Products January 30, 2008

MacKay Shields Announces High Yield 130/30 Fund

January 30, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - MacKay Shields LLC, and its affiliate New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM), announced the availability of the company's first 130/30 fixed income product offering.
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The MainStay 130/30 High Yield Fund, launched on December 14, 2007, is sub-advised by MacKay Shields, and is NYLIM’s first short-extension high yield product, the announcement said. The offering adds to a NYLIM 130/30 product lineup that includes several 130/30 equity products managed by NYLIM’s Equity Investor’s Group.

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in high-yield corporate debt securities. Benchmarked to the Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Master II Constrained Index, the MainStay 130/30 High Yield Fund provides MacKay’s High Yield Active Core (HYAC) team the flexibility to short bonds, allowing managers to capitalize on both positive and negative return forecasts.

“130/30 strategies have emerged as a viable solution for institutional investors seeking to benefit from exposure to short equity positions in a measured, risk-controlled manner. We believe the same opportunity exists in fixed income portfolio management,” said Osbert Hood, chairman and chief executive officer of MacKay Shields LLC, in the announcement.

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