JTD Nuveen Tax Advantaged Dividend Growth Fund

ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.

Closed-End Funds

30 June

2020

Nuveen

Closed-End Funds

Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the Fund’s annual and semi-annual shareholder reports will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports. Instead, the reports will be made available on the Fund’s website (www.nuveen.com), and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

If you have already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically anytime by contacting the financial intermediary (such as a broker-dealer or bank) through which you hold your Fund shares or, if you are a direct investor, by enrolling at www.nuveen.com/e-reports.

You may elect to receive all future shareholder reports in paper free of charge at any time by contacting your financial intermediary or, if you are a direct investor, (i) by calling 800-257-8787 and selecting option #2 or (ii) by logging into your Investor Center account at www.computershare.com/investor and clicking on “Communication Preferences.” Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held in your account with your financial intermediary or, if you are a direct investor, to all your directly held Nuveen Funds and any other directly held funds within the same group of related investment companies.

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Table of Contents

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Chair’s Letter to Shareholders

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Portfolio Managers’ Comments

Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Dividend Growth Fund (JTD)

The Fund’s investment portfolio is managed by three affiliates of Nuveen, LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser: Santa Barbara Asset Management LLC (Santa Barbara) oversees the Fund’s dividend-growth equity strategy, while the Fund’s income-oriented strategy is managed by NWQ Investment Management Company, LLC (NWQ). The Fund also employs an index call option strategy managed by Nuveen Asset Management (NAM). David S. Park, CFA, and David A, Chalupnik, CFA serve as portfolio managers for the Santa Barbara dividend-growth equity strategy. The NWQ income-oriented investment team is led by Thomas J. Ray, CFA and Susi Budiman, CFA, FRM and David A. Friar oversees the call option program from NAM.

Effective March 24, 2020, Jody Hrazanek is no longer a portfolio manager of the Fund.

Here the portfolio management team reviews their management strategy and the performance of the Fund for the six-month reporting period ended June 30, 2020.

An Update on COVID-19 Coronavirus and its Impact on the Securities Markets

Slowing COVID-19 coronavirus infection rates around the world encouraged authorities to loosen restrictions on business and social activity in recent months. While economic indicators have improved considerably from the depths of the shutdown, some regions, including the U.S., have seen an uptick in infection rates after reopening. This may slow the recovery process and contribute to short-term market volatility in the meantime.

Although the detection of the virus in China was made public in December 2019, markets did not start to fully acknowledge the risks and potential economic impact until the latter portion of February 2020, when outbreaks outside of China were first reported. Global stock markets sold off severely, with the S&P 500^® index reaching a bear market (a 20% drop from the previous high) within three weeks, the fastest bear market decline in history. Even certain parts of the bond market suffered; below investment grade municipal and corporate bonds generally dropped the furthest, mostly out of concerns for the continued financial stability of lower quality issuers. Demand for safe-haven assets, along with mounting recession fears, drove the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note to 0.5% in March 2020, an all-time low. Additionally, oil prices collapsed to an 18-year low on supply glut concerns, as shutdowns across the global economy sharply reduced oil demand, although oil prices have recovered to well above those lows.

Central banks and governments have responded with liquidity injections to ease the strain on financial systems and stimulus measures to buffer the shock to businesses and consumers. These measures have helped stabilize the markets over the short term, and most markets have recovered most of their losses. But volatility will likely remain elevated until

This material is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy, sell or hold a security or an investment strategy and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Investment decisions should be made based on an investor’s objectives and circumstances and in consultation with his or her advisors.

Certain statements in this report are forward-looking statements. Discussions of specific investments are for illustration only and are not intended as recommendations of individual investments. The forward-looking statements and other views expressed herein are those of the portfolio managers as of the date of this report. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements and the views expressed herein are subject to change at any time, due to numerous market and other factors. The Fund disclaims any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or views expressed herein.

For financial reporting purposes, the ratings disclosed are the highest rating given by one of the following national rating agencies: Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Moody’s Investors (Moody’s) Service, Inc. or Fitch, Inc. (Fitch). This treatment of split-rated securities may differ from that used for other purposes, such as for Fund investment policies. Credit ratings are subject to change. AAA, AA, A and BBB are investment grade ratings; BB, B, CCC, CC, C and D are below investment grade ratings. Holdings designated N/R are not rated by these national rating agencies.

Refer to the Glossary of Terms Used in this Report for further definition of the terms used within this section.

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Portfolio Managers’ Comments (continued)

the health crisis itself is under control (via fewer new cases, lower infection rates and/or verified treatments or vaccines). There are still many unknowns and new information is incoming daily, compounding the difficulty of modeling outcomes for epidemiologists and economists alike.

Nuveen, LLC and our portfolio management teams are monitoring the situation carefully and continuously refining our views and approaches to managing the Funds to best pursue investment objectives while mitigating risks through all market environments.

What key strategies were used to manage the Fund during this six-month reporting period ended June 30, 2020?

The Fund’s investment objective is to provide an attractive level of distributions and capital appreciation by investing primarily in dividend paying common stocks of mid to large cap companies. To a lesser extent, the Fund also invests in the preferred stocks of mid to large cap companies and will write (sell) call options on various equity market indexes. Under normal market circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its managed assets in securities that are eligible to pay tax-advantaged dividends.

In the equity portion of the Fund’s portfolio, the Fund maintained a consistent strategy seeking to provide a higher dividend yield and lower price volatility than the S&P 500^® Index. The Fund achieved this by focusing on high quality companies that are growing their dividends.

The fixed-income portion of the Fund’s portfolio is actively managed by NWQ and has the flexibility to invest across the capital structure in any type of debt or preferred securities offered by a particular company. NWQ’s investment process identifies undervalued securities within a company’s capital structure that offer the most attractive risk/reward potential. The portfolio management team then evaluates all available investment choices within a selected company’s capital structure to determine the portfolio investment that may offer the most favorable risk-adjusted return potential. The Fund’s portfolio is constructed with an emphasis on maintaining a sustainable level of income and an overall analysis for downside risk management.

The Fund also wrote call options on various indexes, led by the NAM team, with average expirations between 30 and 90 days. This is done in an effort to enhance returns, although it means the Fund may relinquish some of the upside potential of its equity portfolio.

How did the Fund perform during this six-month reporting period ended June 30, 2020?

The table in the Performance Overview and Holding Summaries section of this report provides total returns for the six-month, one-year, five-year and ten-year periods ended June 30, 2020. The Fund’s total returns at net asset value (NAV) are compared with the performance of a corresponding market index. For the six-month reporting period ending June 30, 2020, the Fund’s common shares at NAV underperformed the S&P 500^®Index and its Blended Index. Effective June 30, 2020, the Fund’s blended benchmark changed to 16% S&P 500^® Index; 34% MSCI EAFE (Net); 12.5% ICE BofA DRD (dividends received deduction) Preferred Index; 12.5% ICE BofA Fixed Rate Preferred Index; and 25% Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM), which will better reflect how the Santa Barbara sleeve is managed, linked retroactively as of 7/01/11.

Santa Barbara

The equity portion of the Fund’s portfolio managed by Santa Barbara detracted from the Fund’s performance on an absolute basis and underperformed the broader equity market as measured by the S&P 500^® Index.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world severely disrupted everyday life during the first quarter 2020. The countermeasures of strict social-distancing policies to slow the spread of the virus caused an immediate economic shock as many business were forced to close their doors or reduce staff, resulting in a profound increase in unemployment claims

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at the end of March 2020. Oil prices declined significantly after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) alliance failed to reach an agreement on production cuts and Saudi Arabia decided to increase production. To combat the spread of COVID-19 and stabilize the global economy the Federal Reserve reduced its target rate to 0-0.25% and announced a $700 billion quantitative easing program. The U.S. government also signed into a law a $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which includes subsidized loans, forgivable loans, extended benefits, and aid to individuals, businesses, and the industries most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

The S&P 500^® Index declined 19.6% during its worst quarterly return since the fourth quarter 2008. After a new all-time high on February 19, 2020 the S&P 500^® Index rapidly declined 33.8% to end in bear market territory. Market volatility spiked to levels not seen since the Financial Crisis of 2008-09 and remained extremely elevated.

While the U.S. officially entered a recession in February 2020, stocks and risk assets have been on an upward trajectory since the end of March 2020, with the S&P 500^® Index recouping some of its losses ending the six-month reporting period down only 3.08%. Investors have responded to signs around the world that the virus was abating and restrictions begun easing both in the U.S. and globally.

The risk-on market environment during the second half of the reporting period created a challenging time for the Fund’s portfolio given its broadly diversified approach and the high quality defensive composition. Both stock selection and sector allocation had a negative impact on performance. The information technology sector was the largest detractor to performance due to the portfolio’s underweight position within the sector. Given the risk-on environment, the Fund’s overweight positions in defensive oriented sectors detracted from relative performance. However, these losses were partially offset by holdings in the materials, utilities and industrial sectors.

Individual holdings that contributed to performance included consumer discretionary holding and home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos Inc. The company reported first quarter 2020 earnings per share and revenue well ahead of consensus estimates driven by strong same store sales growth and gross margin expansion. Strong sales were driven by both transactions and average ticket, as customers that were quarantining due to the COVID-19 crisis and increased spending on home improvement projects. Information technology holding Apple Inc. further contributed to performance. Apple reported solid growth in its wearable, home and accessories segment and all five geographies reported all-time revenue records. Following the significant disruption in February 2020, the company’s supply chain resumed normal operations during the second half of the reporting period and there have been signs of iPhone demand recovery in China. Another top contributor was information technology sector holding Microsoft Corp. The company announced better than expected quarterly revenue, earnings per share, cash flow per share and margins. The increase in work-from-home drove demand for the company’s cloud-computing products, Windows devices and productivity tools.

Individual holdings that detracted from performance included financial services holding JPMorgan Chase & Co. The COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn led the Federal Reserve to lower the Fed Funds rate to 0-0.25%, resulting in reductions to net interest income and higher credit losses amid headwinds to near-term earnings per share (EPS) growth. JPMorgan suspended their share repurchase program, freeing up capital to support the economy despite strong capital. In addition, Lloyd’s Banking Group PLC detracted from performance. During the reporting period, Lloyds Banking Group missed analysts’ expectations and announced disappointing earnings for the first quarter of 2020 as the COVID-19 crisis impacted financial institutions around the world. Lastly, Compass Group PLC detracted from performance. The world’s largest contract management food service firm was impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Compass Group missed first-half earnings expectations and cut its dividend as a result of stagnant revenue and a steep decline in margins in Europe. The Fund no longer holds it exposure to Compass Group.

NWQ

For the preferred portion managed by NWQ, the Fund’s industry holdings detracted from performance, with the banking and utilities sectors detracting the most for the reporting period on an absolute basis.

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Portfolio Managers’ Comments (continued)

The ICE BofA Fixed Rate Preferred Securities Index returned -2.49% for the reporting period. Similar to other risk assets, the preferred market benefited from central bank support and encouraging economic data. Nevertheless, preferred securities trailed both investment grade and high yield bonds respectively. This underperformance can be partly attributed to the composition of the index, as close to 80% of the index consists of financial companies, which is a sector that has largely been excluded from the Fed’s corporate credit facility (CCFs).

Several individual positions contributed to absolute performance, including the preferred stock of Charles Schwab Corp. Despite the headwinds of net interest margin compression from lower interest rates, Charles Schwab continued to deliver customer and balance sheet growth during the reporting period. The company is increasingly focused on generating new revenue pools, driving greater expense efficiency, and taking market share and executing on strategic mergers and acquisitions to increase scale and customer reach. In addition, Qwest Corp senior notes contributed to performance as the company continues its path to reduce leverage to its target range. Lastly, the preferred stock of National General Holdings Corp contributed to performance on better than expected earnings despite the COVID-19 crisis related headwinds. Strong performance was seen across both the property and casualty, and accident and health segments. The company’s focus on specialty personal lines markets has enabled it to effectively operate within niches that allow it to leverage its fully integrated technology platform. NWQ continues to hold these positions.

Several holdings detracted from absolute performance, including the preferred stock of CenterPoint Energy Inc. Shares fell sharply after the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) discussed CenterPoint Energy’s outstanding Houston electric rate case that indicated a lower than expected return on equity. Investors expected that there would be potential for significant equity needs if the final decision is in line with what the PUCT discussed. The Fund no longer holds its exposure to CenterPoint Energy. CIT Group Inc. preferred lagged during the reporting period as CIT continued to face headwinds from credit deterioration and revenue declines due to the COVID-19 crisis. The Company posted a loss during the first half of the reporting period on a large provision to reserve build, although management expected provisions to be lower in the second quarter of 2020. The poorly timed bank acquisition of Mutual of Omaha Bank in February 2020 further eroded CIT’s capital ratios. Lastly, the preferred of JPMorgan Chase & Co. detracted from performance. The COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn led the Federal Reserve to lower the Fed Funds rate to 0-0.25%, resulting in reductions to net interest income and higher credit losses. JPMorgan suspended their share repurchase program, freeing up capital to support the economy despite strong capital. NWQ continues to hold these positions.

NAM

As mentioned previously, the Fund also wrote call options with average expirations between 30 and 90 days. This was done in an effort to enhance returns, although it meant the Fund did relinquish some of the upside potential of its equity portfolio. During the reporting period, the Fund wrote call options on the Russell 2000^® Index. Unlike other indexes, the Russell 2000^® Index had periods of flat performance in January and the beginning of February 2020. As a result, the Fund retained more option premium. However, the Russell 2000^® Index rallied sharply during the second half of the reporting period, returning 25.42%. As a result, the Fund collected less premium income as it was an unfavorable environment for writing options on the Russell 2000^® Index. As a result, the option strategy detracted from performance overall.

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Fund Leverage

IMPACT OF THE FUND’S LEVERAGE STRATEGY ON PERFORMANCE

One important factor impacting the returns of the Fund’s common shares relative to its comparative benchmarks was the Fund’s use of leverage through bank borrowings. The Fund uses leverage because our research has shown that, over time, leveraging provides opportunities for additional income. The opportunity arises when short-term rates that the Fund pays on its leveraging instruments are lower than the interest the Fund earns on its portfolio securities that it has bought with the proceeds of that leverage. This has been particularly true in the recent market environment where short-term rates have been low by historical standards.

However, use of leverage can expose Fund common shares to additional price volatility. When the Fund uses leverage, the Fund’s common shares will experience a greater increase in their net asset value if the securities acquired through the use of leverage increase in value, but will also experience a correspondingly larger decline in their net asset value if the securities acquired through leverage decline in value. All this will make the shares’ total return performance more variable over time.

In addition, common share income in levered funds will typically decrease in comparison to unlevered funds when short-term interest rates increase and increase when short-term interest rates decrease. In recent quarters, fund leverage expenses have generally tracked the overall movement of short-term interest rates. While fund leverage expenses are somewhat higher than their recent lows, leverage nevertheless continues to provide the opportunity for incremental common share income, particularly over longer-term periods.

The Fund’s use of leverage had a negative impact on total return performance during this reporting period. The negative impact of leverage during the brief but severe COVID-19 induced market downturn in March was greater than the positive impact of leverage during the remainder of the reporting period. More specifically, this net negative contribution of leverage was amplified during the market downturn in part because the Fund used proceeds from portfolio sales to pay down borrowings and reduce its elevated leverage ratio, which rose as prices of portfolio securities, including those sold for de-levering purposes, declined. Conversely, as financial markets recovered and asset prices steadied, the Fund gradually increased leverage levels, using proceeds to purchase new portfolio securities at generally higher prices. Management believes, however, that the potential benefits from leverage continue to outweigh the associated increase in risk and total return variability previously described.

The Fund also continued to utilize interest rate swap contracts to partially hedge its future interest cost of leverage. The impact of the swap contracts on total return performance was negative during this reporting period.

As of June 30, 2020, the Fund’s percentages of leverage are shown in the accompanying table.

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Refer to Notes to Financial Statements, Note 8 – Borrowing Arrangements for further details.

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Common Share Information

DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION

The following information regarding the Fund’s distributions is current as of May 31, 2020, the date of the distribution data included within the Fund’s most recent distribution notice at the time this report was prepared. The Fund’s distribution levels may vary over time based on the Fund’s investment activities and portfolio investment value changes.

The Fund has adopted a managed distribution program. The goal of the Fund’s managed distribution program is to provide shareholders relatively consistent and predictable cash flow by systematically converting its expected long-term return potential into regular distributions. As a result, regular distributions throughout the year will likely include a portion of expected long-term and/or short-term gains (both realized and unrealized), along with net investment income.

Important points to understand about Nuveen fund managed distributions are:

The following table provides information regarding the Fund’s distributions and total return performance over various time periods. This information is intended to help you better understand whether the Fund’s returns for the specified time periods were sufficient to meet its distributions.

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Common Share Information (continued)

The following table provides estimates of the Fund’s distribution sources, reflecting year-to-date cumulative experience through the latest month-end. These estimates are for informational purposes only. The Fund attributes these estimates equally to each regular distribution throughout the year. Consequently, the estimated information shown below is for the current distribution, and also represents an updated estimate for all prior months in the year.

The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and character of the distributions for tax reporting purposes will be reported to shareholders on Form 1099-DIV which will be sent to shareholders shortly after calendar year-end. More details about the Fund’s distributions and the basis for these estimates are available on www.nuveen.com/cef.

NUVEEN CLOSED-END FUND DISTRIBUTION AMOUNTS

The Nuveen Closed-End Funds’ monthly and quarterly periodic distributions to shareholders are posted on www.nuveen.com and can be found on Nuveen’s enhanced closed-end fund resource page, which is at https://www.nuveen.com/resource-center-closed-end-funds, along with other Nuveen closed-end fund product updates. To ensure timely access to the latest information, shareholders may use a subscribe function, which can be activated at this web page (https://www.nuveen.com/subscriptions).

COMMON SHARE REPURCHASES

During August 2020 (subsequent to the close of this reporting period), the Fund’s Board of Trustees reauthorized an open-market share repurchase program, allowing the Fund to repurchase an aggregate of up to approximately 10% of its outstanding shares.

As of June 30, 2020, and since the inception of the Fund’s repurchase program, the Fund has cumulatively repurchased and retired its outstanding common shares as shown in the accompanying table.

During the current reporting period, the Fund did not repurchase any of its outstanding common shares.

OTHER COMMON SHARE INFORMATION

As of June 30, 2020, and during the current reporting period, the Fund’s common share price was trading at a premium/(discount) to its common share NAV as shown in the accompanying table.

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Risk Considerations

Fund shares are not guaranteed or endorsed by any bank or other insured depository institution, and are not federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Nuveen Tax-Advantaged Dividend Growth Fund (JTD)

Investing in closed-end funds involves risk; principal loss is possible. There is no guarantee the Fund’s investment objectives will be achieved. Closed-end fund shares may frequently trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value. Common stock returns often have experienced significant volatility, and dividend-paying stocks may not sustain their current dividends. Debt or fixed income securities such as those held by the Fund, are subject to market risk, credit risk, interest rate risk, derivatives risk, liquidity risk, and income risk. As interest rates rise, bond prices fall. Leverage increases return volatility and magnifies the Fund’s potential return and its risks; there is no guarantee a fund’s leverage strategy will be successful. The Fund may not participate in any appreciation of its equity portfolio as fully as it would if the Fund did not sell call options. In addition, the Fund will continue to bear the risk of declines in the value of the equity portfolio. For these and other risks, including tax risk, please see the Fund’s web page at www.nuveen.com/JTD.

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Refer to the Glossary of Terms Used in this Report for further definition of the terms used within this section.

Past performance is not predictive of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the data shown. Returns do not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders may have to pay on Fund distributions or upon the sale of Fund shares. Returns at NAV are net of Fund expenses and assume reinvestment of distributions. Comparative index return information is provided for the Fund’s shares at NAV only. Indexes are not available for direct investment.

Common Share Price Performance — Weekly Closing Price

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This data relates to the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio of investments as of the end of the reporting period. It should not be construed as a measure of performance for the Fund itself. Holdings are subject to change.

For financial reporting purposes, the ratings disclosed are the highest rating given by one of the following national rating agencies: Standard & Poor’s Group, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or Fitch, Inc. This treatment of split-rated securities may differ from that used for other purposes, such as for Fund investment policies. Credit ratings are subject to change. AAA, AA, A and BBB are investment grade ratings; BB, B, CCC, CC, C and D are below-investment grade ratings. Holdings designated N/R are not rated by these national rating agencies.

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