Nuveen Asset Manager Withdraws From Sanction-Affected Chinese Companies

The sale comes at a time when US investors are trying to get out of stocks subject to sanctions that prohibit Americans from owning companies believed to have ties to the Chinese military.

As of the end of November last year, Nuveen held positions at several blacklisted companies, including China Telecom, SMIC, Xiaomi Corp, CNOOC, China Mobile, and China Unicom Hong Kong, according to Refinitiv. According to the data, the largest of them was 0.12% of the shares of Hong Kong company China Telecom.

TIAA is the Teachers' and Annuity Insurance Association, a leading provider of retirement services to people in education, nonprofit, healthcare and government.

Other US investors have taken similar steps. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has sold nearly all of its stake in China Telecom, stock market data showed last week.

Its website shows that about $ 323 billion of Nuveen's assets under management are invested in equities, the second largest asset class after fixed income.

Large US funds are expected to liquidate more of their assets before the rules go into effect in November 2021.

Before leaving office, the Donald Trump administration imposed sanctions on 44 Chinese companies allegedly linked to the Chinese military, and finance leaders expected the move to remain in effect under Joe Biden's presidency.