Paul C. Williams

Paul Williams is a Senior Advisor to XA Investments on Product Development. He serves as a consultant, providing independent advice to asset managers and investment product distributors focused on the individual investor market. Paul established his advisory practice in 2016 following a distinguished career at Nuveen Investments, first as a municipal finance investment banker and then as a Managing Director, Head of New Product Development for closed-end funds. At various intervals during his tenure at Nuveen, he managed the firm's Public Finance and Municipal Credit Research departments, and he served on the Management Committee.

Paul played a key role over 25 years, building and diversifying Nuveen's complex of over 90 exchange-listed closed-end funds. Beginning with the Premium Income Municipal Fund, the industry's first leveraged municipal fund, in 1988, and concluding with launch of the High Income Target Term Fund in July 2015, he helped Nuveen become the industry leader. His contributions ranged from new product design and development to enlisting underwriter participation, wholesaler training, road show presentations, collaborating with in-house portfolio teams and initiating new joint ventures with unaffiliated asset managers to diversify Nuveen's product offerings.

Recognized as an innovator, problem solver and thought leader, Paul is credited with several major product design innovations and first-time offerings in the closed-end fund market and the municipal market. He has published articles in industry journals and conducted numerous conference and seminar presentations regarding '40 Act investment product design and new municipal financing techniques.

Paul received his BA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and, midcareer, completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School. For more than 20 years, he has served Penn, his alma mater, in multiple board and leadership roles.