Nuveen Investment Funds, Inc.

Ticker: Class A–NRIAX, Class C–NRICX, Class R6–NRIFX, Class I–NRIIX, Class T–NRITX

This summary prospectus is designed to provide investors with key Fund information in a clear and concise format. Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s complete prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus and other information about the Fund online at www.nuveen.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 257-8787 or by sending an e-mail request to mutualfunds@nuveen.com. If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the prospectus and other information will also be available from your financial intermediary. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated March 31, 2017, are incorporated by reference into this summary prospectus and may be obtained, free of charge, at the website, phone number or e-mail address noted above.

The principal investment objective of the Fund is to seek a high level of current income. The secondary objective is to seek capital appreciation.

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund or in other Nuveen Mutual Funds. More information about these and other discounts, as well as eligibility requirements for each share class, is available from your financial advisor and in “What Share Classes We Offer” on page 39 of the Fund’s prospectus, “How to Reduce Your Sales Charge” on page 43 of the prospectus, in the appendix to this prospectus titled “Variations in Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers Available Through Certain Intermediaries,” and “Purchase and Redemption of Fund Shares” on page S-76 of the Fund’s statement of additional information.

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then either redeem or do not redeem your shares at the end of a period. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same and that the fee waivers currently in place are not renewed beyond September 30, 2018. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 89% of the average value of its portfolio.

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of the sum of its net assets and the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes in securities issued by real asset related companies that are generating income at the time of purchase. Real asset related companies are defined as: (i) companies that are in the energy, telecommunications, utilities or materials sectors; (ii) companies in the real estate or transportation industry groups; (iii) companies, if not in one of these sectors or industries, that (a) derive at least 50% of their revenues or profits from the ownership, management, operation, development, construction, renovation, financing, or sale of real assets, or (b) have at least 50% of the fair market value of their assets invested in real assets; or (iv) pooled investment vehicles that primarily invest in the foregoing companies or that are otherwise designed primarily to provide investment exposure to real assets.

The categories of real assets on which the Fund will focus its investments are infrastructure and real estate. Infrastructure consists of the physical structures and networks upon which the operation, growth and development of a community depends, which include water, sewer, and energy utilities; transportation and communication networks; health care facilities, government accommodations, and other public service facilities; and shipping, timber, steel, alternative energy, and other resources and services necessary for the construction and maintenance of these physical structures and networks. In normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 25% of its assets, collectively, in securities of issuers in the infrastructure and real estate industries.

The Fund will invest in both equity securities and debt securities, but will not invest more than 40% of its net assets in debt securities. All or a portion of the Fund’s debt securities may be rated lower than investment grade (BB/Ba or lower). Equity securities in which the Fund may invest may be of any market capitalization, including small- and mid-capitalization companies, and include common stock, preferred securities, hybrid securities and convertible securities, as well as interests in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”), other investment companies (including exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”)) and equity securities issued by master limited partnerships (“MLPs”). Debt securities in which the Fund may invest include corporate debt obligations, mortgage-backed securities and debt securities issued by MLPs.

The Fund will invest in non-U.S. securities, but will limit its exposure to emerging markets to 50% of its net assets at the time of purchase.

The Fund may utilize derivatives, including options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, and forward foreign currency exchange contracts. The Fund may use these derivatives to manage market or business risk, enhance the Fund’s return, or hedge against adverse movements in currency exchange rates.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the sub-adviser will utilize a team-based investment philosophy and primarily employ a bottom-up approach that relies on fundamental research by its Real Assets Team and its Taxable Fixed

Income Team. The sub-adviser will complement its bottom-up approach with top-down research. The sub-adviser seeks to invest opportunistically based on market conditions, which may cause frequent trading of portfolio securities and a high portfolio turnover rate.

The value of your investment in this Fund will change daily. You could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, listed alphabetically, include:

Bond Market Liquidity Risk—Dealer inventories of bonds, which provide an indication of the ability of financial intermediaries to “make markets” in those bonds, are at or near historic lows in relation to market size. This reduction in market making capacity has the potential to decrease liquidity and increase price volatility in the fixed income markets in which the Fund invests, particularly during periods of economic or market stress. In addition, recent federal banking regulations may cause certain dealers to reduce their inventories of bonds, which may further decrease the Fund’s ability to buy or sell bonds. As a result of this decreased liquidity, the Fund may have to accept a lower price to sell a security, sell other securities to raise cash, or give up an investment opportunity, any of which could have a negative effect on performance. If the Fund needed to sell large blocks of bonds to meet shareholder redemption requests or to raise cash, those sales could further reduce the bonds’ prices.

Call Risk—If an issuer calls higher-yielding debt instruments held by the Fund, performance could be adversely impacted.

Convertible Security Risk—The value of the Fund’s convertible securities may decline in response to such factors as rising interest rates and fluctuations in the market price of the common stock underlying the convertible securities.

Credit Risk—Credit risk is the risk that an issuer of a debt security may be unable or unwilling to make interest and principal payments when due and the related risk that the value of a debt security may decline because of concerns about the issuer’s ability or willingness to make such payments.

Credit Spread Risk—Credit spread risk is the risk that credit spreads (i.e., the difference in yield between securities that is due to differences in their credit quality) may increase when the market believes that bonds generally have a greater risk of default. Increasing credit spreads may reduce the market values of the Fund’s debt securities. Credit spreads often increase more for lower rated and unrated securities than for investment grade securities. In addition, when credit spreads increase, reductions in market value will generally be greater for longer-maturity securities.

Currency Risk—Changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of non-U.S. dollar denominated securities, the value of dividends and interest earned from such securities, gains and losses realized on the sale of such securities, and derivative transactions tied to such securities. A strong U.S. dollar relative to these other currencies will adversely affect the value of the Fund’s portfolio.

Cybersecurity Risk—Cybersecurity breaches may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, customer data, or proprietary information, or cause the Fund and/or its service providers to suffer data corruption or lose operational functionality.

Derivatives Risk—The use of derivatives involves additional risks and transaction costs which could leave the Fund in a worse position than if it had not used these instruments. Derivative instruments can be used to acquire or to transfer the risk and returns of a security or other asset without buying or selling the security or asset. These instruments may entail investment exposures that are greater than their cost would suggest. As a result, a small investment in derivatives can result in losses that greatly exceed the original investment. Derivatives can be highly volatile, illiquid and difficult to value. An over-the-counter derivative transaction between the Fund and a counterparty that is not cleared through a central counterparty also involves the risk that a loss may be sustained as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the contract to make required payments. The payment obligation for a cleared derivative transaction is guaranteed by a central counterparty, which exposes the Fund to the creditworthiness of the central counterparty.

Equity Security Risk—Equity securities may decline significantly in price over short or extended periods of time, and such declines may occur because of declines in the equity market as a whole, or because of declines in only a particular country, company, industry, or sector of the market.

ETF Risk—An ETF is subject to the risks of the underlying securities that it holds. In addition, for index-based ETFs, the performance of an ETF may diverge from the performance of such index (commonly known as tracking error). ETFs are subject to fees and expenses (like management fees and operating expenses) that do not apply to

an index, and the Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any such fees and expenses paid by the ETFs in which it invests. Moreover, ETF shares may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value. As ETFs trade on an exchange, they are subject to the risks of any exchange-traded instrument, including: (i) an active trading market for its shares may not develop or be maintained, (ii) market makers or authorized participants may decide to reduce their role or step away from these activities in times of market stress, (iii) trading of its shares may be halted by the exchange, and (iv) its shares may be delisted from the exchange.

ETN Risk—Like other index-tracking instruments, ETNs are subject to the risk that the value of the index may decline, at times sharply and unpredictably. In addition, ETNs—which are debt instruments—are subject to risk of default by the issuer.

Frequent Trading Risk—The Fund’s portfolio turnover rate may exceed 100%. Frequent trading of portfolio securities may produce capital gains, which are taxable to shareholders when distributed. Frequent trading may also increase the amount of commissions or mark-ups to broker-dealers that the Fund pays when it buys and sells securities, which may detract from the Fund’s performance.

High Yield Securities Risk—High yield securities, which are rated below investment grade and commonly referred to as “junk” bonds, are high risk investments that may cause income and principal losses for the Fund. They generally have greater credit risk, are less liquid and have more volatile prices than investment grade securities.

Income Risk—The Fund’s income could decline during periods of falling interest rates or when the Fund experiences defaults on debt securities it holds.

Infrastructure Sector Risk—Because the Fund invests significantly in infrastructure-related securities, the Fund has greater exposure to adverse economic, regulatory, political, legal and other changes affecting the issuers of such securities. Additionally, infrastructure-related entities may be subject to regulation by various governmental authorities and affected by government regulation of rates charged to consumers, service interruptions or the imposition of special tariffs and changes in tax law.

Interest Rate Risk—Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the Fund’s portfolio will decline because of rising interest rates. The Fund may be subject to a greater risk of rising interest rates than would normally be the case due to the current period of historically low rates and the effect of potential government fiscal policy initiatives and resulting market reaction to those initiatives. When interest rates change, the values of longer-duration debt securities usually change more than the values of shorter-duration debt securities.

Master Limited Partnership Risk—An investment in an MLP exposes the Fund to the legal and tax risks associated with investing in partnerships. MLPs may have limited financial resources, their securities may be relatively illiquid, and they may be subject to more erratic price movements because of the underlying assets they hold.

Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk—These securities generally can be prepaid at any time, and prepayments that occur either more quickly or more slowly than expected can adversely impact the value of such securities. They are also subject to extension risk, which is the risk that rising interest rates could cause mortgages underlying the securities to be prepaid more slowly than expected, thereby lengthening the duration of such securities, increasing their sensitivity to interest rate changes and causing their prices to decline. A mortgage-backed security may be negatively affected by the quality of the mortgages underlying such security, the credit quality of its issuer or guarantor, and the nature and structure of its credit support.

Non-U.S./Emerging Markets Risk—Non-U.S. issuers or U.S. issuers with significant non-U.S. operations may be subject to risks in addition to those of issuers located in or that principally operate in the United States as a result of, among other things, political, social and economic developments abroad and different legal, regulatory and tax environments. These additional risks may be heightened for securities of issuers located in, or with significant operations in, emerging market countries as such countries may have a higher degree of economic instability, unsettled securities laws and inconsistent regulatory systems.

Other Investment Companies and Pooled Investment Vehicles Risk—When the Fund invests in other investment companies or pooled investment vehicles, including ETFs, you bear both your proportionate share of Fund expenses and, indirectly, the expenses of the other investment companies or pooled investment vehicles. Furthermore, the Fund is exposed to the risks to which the other investment companies or pooled investment vehicles may be subject.

Preferred Security Risk—Preferred securities generally are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments. In addition, preferred securities are subject to other risks, such as having no or limited voting rights, being subject to special redemption rights, having distributions deferred or skipped, having floating interest rates or dividends,

which may result in a decline in value in a falling interest rate environment, having limited liquidity, changing or unfavorable tax treatments and possibly being issued by companies in heavily regulated industries.

Real Estate Investment Risk—The real estate industry has been subject to substantial fluctuations and declines on a local, regional and national basis in the past that may continue to occur in the future. Also, the value of a REIT can be hurt by economic downturns or by changes in real estate values, rents, property taxes, interest rates, tax treatment, regulations, or the legal structure of the REIT. By investing in REITs through the Fund, you bear both your proportionate share of Fund expenses and, indirectly, the expenses of the REITs in which the Fund invests.

Smaller Company Risk—Small-cap stocks involve substantial risk. Prices of small-cap stocks may be subject to more abrupt or erratic movements, and to wider fluctuations, than stock prices of larger, more established companies or the market averages in general. It may be difficult to sell small-cap stocks at the desired time and price. While mid-cap stocks may be slightly less volatile than small-cap stocks, they still involve similar risks.

Valuation Risk—The debt securities in which the Fund invests typically are valued by a pricing service utilizing a range of market-based inputs and assumptions, including readily available market quotations obtained from broker-dealers making markets in such instruments, cash flows and transactions for comparable instruments. There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to sell a portfolio security at the price established by the pricing service, which could result in a loss to the Fund. Pricing services generally price debt securities assuming orderly transactions of an institutional “round lot” size, but some trades may occur in smaller, “odd lot” sizes, often at lower prices than institutional round lot trades. Different pricing services may incorporate different assumptions and inputs into their valuation methodologies, potentially resulting in different values for the same securities. As a result, if the Fund were to change pricing services, or if the Fund’s pricing service were to change its valuation methodology, there could be a material impact, either positive or negative, on the Fund’s net asset value.

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the potential risks of investing in the Fund. The Fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available at www.nuveen.com/performance or by calling (800) 257-8787.

The bar chart below shows the variability of the Fund’s performance from year to year for Class A shares. The bar chart and highest/lowest quarterly returns that follow do not reflect sales charges, and if these charges were reflected, the returns would be less than those shown.

During the five-year period ended December 31, 2016, the Fund’s highest and lowest quarterly returns were 7.13% and -4.23%, respectively, for the quarters ended June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2015.

The table below shows the variability of the Fund’s average annual returns and how they compare over the time periods indicated with those of broad measures of market performance (the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index is the Fund’s primary benchmark) and an index of funds with similar investment objectives. All after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. After-tax returns are shown for Class A shares only; after-tax returns for other share classes will vary. Your own actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from what is shown here. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund shares in tax-deferred accounts such as IRAs or employer-sponsored retirement plans.

Both the bar chart and the table assume that all distributions have been reinvested. Performance reflects fee waivers, if any, in effect during the periods presented. If any such waivers had not been in place, returns would have been reduced.

Performance is not shown for Class R6 or Class T shares, which have not been offered for a full calendar year.

You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund on any business day, which is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business. You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the Fund either through a financial advisor or other financial intermediary or directly from the Fund. Class C and Class T shares may not be purchased directly from the Fund. In addition, the availability of Class A, Class C and Class T shares through a financial intermediary will depend on the policies of the intermediary. The Fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are as follows, although certain financial intermediaries may impose their own investment minimums and the Fund may reduce or waive the minimums in some cases:

The Fund’s distributions are taxable and will generally be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred account, such as an IRA or 401(k) plan (in which case you may be taxed upon withdrawal of your investment from such account).

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or financial advisor), the Fund, its distributor or its investment adviser may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.


	Class A		Class C		Class R6		Class I		Class T
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)		5.75%		None		None		None		2.50%
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lesser of purchase price or redemption proceeds)¹		None		1.00%		None		None		None
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Reinvested Dividends		None		None		None		None		None
Exchange Fee		None		None		None		None		None
Annual Low Balance Account Fee (for accounts under $1,000)²		$15		$15		None		$15		$15

Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
	Class A		Class C		Class R6		Class I		Class T
Management Fees		0.73%		0.73%		0.73%		0.73%		0.73%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees		0.25%		1.00%		0.00%		0.00%		0.25%
Other Expenses		0.20%		0.20%		0.11%		0.20%		0.20%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses		0.01%		0.01%		0.01%		0.01%		0.01%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses		1.19%		1.94%		0.85%		0.94%		1.19%
Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements³		(0.02)%		(0.02)%		(0.02)%		(0.02)%		(0.02)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waivers and/or Expense Reimbursements		1.17%		1.92%		0.83%		0.92%		1.17%


	Redemption										No Redemption
	A		C		R6		I		T		A		C		R6		I		T
1 Year	$	687	$	195	$	85	$	94	$	366	$	687	$	195	$	85	$	94	$	366
3 Years	$	928	$	606	$	268	$	297	$	615	$	928	$	606	$	268	$	297	$	615
5 Years	$	1,189	$	1,044	$	468	$	517	$	885	$	1,189	$	1,044	$	468	$	517	$	885
10 Years	$	1,933	$	2,262	$	1,046	$	1,152	$	1,654	$	1,933	$	2,262	$	1,046	$	1,152	$	1,654


			Average Annual Total Returns for the Periods Ended December 31, 2016
	Inception Date		1 Year			5 Years			Since Inception
Class A (return before taxes)		9/13/11		3.30	%		7.49	%		7.66	%
Class A (return after taxes on distributions)				1.39	%		4.99	%		5.23	%
Class A (return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares)				2.11	%		4.75	%		4.93	%
Class C (return before taxes)		9/13/11		8.74	%		7.97	%		8.07	%
Class I (return before taxes)		9/13/11		9.82	%		9.05	%		9.14	%
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index¹ (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				17.13	%		7.36	%		7.67	%
Real Asset Income Blend² (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)				8.81	%		8.10	%		8.27	%
Lipper Flexible Portfolio Funds Category Average³ (reflects no deduction for taxes or sales loads)				7.00	%		5.68	%		5.63	%


Name	Title	Portfolio Manager of Fund Since
Jay L. Rosenberg	Managing Director	September 2011
Jeffrey T. Schmitz, CFA	Senior Vice President	September 2011
Tryg T. Sarsland	Senior Vice President	April 2015
Brenda A. Langenfeld, CFA	Senior Vice President	April 2015


	Class A, Class C and Class T	Class R6	Class I
Eligibility and Minimum Initial Investment	$3,000 for all accounts except: • $2,500 for Traditional/Roth IRA accounts. • $2,000 for Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. • $250 for accounts opened through fee-based programs. (Class T shares are not available through fee-based programs.) • No minimum for retirement plans.	Available only to certain qualified retirement plans and other investors as described in the prospectus and through fee-based programs. $5 million for all accounts except: • $100,000 for clients of financial intermediaries who charge such clients an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or related services. • No minimum for certain qualified retirement plans and certain other categories of eligible investors as described in the prospectus.	Available only through fee-based programs and certain retirement plans, and to other limited categories of investors as described in the prospectus. $100,000 for all accounts except: • $250 for clients of financial intermediaries and family offices that have accounts holding Class I shares with an aggregate value of at least $100,000 (or that are expected to reach this level). • No minimum for eligible retirement plans and certain other categories of eligible investors as described in the prospectus.
Minimum Additional Investment	$100	No minimum.	No minimum.


NUVEEN		1


2		NUVEEN


NUVEEN		3


4		NUVEEN