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

PARSIPPANY, N.J., February 23, 2005 - MainStay Investments, a division of New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM), today announced that it has been awarded three prestigious Dalbar awards:   the 2004 Dalbar Mutual Fund Service Award, and the 2004 Dalbar Financial Intermediary Service Pre-Sale and Post-Sale Service Awards.

MainStay Investments was one of only 13 service organizations to qualify for the Mutual Fund Service Award, and this marks the fourth year in a row that the group responsible for MainStay Funds customer service has been recognized at this level by Dalbar.  The Dalbar Mutual Fund Service Award recognizes the highest level of service to Shareholders within the mutual fund industry, and is presented to mutual fund providers that consistently exhibit above average levels of service in the core areas of investor service

“We are delighted to be recognized once again by DALBAR for our level of customer service,” said Robert Brady, president of the MainStay Investments’ shareholder services group, NYLIM Service Company LLC. “We take tremendous pride in our ability to deliver the highest level of service to our customers, and we look forward to many years of continued excellent service and exceeding shareholder expectations." 

This is also the fifth time MainStay has received the Financial Intermediaries Pre-Sale and Post-Sale Awards.  The Dalbar Financial Intermediary Service Award signifies top honors for service provided to the Broker/Dealer and Financial Advisor community.     

“This is always a great honor, and we are happy to be recognized for the depth of our services and our commitment to our clients,” added Chris Blunt, president of MainStay Investments.

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.

Headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in Toronto, DALBAR, also 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. For more information on the DALBAR survey, visit www.dalbarinc.com .

With more than $189 billion in assets under management as of December 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 .

For Fund information and to download a prospectus, please visit the MainStay Funds website at www.mainstayfunds.com. 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 Ave., Parsippany, NJ 07054.

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