MainStay Adopts Epoch Investment Partners’ $750 Million Family of Mutual Funds

MacKay Municipal Managers Named Sub-Advisor to MainStay Tax Free Bond Fund

NEWYORK, July 9, 2009– MainStay Investments today announced the adoption of four equity mutual funds managed by Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. (“Epoch”) to the MainStay Group of Funds. Pending shareholder approval, these funds with over $750 million in assets will be reorganized as “MainStay Epoch” mutual funds in November 2009. In addition, MainStay Investments will become the primary distributor of Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) managed by Epoch.

Three of the funds have four-star ratings from Morningstar: Epoch Global Equity Shareholder Yield (EPSYX), Epoch International Small Cap (EPIEX) and Epoch US All Cap Equity (EPACX).   

Founded in 2004 and led by CEO and co-CIO, William W. Priest, Epoch is a global, boutique asset management firm located in New York City.   Their equity strategies are created in a manner consistent with the firm’s investment philosophy – to seek businesses that produce significant "free cash flow" and are run by management teams that intelligently use their free cash flow to create shareholder value.

“We’re delighted to be adding the Epoch Funds to the MainStay family. Epoch’s investment offerings are complementary to MainStay’s strong Large Cap Equity and Fixed Income product line-up. In both investment style and product scope, MainStay is adding greater depth and breadth to its family of mutual funds,” said Stephen Fisher, president of the MainStay Funds.  

New Sub-Advisory Relationships

Today’s announcement follows several other enhancements made to the MainStay lineup last week. Those changes include Epoch assuming management of several MainStay mutual funds as sub-advisor as well as the proposed consolidation of several other MainStay Funds to reduce overlap within the complex.

Additionally, MainStay appointed industry veterans Robert DiMella and John Loffredo, who co-lead MacKay Shields’ recently acquired municipal bond team, to manage the MainStay Tax Free Bond Fund (MTBAX).

For over 15 years, DiMella and Loffredo have worked together in managing municipal bond portfolios.  They founded Mariner Municipal Managers LLC in 2007 upon leaving BlackRock, where they served as co-heads of BlackRock’s Municipal Portfolio Management Group, with assets under management in excess of $100 billion.

“Municipal bonds are an investment staple for high net worth clients at or near retirement. The asset class is anticipated to play an even larger role for the growing retirement market in the years to come.   We are pleased to have these two outstanding municipal bond managers at the helm of the MainStay Tax Free Bond Fund,” said Fisher.

MainStay Continues Growth

In 2004, MainStay began strategic implementation of a new distribution strategy that has fueled the growth for the fund family.   In less than five years, gross sales through MainStay’s outside broker dealer channel have more than tripled.  With strong relative performance in key asset categories and inflows driven by a highly effective distribution effort, MainStay ranks 15^th based upon net flows among intermediary-sold mutual fund families[1] in the U.S over the last 12 months. 

“The MainStay distribution approach is based on training and preparation, advisor segmentation and disciplined execution. Our sales professionals serve as an advisor to the advisor – a trusted and reliable resource to an advisor’s business,” said Christopher Parisi, managing director and head of National Sales for MainStay Investments. “We embarked on this strategy four years ago and we are seeing exceptional results because of this approach.”

Consistent with sales results, a recently released kasina research report ranked MainStay external wholesalers highest in availability and responsiveness and number two overall in the industry.

“Our objective is to provide world class support for our top tier distribution partners by offering a robust product set to best meet the needs of our clients,” concluded Fisher.

About Mainstay Investments

New YorkLife Investments is a top 25 global money manager[2] with over $233 billion in assets under management, with its affiliates, as of May 31, 2009.  We deliver the investment products and expertise you’ve come to expect through: Multi-Boutique Management, offering access to leading institutional managers that drive performance; Proven Wealth-Building Tools, providing actionable and effective solutions to help invest and plan for all life stages; and a commitment to you.  We proudly stand on a track record of accountability, integrity, and commitment.

Contact:
John Puccio
New York Life Investments
212-576-8172
john_puccio@nylim.com

"New YorkLife Investments" is a service mark used by New YorkLife Investment Management Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, New YorkLife Investment Management LLC. MainStay Investments is a registered name under which New YorkLife Investments does business. 

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Epoch Global Equity Shareholder Yield Fund Class I, Epoch U.S.All Cap Equity Fund Class I, and Epoch International Small Cap Fund Class I rated four stars overall and for the 3-year period ended 6/30/09 from among 544 world stock, 1740 large blend, and 101 foreign small/mid growth funds, respectively. Ratings shown for Class I only; other share classes may vary. The Overall Morningstar Rating™ is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating™ metrics.

For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar Rating™ based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a fund’s monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads, and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of funds in each category receive five stars, the next 22.5% receive four stars, the next 35% receive three stars, the next 22.5% receive two stars, and the next 10% receive one star.

Before you invest:

Foreign investments may involve financial, economic or political risks that are not ordinarily associated with investments in U.S.securities.  These risks are likely to be greater for emerging markets than in developed markets.

The stocks of small or middle market capitalization companies may be more volatile and speculative than the stocks of large market capitalization companies.

Please call 1-800-MAINSTAY (1-800-624-6782) for MainStay Funds prospectuses. Please consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of the investment carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the investment company. Please read it carefully before you invest.

Securities distributed by NYLIFE Distributors LLC, 169 Lackawanna Ave., Parsippany, NJ07054.