a few months, beginning July 27, 2016, participants will be able to invest in both the old and new menus (excluding Tier 4’s Expanded Choice Offering, which will be added on September 16, 2016). On October 21, 2016, investment funds not included in this guide will no longer be available. At that time, all assets and future contributions in those investments will be moved into the new menu (accumulations of the following CREF annuities will be frozen and will not map: CREF Equity Index, CREF Bond Market, CREF Inflation-Linked Bond, CREF Growth, and CREF Global Equities). Detailed information about where assets in each closing investment option will move can be found on our website at northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/retirement-plans/index.html.

Before investing in any investment option, consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. Contact Fidelity or TIAA for a mutual fund or variable annuity prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus containing this information. Read it carefully.

Introducing the new Northwestern Retirement Plans investment structure

Table of ContentsNorthwestern Retirement Plans investment structure 2

Investment options by tier Tier 1: Target Retirement Date Core Menu 3 Tier 2: Passively Managed Core Menu 4 Tier 3: Actively Managed Core Menu 5 Tier 4: Expanded Choice Offering 6

Key dates & recommended actions 7

Tier 4 Expanded Choice

Offering

Tier 3 Actively Managed

Core Menu

Tier 1 Target Retirement

Date Core Menu

Tier 2 Passively Managed (Index) Core Menu

2 | Northwestern University Retirement Plans

This tier may be a good choice for you if you want to play a less active role in managing your retirement portfolio; it consists of low-cost Target Date Funds. Each fund corresponds to a range of target retirement years, and is managed to become more conservative as you approach retirement. Contributions and any earnings invested are not guaranteed at any time, including at or after the target dates.

Northwestern’s suite of Target Date Funds will be the BlackRock LifePath® Index Funds, Class K Shares. This suite of funds will be available at both Fidelity and TIAA.

TARGET RETIREMENT YEAR NAME OF TARGET DATE FUND TICKER SYMBOL

Retirement Income BlackRock LifePath® Index Retirement Fund Class K Shares

LIRKX

Target Date 2016-2020 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2020 Fund Class K Shares LIMKX

Target Date 2021-2025 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2025 Fund Class K Shares LIBKX

Target Date 2026-2030 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2030 Fund Class K Shares LINKX

Target Date 2031-2035 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2035 Fund Class K Shares LIJKX

Target Date 2036-2040 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2040 Fund Class K Shares LIKKX

Target Date 2041-2045 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2045 Fund Class K Shares LIHKX

Target Date 2046-2050 BlackRock LifePath® Index 2050 Fund Class K Shares LIPKX

Target Date 2051+ BlackRock LifePath® Index 2055 Fund Class K Shares LIVKX

The investments are subject to the volatility of the financial markets, including that of equity and fixed income investments in the U.S. and abroad, and may be subject to risks associated with investing in high-yield, small-cap, and foreign securities.

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Tier 1: Target Retirement Date Funds

Investing Style: Do it for me investor

Within Tier 2, you can invest in a variety of pre-screened passively managed (index) funds. Passively managed funds — commonly known as “index funds” — seek to match their benchmark’s performance, rather than beat their benchmark. Because the objective is to simply mirror the holdings and return of a particular index, less research is needed, transactions occur less frequently, and expenses tend to be lower than those of actively managed funds.

Ultimately, index funds are designed to provide exposure to a broad selection of securities at a relatively low cost. While these funds typically perform very similarly to the index they track, you should be aware that index funds cannot be expected to meet or beat the index’s performance.

Tier 2 investment options will be available at both Fidelity and TIAA.

INVESTMENT OPTIONS TICKER SYMBOLS

Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund Institutional Shares VIEIX

Vanguard Institutional Index Fund Institutional Shares VINIX

Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund Institutional Shares VBITX

Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund Institutional Shares VBTIX

Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Institutional Shares VTSNX

4 | Northwestern University Retirement Plans

Tier 2: Passively Managed Core Funds

Investing Style: Cost-conscious investor

Actively managed funds seek to beat, or exceed, their benchmarks. Unlike index funds, the managers of actively managed funds do not attempt to mirror the holdings and performance of an index. These fund managers have flexibility to actively seek out investments that they believe will beat, or exceed, the performance of a particular index. Since actively managed strategies often involve a great deal of research, transactions within these funds tend to occur more frequently and expenses tend to be higher than those of passively managed funds.

Some investment options in Tier 3 will be available at both Fidelity and TIAA whereas others will be available with only one provider. See charts below for Tier 3 investments at each provider.

FIDELITY INVESTMENT OPTIONS TICKER SYMBOLS

American Funds New World Fund® Class R-6

RNWGX

Goldman Sachs Small Cap Value Class R6

GSSUX

John Hancock Funds Disciplined Value Fund Class R6

JDVWX

MFS® Mid Cap Value Fund Class R5

MVCKX

MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth Equity Fund II Class I

MEFZX

Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund Plan Class

MWTSX

Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Admiral Shares

VPMAX

Wells Fargo Small Company Growth Fund - Class R6

WSCRX

Fidelity® Diversified International Fund - Class K

FDIKX

Parnassus Fund Institutional Shares

PFPRX

Principal Real Estate Securities Fund Institutional Class

PIREX

MetLife Fixed Interest Account ---

TIAA INVESTMENT OPTIONS TICKER SYMBOLS

American Funds New World Fund® Class R-6

RNWGX

Goldman Sachs Small Cap Value Class R6

GSSUX

John Hancock Funds Disciplined Value Fund Class R6

JDVWX

MFS® Mid Cap Value Fund Class R5

MVCKX

MassMutual Select Mid Cap Growth Equity Fund II Class I

MEFZX

Metropolitan West Total Return Bond Fund Plan Class

MWTSX

Vanguard PRIMECAP Fund Admiral Shares

VPMAX

Wells Fargo Small Company Growth Fund - Class R6

WSCRX

American Funds EuroPacific Growth Fund® Class R-6

RERGX

CREF Money Market (R3) ---

CREF Social Choice (R3) ---

TIAA Real Estate Account ---

CREF Stock (R3) ---

TIAA Traditional ---

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Tier 3: Actively Managed Core Funds

Investing Style: Engaged investor

Tier 4’s Expanded Choice Offering will provide participants with the opportunity to open a self-directed brokerage account in the Northwestern Retirement Plans, with access to thousands of mutual funds from hundreds of mutual fund companies.

Fidelity BrokerageLink® and TIAA Brokerage Services include investments beyond those in the Northwestern Retirement Plans’ core menu. Northwestern neither evaluates nor monitors the investments available through Fidelity BrokerageLink and TIAA Brokerage Services. It is your responsibility to ensure that the investments you select are suitable for your situation, including your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance.

The investments available through Fidelity BrokerageLink® and TIAA Brokerage Services are not monitored by NURIC.

Self-directed brokerage investments in Northwestern Retirement Plans may consist only of mutual funds due to regulations that limit investment choices in 403(b) plans to fixed/variable annuities and mutual funds. Additional fees apply for a brokerage account, including transaction fees and brokerage commissions for some transactions.

Tier 4 Expanded Choice accounts will be available this fall; closer to that time, you will receive additional information about when and how you can open a brokerage account.

Investment, insurance and annuity products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, are not bank deposits, are not insured by any federal government agency, are not a condition to any banking service or activity, and may lose value. Investment products may be subject to market and other risk factors. See the applicable product literature, or visit tiaa.org/northwestern for details. You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Please call 800-842-2252 or go to tiaa.org/northwestern for current product and fund prospectuses that contain this and other information. Please read the prospectuses carefully before investing.

6 | Northwestern University Retirement Plans

Tier 4: Expanded Choice Offering

Investing Style: Ultimate choice investor

Northwestern University Retirement Plans | 7

Key dates & recommended actionsReview the calendar of events to understand when you can, and should, take action.

KEY DATE PLAN ACTIVITY WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU

Ongoing Fidelity and TIAA retirement profes-sionals available for complimentary one-on-one consultations

Schedule a one-on-one consultation with a Fidelity or TIAA representative who can help you with important decisions about your investments. Simply call the number below or go online to schedule an appointment.

Fidelity Investments:

Call 800-642-7131 or visit www.netbenefits.com/nu and select Contact Us

TIAA:

Call 800-732-8353 or visit www.tiaa-cref.org/schedulenow

July 27, 2016 New Investment Menu (Tiers 1–3) is available with both Fidelity and TIAA

You can now select investment options from Tiers 1–3 of the new menu and enter them on your provider’s website. If you have not made investment elections when the old funds close in October, your assets and future contributions will be moved to funds with a similar asset class. In September, you will receive a detailed guide showing where each fund will be moved, or mapped. If you wish to view this level of detail now, it is available at northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/retirement-plans/index.html.

August 2016 Investment Mapping Guide will be mailed to your home address

Review the guide carefully to see how your assets will move (or “map”) if you do not proactively choose investments from the new menu. Pay attention to key dates to ensure you know how long you have to make a proactive decision. For those interested, this guide will also include additional detail about Tier 4 Expanded Choice accounts.

August–October 2016

Town Hall and Investment Redesign Workshops — visit:

northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/ retirement-plans/index.html for a schedule

Consider attending a Town Hall to learn why the investment menu is changing or an Investment Redesign Workshop to learn more about the new investments.

September 16, 2016

Tier 4’s Expanded Choice Offering will become available in the Plans.

If you are interested in opening an Expanded Choice account within the Plans, review the information in your Investment Mapping Guide to get started.

October 21, 2016 and thereafter

Assets and future contributions remaining in the old investments will be moved to the new menu as described in the Investment Mapping Guide.

New investment elections will be limited to the new menu.

Check your investments to make sure they align with your wishes.

The timing of the Plans’ changes and transition period described in this brochure depends on the timing and accuracy of a variety of factors, which may include the transfer of data, receipt of instructions, and receipt of assets. Changes in any of these factors may result in changes to the timing of the delivery of services, the transition period, and/or the dates on which, and thus the prices at which, assets in your account are sold and/or reinvested.

Although this booklet was prepared for Northwestern by Fidelity Investments for the convenience of participants in the Plans, certain pages in it were supplied by non-Fidelity investment providers. Each provider offering products and services to the Plans or their participants is solely responsible for the content in its applicable pages and does not assume any responsibility or liability for the content supplied by any other provider.

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss.

TIAA and Fidelity Investments are independent entities and are not legally affiliated.

In the event of a discrepancy between this notice and the terms of the Plans, the Plans document(s) will govern.

The Plans are intended to be participant-directed plans as described in Section 404(c) of ERISA, which means that fiduciaries of the Plans are ordinarily relieved of liability for any losses that are the direct and necessary result of investment instructions given by a participant or beneficiary.

Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, 900 Salem Street, Smithfield, RI 02917© 2016 FMR LLC. All rights reserved. 753375.1.0