New York Life Investment Management (NYLIM) is a financial advisor firm located in New York City with over $100 billion in assets under management (AUM). The firm is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company (commonly known as New York Life), one of the largest insurance brands in the U.S. NYLIM commonly works with affiliated insurance companies, wrap fee program sponsors, investment funds and other institutional clients.
This firm is fee-based, which means some employees may earn compensation for recommending New York Life mutual funds. This is different from a fee-only firm, whose advisors are compensated solely by the advisory fees that clients pay.
New York Life Investment Management Background
New York Life Investment Management was founded by its parent company, New York Life Insurance Company, in 2000. NYLIM remains an indirect, but wholly owned subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company.
Yie-Hsin Hung serves as the firm's CEO, while Anthony Malloy acts as executive vice president and chief investment officer (CIO). Between them executives, Hung and Malloy have more than 60 years of financial industry experience.
New York Life Investment Management Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
For the most part, NYLIM tends to work with affiliated insurance companies, institutions, investment companies, pooled investment vehicles and wrap fee programs. Through these wrap-fee programs, the firm indirectly has a collection of individual clients. However, the vast majority of NYLIM's AUM comes from investment companies.
The minimum size for an account managed at NYLIM varies based on the division in which the account exists.
- Multi-Assets Solutions Group: Minimum is set on a client-to-client basis
- Separately Managed Accounts Group: $100,000
Services Offered by New York Life Investment Management
NYLIM offers a range of investment portfolio management services to its clients and wrap-fee programs. The firm has three divisions: the Multi-Assets Solutions (MAS) team, the Separately Managed Accounts Group (SMA Group) and its mutual fund division.
According to the firm's Form ADV, its SAS Group offers services through "fund-of-funds, customized separate accounts, model portfolio delivery or multi-manager funds structures." The firm's SMA Group focuses on fixed-income and equity advisory services for wrap fee programs. The mutual funds division provides investment management by way of several mutual funds.
New York Life Investment Management Investment Philosophy
The investment approaches that NYLIM uses differ from program to program. However, they all seek to drive returns in a risk-adjusted manner according to the client's risk tolerance.
The MAS team takes a top-down investment approach to determining asset allocations for client portfolios. By conducting careful analyses of economic and market data along with macro trends, the program looks to provide valuable insights into how various companies and securities will fare as a part of client portfolios. The MAS team also focuses on multi-asset advisory services. It also has a long-term view.
The SMA Group is governed by a similar investment philosophy. SMA strategies include convertible securities, municipal bonds, large-cap and all-cap equity, global choice equity, global equity yield, emerging markets equity, international equity, hedged market and more.
Fees Under New York Life Investment Management
Fee schedules vary by client and account or program type. The MAS team tends to determine fee schedules individually for certain accounts, but rates generally range from 0.10% and 0.45% of AUM annually. SMA Group fees usually vary between 0.25% and 0.80% of AUM annually, depending on the program sponsor, negotiations and other factors. Fees are calculated and billed on a quarterly basis.
What to Watch Out For
NYLIM has a total of several disclosures listed on its Form ADV. However, all but one of the disciplinary actions involved the firm's parent company, not the firm itself.
The one regulatory action filed against NYLIM resulted in the firm paying a $3 million civil penalty in 2017 after a federal lawsuit alleged the firm failed to offer clients the least expensive S&P 500 index fund available on the market.
As stated earlier, NYLIM is a fee-based firm whose employees can earn compensation beyond client-paid fees. While this fee structure can create a potential conflict of interest, the firm is a fiduciary and must always act in the best interest of the client.
Opening an Account With New York Life Investment Management
While individuals generally don't work directly with the firm, you can contact New York Life Investment Management via its website or by calling (800) 624-6782.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
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