Previously known as TIAA-CREF, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America Fund (TIAA) was founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1918. TIAA had $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of Dec 31, 2021. A major portion of its assets is allocated to stocks and fixed income securities.Nuveen, the investment management arm of TIAA, offers financial services pertaining to investment advice and portfolio management to more than five million customers and around 16,000 institutional investors. The company has investments in more than 50 nations, with about 258 offices located in 26 countries.Below we share with you three top-ranked TIAA Mutual Funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of TIAA Mutual Funds.TIAA-CREF Social Choice Equity Fund Retail Class TICRX seeks returns similar to the Russell 3000 Index. The fund invests the lion’s share of its assets in equity securities issued by companies after giving particular consideration to certain ESG criteria. TICRX has three-year annualized returns of 16.8%.TICRX has an expense ratio of 0.46% compared with the category average of 0.83%.TIAA-CREF Lifestyle Growth Fund Premier Class TSGPX aims for long-term capital appreciation with some current income. The fund invests the majority of its assets in equity underlying funds and the minority in fixed-income underlying funds. TSGPX has three-year annualized returns of 11.1%.As of the end of March 2021, TSGPX held 15 issues, with 19.62% of its assets invested in TIAA-CREF Core Plus Bond Instl.TIAA-CREF Real Estate Securities Fund Retirement Class TRRSX seeks maximum total returns over the long run through growth of capital and current income. TRRSX invests a large chunk of its assets in companies primarily involved in operations related to the real estate domain. The fund may invest a maximum of 15% of its assets in securities issued by foreign entities. TRRSX has three-year annualized returns of 13%.David Copp is one of the fund managers of TRRSX since 2005.To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all TIAA Mutual Funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of TIAA Mutual Funds.Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox?Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (TICRX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (TRRSX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (TSGPX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.