PARSIPPANY, N.J., July 1, 2004 – New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM) today announced the appointment of Christopher O. Blunt, 42, as Executive Vice President - Retail Investments. In his new role, Mr. Blunt will be responsible for setting and executing NYLIM’s Retail Investments strategy, with particular emphasis on growing NYLIM’s sales of mutual funds, separate account wrap and trust products through all of its distribution partners.  In his new role as Head of NYLIM Retail, Blunt will report to Brian A. Murdock, President of NYLIM.

“Chris is a well established sales leader in the industry and a consummate professional who will bring his special brand of creative energy to NYLIM’s retail business,” says Murdock.  “Chris and I worked successfully together a few years ago and I am excited to renew our partnership”.

Immediately prior to joining NYLIM, Mr. Blunt was Chairman & CEO of GivingCapital, Inc., a wealth management solutions provider serving the financial institutions marketplace, and has spent the past 14 years in a variety of senior marketing and distribution roles in the investment management industry.   Prior to joining GivingCapital, Mr. Blunt was the Chief Marketing Officer – Americas, for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, and President of Mercury Funds Distributors.  Before working with Merrill Lynch, he was a Managing Director with Goldman Sachs & Co., and the National Sales Manager for Goldman Sachs Funds. Mr. Blunt holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School and a BA in History from the University of Michigan.

With more than $180 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2004, New York Life Investment Management LLC 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 LLC site at www.nylim.com.

Securities distributed by NYLIFE Distributors Inc., 169 Lackawanna Avenue, Parsippany, NJ 07054.