Parsippany, N.J., -- April 25, 2005 – New York Life Investment Management LLC (NYLIM) announced today the appointment of Harish Kumar as Managing Director and Head of Growth Portfolios at Equity Investors Group.  He will report directly to Tony Elavia, Chief Investment Officer of NYLIM Equity Investors Group. 

NYLIM Equity Investors Group focuses on a disciplined investment process and offers equity and balanced products through the Mainstay Funds and separately managed accounts.

“The addition of Harish Kumar to our team affirms our ongoing commitment to consistent and dependable above-average investment performance,” said Tony Elavia, Chief Investment Officer for NYLIM Equity Investors Group.  “Harish will be responsible for managing Large Cap Growth and Aggressive Growth portfolios at NYLIM. His extensive experience as a Growth portfolio manager and former head of Research will make him a very valuable addition to our growing list of senior investment managers.”

Prior to joining NYLIM, Dr. Kumar managed more than $1.2 billion in Large Cap Aggressive Growth Strategy as Senior Portfolio Manager at ING Investment Management and led a team responsible for managing Large Cap Disciplined Core and Large Cap Dividend Growth Strategies. Also, while at ING Investment Management he served as Quantitative Analyst and Portfolio Manager, enhancing models for all Large Cap products, as well as supporting ING/Aeltus’ suite of products.

Dr. Kumar received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1999, where he focused his dissertation on computational finance, option pricing, bond indexation and credit derivatives. During this time, Dr. Kumar was also an Associate, Credit Derivatives at The Chase Manhattan Bank. He earned a Master’s degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder, and graduated with honors from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India, receiving a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Kumar is a CFA charter holder.

With more than $189 billion in assets under management as of February 28, 2005, 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.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Bliss Gouverneur & Associates
Meg Wildrick
meg@blisspr.com
(212) 840-1661

New York Life Investment Management
Diane Kagel
(973) 394-4403