497K 1 c497k.htm
   

NYLI VP Income Builder Portfolio

(formerly MainStay VP Income Builder Portfolio)

Summary Prospectus

May 1, 2024
As revised August 12, 2024

  
Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. You can find the Portfolio's Prospectus, reports to shareholders and other information about the Portfolio by going online to dfinview.com/NYLIM/?site=VP, by calling 800-624-6782, option 2 or by sending an e-mail to NYLIShareholderServices@nylim.com. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2024, as may be amended from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective

The Portfolio seeks current income consistent with reasonable opportunity for future growth of capital and income.

Fees and Expenses of the Portfolio

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio. The table does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. Investors should consult the applicable variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy prospectus for more information.

          

 

 

Initial

 

Service

 

 

 

Class

 

Class

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Management Fees (as an annual percentage of the Portfolio's average daily net assets)1

 

0.57

%

 

0.57

%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

 

None

 

 

 

0.25

%

 

Other Expenses

 

0.05

%

 

 

0.05

%

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

 

0.62

%

 

0.87

%

1. The management fee is as follows: 0.57% on assets up to $1 billion; and 0.55% on assets over $1 billion.

Example

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example does not include any separate account or policy fees or charges imposed under the variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies for which the Portfolio is an investment option. If they were included, your costs would be higher. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated whether or not you redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio's operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects the contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement arrangement, if applicable, for the current duration of the arrangement only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

          

 

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

 Initial Class

 

$        63

 

$      199

 

$      346

 

$      774

 

 Service Class

 

$        89

 

$      278

 

$      482

 

$   1,073

 

Portfolio Turnover

The Portfolio pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio's portfolio turnover rate was 56% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Portfolio normally invests a minimum of 30% of its net assets in equity securities and a minimum of 30% of its net assets in debt securities. From time to time, the Portfolio may temporarily invest less than 30% of its net assets in equity or debt securities as a result of market conditions, individual securities transactions or cash flow considerations.

Asset Allocation Investment Process: Asset allocation decisions are made by a Committee chaired by New York Life Investment Management LLC (“New York Life Investments”), the Portfolio’s Manager, in collaboration with MacKay Shields LLC (“MacKay Shields”), the subadvisor for the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio. Asset allocation decisions are determined based on the relative values of each asset class, inclusive of the ability of each asset class to generate income. The Portfolio may use equity index and fixed-income futures to manage effective exposure, for example, by adding exposure to the equity markets or adjusting fixed-income duration exposure. Neither equity index futures nor fixed-income futures are counted toward the Portfolio's equity or fixed-income allocation guidelines.

Equity Investment Process: Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. ("Epoch"), the Subadvisor for the equity portion of the Portfolio, invests primarily in companies that generate increasing levels of free cash flow and have managements that allocate it effectively to create shareholder value. The security selection process

    
  

 


focuses on free-cash-flow analytics as opposed to traditional accounting-based metrics. The Subadvisor seeks to identify companies with a consistent, straightforward ability to both generate free cash flow and to intelligently allocate it among internal reinvestment opportunities, acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and/or debt reduction.

The security selection process focuses on free-cash-flow analytics as opposed to traditional accounting-based metrics. Epoch seeks to identify companies with a consistent, straightforward ability to both generate free cash flow and to intelligently allocate it among internal reinvestment opportunities, acquisitions, dividends, share repurchases and/or debt reductions. Material environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors are identified and monitored by Epoch. Material ESG factors vary by company and industry, but Epoch pays particular attention to factors relating to climate change and corporate governance. This information is taken into account by Epoch in making investment decisions. Material ESG factors are identified and monitored by Epoch through review of ESG information published by the company (where relevant) or selected specialist third-party research and data providers. While Epoch considers ESG factors in the investment decision-making process of the Portfolio, this does not mean that ESG considerations are the sole or foremost considerations for investment decisions.

Epoch seeks to find and invest in companies that meet its definition of quality-companies that are free cash flow positive or are becoming free cash flow positive and that are led by strong management. The relevant factor in Epoch’s decision on how to deploy free cash flow is the cost of capital and the prospective returns on capital.

Fixed-Income Investment Process: The Portfolio may invest in investment grade and below investment grade debt securities of varying maturities. In pursuing the Portfolio's investment objective, the Portfolio may invest up to 30% of its net assets in debt securities that MacKay Shields believes may provide capital appreciation in addition to income and are rated below investment grade by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) or if unrated, deemed to be of comparable creditworthiness by MacKay Shields. For purposes of this limitation, both the percentage and rating are counted at the time of purchase. If NRSROs assign different ratings to the same security, the Portfolio will use the higher rating for purposes of determining the security's credit quality. Securities that are rated below investment grade by NRSROs are commonly referred to as “high-yield securities” or "junk bonds."

MacKay Shields’ investment process includes a risk analysis that gives consideration to a variety of security-specific risks, including but not limited to, ESG risks that may have a material impact on the performance of a security. In addition to proprietary research, MacKay Shields may use screening tools and, to the extent available, third party data to identify ESG risk factors that may not have been captured through its own research. MacKay Shields’ consideration of ESG risk is weighed against other criteria and no sectors or industries are explicitly excluded from the Portfolio.

The Portfolio maintains a flexible approach by investing in a broad range of securities, which may be diversified by company, industry and type.

Principal debt investments include U.S. government securities, domestic and foreign debt securities, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities and floating rate loans. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg. The Portfolio may also enter into mortgage dollar roll and to-be-announced ("TBA") securities transactions.

The Portfolio may also invest in convertible securities such as bonds, debentures, corporate notes and preferred stocks or other securities that are convertible into common stock or the cash value of a stock or a basket or index of equity securities.

Investments Across the Portfolio: The Portfolio may invest in derivatives, such as futures, options, forward commitments and swap agreements, to try to enhance returns or reduce the risk of loss by hedging certain of its holdings. The Portfolio also may use fixed-income futures for purposes of managing duration and yield curve exposures. The Portfolio may invest up to 10% of its total assets in swaps, including credit default swaps.

The Subadvisors may sell a security if they no longer believe the security will contribute to meeting the investment objective of the Portfolio. In considering whether to sell a debt security, MacKay Shields may evaluate, among other things, deterioration in the issuer's credit quality. Epoch may sell or reduce a position in a security if, among other things, it sees an interruption to the dividend policy, a deterioration in fundamentals or when the security is deemed less attractive relative to another security on a return/risk basis. Epoch may also sell or reduce a position in a security when it believes its investment objectives have been met or if it sees the investment thesis is failing to materialize.

Principal Risks

You can lose money by investing in the Portfolio. An investment in the Portfolio is not a bank deposit and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency. The investments selected by the Subadvisors may underperform the market in which the Portfolio invests or other investments. The Portfolio may receive large purchase or redemption orders which may have adverse effects on performance if the Portfolio were required to sell securities, invest cash or hold a relatively large amount of cash at times when it would not otherwise do so.

The principal risks of investing in the Portfolio are summarized below.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Portfolio to underperform other funds with similar investment objectives and strategies. Such changes may be rapid and unpredictable. From time to time, markets may experience periods of stress as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares and adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments.

Multi-Manager Risk: The Portfolio’s performance relies on the selection and monitoring of the Subadvisors as well as how the Portfolio’s assets are allocated among those Subadvisors. Performance will also depend on the Subadvisors’ skill in implementing their respective strategy or strategies. The Subadvisors’ investment strategies may not always be complementary to one another and, as a result, the Subadvisors may make decisions that conflict with one another, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. For example, a Subadvisor may purchase an investment for the Portfolio at the same time that another Subadvisor sells the investment, resulting in higher expenses without accomplishing any net investment result. Alternatively, multiple Subadvisors could purchase the same investment at the same time, causing the Portfolio to pay higher expenses because the Subadvisors did not aggregate their transactions. The multi-manager approach may also cause the Portfolio to invest a substantial percentage of its assets in certain types of securities, which could expose the Portfolio to greater risks associated with those types of securities and lead to large beneficial or detrimental effects on the Portfolio’s

   

2

  


performance. The Manager may influence a Subadvisor in terms of its management of a portion of the Portfolio’s assets, including hedging practices, investment exposure and risk management.

A Subadvisor may underperform the market generally and may underperform other subadvisors that the Manager could have selected.

MacKay Shields may be subject to potential conflicts of interest in allocating the Portfolio’s assets. Therefore, MacKay Shields will carefully analyze its allocation decisions and take all steps it believes to be necessary to minimize these potential conflicts of interest.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by a Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. A Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Portfolio (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Portfolio's benchmark; and (ii) performing differently than other funds and strategies in its peer group that do not take into account ESG criteria or the Portfolio's benchmark.

Yield Risk: There can be no guarantee that the Portfolio will achieve or maintain any particular level of yield.

Debt Securities Risk: The risks of investing in debt or fixed-income securities include (without limitation): (i) credit risk, e.g., the issuer or guarantor of a debt security may be unable or unwilling (or be perceived as unable or unwilling) to make timely principal and/or interest payments or otherwise honor its obligations, or changes in an issuer’s credit rating or the market’s perception of an issuer’s creditworthiness may affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments; (ii) maturity risk, e.g., a debt security with a longer maturity may fluctuate in value more than one with a shorter maturity; (iii) market risk, e.g., low demand for debt securities may negatively impact their price; (iv) interest rate risk, e.g., when interest rates go up, the value of a debt security generally goes down, and when interest rates go down, the value of a debt security generally goes up (long-term debt securities are generally more susceptible to interest rate risk than short-term debt securities); and (v) call or prepayment risk, e.g., during a period of falling interest rates, the issuer may redeem a security by repaying it early, which may reduce the Portfolio’s income if the proceeds are reinvested at lower interest rates.

Interest rate risk is the risk that the value of the Portfolio’s investments in fixed-income or debt securities will change because of changes in interest rates. There is a risk that interest rates across the financial system may change, possibly significantly and/or rapidly. Changes in interest rates or a lack of market participants may lead to decreased liquidity and increased volatility in the fixed-income or debt markets, making it more difficult for the Portfolio to sell its fixed-income or debt holdings. Decreased liquidity in the fixed-income or debt markets also may make it more difficult to value some or all of the Portfolio’s fixed-income or debt holdings. For most fixed-income investments, when market interest rates fall, prices of fixed-rate debt securities rise. However, when market interest rates fall, prices of certain variable and fixed-rate debt securities may be adversely affected (i.e., falling interest rates bring the possibility of prepayment risk, as an instrument may be redeemed before maturity). Very low or negative interest rates may magnify interest rate risk. Low interest rates (or negative interest rates) may magnify the risks associated with rising interest rates. There is a risk that the income generated by investments may not keep pace with inflation. Actions by governments and central banking authorities can result in increases or decreases in interest rates. Periods of higher inflation could cause such authorities to raise interest rates, which may adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments. The Portfolio may also be subject to heightened interest rate risk when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates. Changing interest rates, including rates that fall below zero, may have unpredictable effects on markets, may result in heightened market volatility and may detract from Portfolio performance to the extent the Portfolio is exposed to such interest rates and/or volatility. Other factors that may affect the value of debt securities include, but are not limited to, economic, political, public health, and other crises and responses by governments and companies to such crises.

Not all U.S. government debt securities are guaranteed by the U.S. government—some are backed only by the issuing agency, which must rely on its own resources to repay the debt. The Portfolio’s yield will fluctuate with changes in short-term interest rates.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Value Stock Risk: Value stocks may never reach what a Subadvisor believes is their full value or they may go down in value. In addition, different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions, and therefore the Portfolio's performance may be lower or higher than that of funds that invest in other types of equity securities.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization.  Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments.  Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods.  In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of earnings disappointments.  There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

High-Yield Securities Risk: Investments in high-yield securities or non-investment grade securities (commonly referred to as "junk bonds") are considered speculative because investments in such securities present a greater risk of loss than investments in higher quality securities. Such securities may, under certain circumstances, be less liquid than higher rated securities. These securities pay investors a premium (a high interest rate or yield) because of the potential illiquidity and increased risk of loss. These securities can also be subject to greater price volatility. In times of unusual or adverse market, economic or political conditions, these securities may experience higher than normal default rates.

Loan Participation Interest Risk: There may not be a readily available market for loan participation interests, which in some cases could result in the Portfolio disposing of such interests at a substantial discount from face value or holding such interests until maturity. In addition, the Portfolio may be exposed to the credit risk of the underlying corporate borrower as well as the lending institution or other participant from whom the Portfolio purchased the loan participation interests. The Portfolio may not always have direct recourse against a borrower if the borrower fails to pay scheduled principal and/or

   
  

3


interest and may be subject to greater delays, expenses and risks than if the Portfolio had purchased a direct obligation of the borrower. Substantial increases in interest rates may cause an increase in loan obligation defaults.

Floating Rate Loans Risk: The floating rate loans in which the Portfolio invests are usually rated below investment grade, or if unrated, determined by a Subadvisor to be of comparable quality (commonly referred to as "junk bonds") and are generally considered speculative because they present a greater risk of loss, including default, than higher quality debt instruments. Moreover, such investments may, under certain circumstances, be particularly susceptible to liquidity and valuation risks. Although certain floating rate loans are collateralized, there is no guarantee that the value of the collateral will be sufficient or available to satisfy the borrower’s obligation. In times of unusual or adverse market, economic or political conditions, floating rate loans may experience higher than normal default rates. In the event of a recession or serious credit event, among other eventualities, the value of the Portfolio's investments in floating rate loans are more likely to decline. The secondary market for floating rate loans is limited and, thus, the Portfolio’s ability to sell or realize the full value of its investment in these loans to reinvest sale proceeds or to meet redemption obligations may be impaired. In addition, floating rate loans generally are subject to extended settlement periods that may be longer than seven days. As a result, the Portfolio may be adversely affected by selling other investments at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions or engaging in borrowing transactions, such as borrowing against its credit facility, to raise cash to meet redemption obligations or pursue other investment opportunities.

In certain circumstances, floating rate loans may not be deemed to be securities. As a result, the Portfolio may not have the protection of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. In such cases, the Portfolio generally must rely on the contractual provisions in the loan agreement and common-law fraud protections under applicable state law.

Floating rate loans and other similar debt obligations that lack financial maintenance covenants or possess fewer or contingent financial maintenance covenants and other financial protections for lenders and investors (sometimes referred to as “covenant-lite” loans or obligations) are generally subject to more risk than investments that contain traditional financial maintenance covenants and financial reporting requirements.

The terms of many floating rate loans and other instruments are tied to reference rates or benchmarks such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”). As a result of benchmark reforms, publication of most London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) settings has ceased. Some U.S. dollar LIBOR settings continue to be published, but only on a temporary, synthetic and non-representative basis. It is expected that all synthetic U.S. dollar LIBOR settings will be discontinued at the end of September 2024. Many contracts have already transitioned away from LIBOR reference as a result of contractual fallback mechanics, negotiated amendments or as a result of statutory fallback mechanisms; some contracts continue to use synthetic U.S. dollar LIBOR and may continue to do so until synthetic LIBOR is discontinued. There remains uncertainty regarding the future use of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement rate, such as SOFR. Instruments which transitioned from LIBOR to an alternative reference rate or which continue to use synthetic LIBOR may experience increased volatility and illiquidity or other adverse consequences, such as decreased yields and reduction in value, for these instruments. This may adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments in such instruments.

Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk: Investments in mortgage-related securities (such as mortgage-backed securities) and other asset-backed securities generally involve a stream of payments based on the underlying obligations. These payments, which are often part interest and part return of principal, vary based on the rate at which the underlying borrowers repay their loans or other obligations. Asset-backed securities are subject to the risk that borrowers may default on the underlying obligations and that, during periods of falling interest rates, these obligations may be called or prepaid and, during periods of rising interest rates, obligations may be paid more slowly than expected. Impairment of the underlying obligations or collateral, such as by non-payment, will reduce the security's value. Enforcing rights against such collateral in events of default may be difficult or insufficient. The value of these securities may be significantly affected by changes in interest rates, the market's perception of issuers, and the creditworthiness of the parties involved. The ability of the Portfolio to successfully utilize these instruments may depend on the ability of a Subadvisor to forecast interest rates and other economic factors correctly. These securities may have a structure that makes their reaction to interest rate changes and other factors difficult to predict, making their value highly volatile.

Mortgage Dollar Roll Transaction Risk: A mortgage dollar roll is a transaction in which the Portfolio sells mortgage-related securities from its portfolio to a counterparty from whom it simultaneously agrees to buy a similar security on a delayed delivery basis. Mortgage dollar roll transactions are subject to certain risks, including the risk that securities returned to the Portfolio at the end of the roll, while substantially similar, may be inferior to what was initially sold to the counterparty.

TBA Securities Risk: In a TBA securities transaction, the Portfolio commits to purchase certain securities for a fixed price at a future date. The principal risks of a TBA securities transaction are that the counterparty may not deliver the security as promised and/or that the value of the TBA security may decline prior to when the Portfolio receives the security.

Foreign Securities Risk: An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by a third party such as Bloomberg (or another similar third party). The issuer’s “country of risk” is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Portfolio will generally rely on an issuer’s “country of risk” (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

Investments in foreign (non-U.S.) securities may be riskier than investments in U.S. securities. Foreign regulatory regimes and securities markets can have less stringent investor protections and disclosure standards and less liquid trading markets than U.S. regulatory regimes and securities markets, and can experience political, social and economic developments that may affect the value of investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Portfolio's investments to changes in currency rates. Changes in the value of foreign currencies may make the return on an investment increase or decrease, unrelated to the quality or performance of the investment itself. Economic sanctions may be, and have been, imposed against certain countries, organizations, companies, entities and/or individuals. Economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments could, among other things, effectively restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Portfolio’s investments in such securities less liquid or more difficult to value. Such sanctions may also cause a decline in the value of securities issued by

   

4

  


the sanctioned country or companies located in or economically tied to the sanctioned country. In addition, as a result of economic sanctions and other similar governmental actions or developments, the Portfolio may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Portfolio may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk.

Convertible Securities Risk: Convertible securities are typically subordinate to an issuer’s other debt obligations. In part, the total return for a convertible security depends upon the performance of the underlying stock into which it can be converted. Also, issuers of convertible securities are often not as strong financially as those issuing securities with higher credit ratings, are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and typically are more vulnerable to changes in the economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, which could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments. If an issuer stops making interest and/or principal payments, the Portfolio could lose its entire investment.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are investments whose value depends on (or is derived from) the value of an underlying instrument, such as a security, asset, reference rate or index. Derivative strategies may be riskier than investing directly in the underlying instrument and often involve leverage, which may exaggerate a loss, potentially causing the Portfolio to lose more money than it originally invested and would have lost had it invested directly in the underlying instrument. For example, if the Portfolio is the seller of credit protection in a credit default swap, the Portfolio effectively adds leverage to its portfolio and is subject to the credit exposure on the full notional value of the swap. Derivatives may be difficult to sell, unwind and/or value. Derivatives may also be subject to counterparty risk, which is the risk that the counterparty (the party on the other side of the transaction) on a derivative transaction will be unable or unwilling to honor its contractual obligations to the Portfolio. Futures and other derivatives may be more volatile than direct investments in the instrument underlying the contract, and may not correlate perfectly to the underlying instrument. Futures and other derivatives also may involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed, which could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Due to fluctuations in the price of the underlying instrument, the Portfolio may not be able to profitably exercise an option and may lose its entire investment in an option. To the extent that the Portfolio writes or sells an option, if the decline in the value of the underlying instrument is significantly below the exercise price in the case of a written put option or increase above the exercise price in the case of a written call option, the Portfolio could experience a substantial loss. Forward commitments entail the risk that the instrument may be worth less when it is issued or received than the price the Portfolio agreed to pay when it made the commitment. The use of foreign currency forwards may result in currency exchange losses due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates or an imperfect correlation between portfolio holdings denominated in a particular currency and the forward contracts entered into by the Portfolio. Swaps may be subject to counterparty credit, correlation, valuation, liquidity and leveraging risks. Swap transactions tend to shift a Portfolio's investment exposure from one type of investment to another and may entail the risk that a party will default on its payment obligations to the Portfolio. Additionally, applicable regulators have adopted rules imposing certain margin requirements, including minimums on uncleared swaps, which may result in the Portfolio and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps. Certain standardized swaps are subject to mandatory central clearing and exchange trading. Central clearing, which interposes a central clearinghouse to each participant’s swap, and exchange trading are intended to reduce counterparty credit risk and increase liquidity but neither makes swap transactions risk-free. Derivatives may also increase the expenses of the Portfolio.

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Portfolio’s investments may be illiquid at the time of purchase or liquid at the time of purchase and subsequently become illiquid due to, among other things, events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, operational issues, economic conditions, investor perceptions or lack of market participants. The lack of an active trading market may make it difficult to sell or obtain an accurate price for a security. If market conditions or issuer specific developments make it difficult to value securities, the Portfolio may value these securities using more subjective methods, such as fair value pricing. In such cases, the value determined for a security could be different than the value realized upon such security's sale. As a result, an investor could pay more than the market value when buying shares or receive less than the market value when selling shares. This could affect the proceeds of any redemption or the number of shares an investor receives upon purchase. The Portfolio is subject to the risk that it could not meet redemption requests within the allowable time period without significant dilution of remaining investors' interests in the Portfolio. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Portfolio may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Portfolio’s performance. These risks are heightened for fixed-income instruments in a changing interest rate environment.

Money Market/Short-Term Securities Risk: To the extent the Portfolio holds cash or invests in money market or short-term securities, the Portfolio may be less likely to achieve its investment objective. In addition, it is possible that the Portfolio's investments in these instruments could lose money.

Past Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in the Portfolio’s performance from year to year and by showing how the Portfolio’s average annual returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance and two additional indexes over time. Separate variable annuity and variable universal life insurance account and policy fees and charges are not reflected in the bar chart and table. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. The Portfolio has selected the MSCI World Index (Net), which represents a broad measure of market performance, which is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Portfolio invests. The table also includes the average annual returns of the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and Blended Benchmark Index.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

   
  

5


Annual Returns, Initial Class Shares
(by calendar year 2014-2023)

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:8.1,2015:-3.5,2016:9.3,2017:12.53,2018:-5.21,2019:18.07,2020:7.98,2021:10.52,2022:-13.52,2023:10.05)

   

Best Quarter

 

2020, Q2

10.05

%

Worst Quarter

 

2020, Q1

-13.15

%

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inception

 

       1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Initial Class

1/29/1993

 

10.05

%

6.04

%

5.01

%

 

Service Class

6/4/2003

 

9.78

%

5.78

%

4.75

%

 

MSCI World Index (Net)1

23.79

%

12.80

%

8.60

%

 

Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index2

5.53

%

1.10

%

1.81

%

 

Blended Benchmark Index3

16.27

%

8.31

%

6.08

%

 

1.  The MSCI World Index (Net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.

2. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is a broad-based benchmark that measures the performance of the investment grade, U.S. dollar-denominated, fixed-rate taxable bond market, including Treasuries, government-related and corporate securities, mortgage-backed securities (agency fixed-rate and hybrid adjustable rate mortgage pass-throughs), asset-backed securities and commercial mortgage-backed securities.

3.  The Blended Benchmark Index is comprised of the MSCI World Index (Net) and the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index weighted 60%/40%, respectively.

Management

New York Life Investment Management LLC serves as the Manager. Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. serves as a Subadvisor and is responsible for day-to-day portfolio management of the equity portion of the Portfolio. MacKay Shields LLC serves as a Subadvisor and is responsible for day-to-day portfolio management of the fixed-income portion of the Portfolio. Asset allocation decisions are made by a Committee chaired by New York Life Investment Management LLC, in collaboration with MacKay Shields LLC.

   

Manager/Subadvisors

Portfolio Managers

Service Date

   

New York Life Investment Management LLC

Jae S. Yoon, Senior Managing Director

Since 2018

 

Jonathan Swaney, Managing Director

Since 2018

MacKay Shields LLC

Neil Moriarty, III, Senior Managing Director

Since 2018

 

Tom Musmanno, Managing Director

Since 2023

 

Shu-Yang Tan, Managing Director

Since 2023

 

Michael DePalma, Managing Director

Since 2023

Epoch Investment Partners, Inc.

Michael A. Welhoelter, President & Co-Chief Investment Officer

Since 2009

 

John Tobin, Managing Director

Since 2014

 

Kera Van Valen, Managing Director

Since 2014

 

Michael Jin, Managing Director

Since July 2024

 

Lin Lin, Managing Director

Since July 2024

   

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* Effective on or about December 31, 2024, Michael A. Welhoelter and John M. Tobin will retire from Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. and will no longer serve as portfolio managers of the Portfolio..

How to Purchase and Sell Shares

Shares of the Portfolio are currently offered to certain separate accounts to fund variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies issued by New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation ("NYLIAC") and may also be offered to fund variable annuity policies and variable universal life insurance policies issued by other insurance companies. Shares of the Portfolio are also offered as underlying investments of the New York Life Investments VP Asset Allocation Portfolios ("Asset Allocation Portfolios") and other variable insurance funds.

Individual investors do not transact directly with the Portfolio to purchase and redeem shares. Rather, investors select underlying investment options offered by the applicable policy. Please refer to the prospectus for the variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy that offers the Portfolio as an underlying investment option for information on the allocation of premium payments and on transfers among the investment divisions of the separate account.

Tax Information

Because the Portfolio's shareholders are the separate accounts of NYLIAC or other insurance companies through which you purchased your variable annuity policy or variable universal life insurance policy and the Asset Allocation Portfolios and other variable insurance funds, no discussion is included here as to the federal income tax consequences at the shareholder level. For information concerning the federal income tax consequences to variable annuity and variable universal life insurance policy owners, consult the prospectus relating to the appropriate policy.

Compensation to Broker/Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

The Portfolio and/or its related companies may pay NYLIAC or other participating insurance companies, broker/dealers, or other financial intermediaries for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker/dealer or other financial intermediary or your sales person to recommend the Portfolio over another investment and/or a policy that offers this Portfolio over another investment. Ask your individual salesperson or visit your broker/dealer’s or other financial intermediary firm’s website for more information. For additional information about these payments, please see the section entitled "The Trust and its Management" in the Prospectus.

“New York Life Investments” is both a service mark, and the common trade name, of certain investment advisors affiliated with New York Life Insurance Company.

   
  

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