-Recognized for Excellence in Service to Mutual Fund Shareholders & Financial Advisors-

PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 9, 2004 - New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM) today announced that NYLIM Service Company LLC received the 2003 Dalbar Mutual Fund Service Award and MainStay Funds was awarded the 2003 Dalbar Financial Intermediary Pre-Sale and Post-Sale Service Awards.

DALBAR, Inc. is a financial services research firm that measures the performance of customer service programs in the financial services industry.  To be recognized among the industry's elite service providers, companies are evaluated over a 12-month period in which DALBAR initiates a series of rigorous evaluations examining each company’s servicing capabilities both over the telephone and in written communications.

This marks the sixth year since 1997 that NYLIM Service Company has received a Dalbar Award in recognition of its outstanding level of customer service to shareholders. NYLIM Service Company was one of only 10 service organizations to qualify for Dalbar‘s 2003 Mutual Fund Service Award. 

It is also the first time Dalbar recognized firms for outstanding service to intermediaries in two categories differentiated by pre-sale and post-sale service. MainStay’s Internal Wholesalers were responsible for winning the Dalbar Financial Intermediary Pre-Sale Service Award. The NYLIM Service Company was responsible for The Dalbar Financial Intermediary Post-Sale Service Award.

“We are pleased to be recognized by DALBAR for the outstanding level of customer service we provide to both shareholders and financial professionals,” said Steve Roussin, president and chief operating officer of NYLIM LLC.  “The awards place NYLIM among the top service providers in the industry and further demonstrate our commitment to exceeding our client’s expectations.”

DALBAR, Inc. is committed to raising the standards of excellence in the financial-services industry. Headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in Toronto, DALBAR develops standards for, and provides research, ratings, and rankings of intangible factors to the mutual fund, broker/dealer, discount brokerage, life insurance, and banking industries. They include investor behavior, customer satisfaction, service quality, communications, Internet services, and financial-professional ratings. 

With more than $180 billion in assets under management as of January 31, 2004, New York Life Investment Management and its affiliates provide a wide range of investment services to institutional, individual, corporate, public, and Taft-Hartley clients, including institutional asset management, retail investments, retirement services, guaranteed products, real estate investments, and alternative investments. For more information, visit the New York Life Investment Management site at www.nylim.com .

Please call 1-800-624-6782 for prospectus. Investors are asked to 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 the prospectus carefully before investing.

Securities distributed by NYLIFE Distributors LLC, 169 Lackawanna Avenue, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054. 

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