The Fund, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in debt securities. Fixed income securities are debt obligations and similar instruments that represent a creditor relationship with an issuer or trust and generally provide for the payment of interest (fixed, floating, or otherwise variable) and the repayment of principal, whether at maturity or over time.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of net assets in investment grade quality bonds of various types as rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) (such bonds rated BBB- or higher, or Baa3 or higher), or if unrated, judged to be of comparable quality by NYL Investors LLC, the Fund’s Subadvisor. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in bonds rated below investment grade by a NRSRO (such as bonds rated lower than BBB- and Baa3), commonly referred to as “high yield” or “junk” bonds. In the event NRSROs assign different ratings to the same security, the Fund will apply the lower rating if rated differently by two NRSROs, and will apply the middle rating if rated differently by three NRSROs.

The Fund's principal investments include investment grade corporate credit and securitized assets, including structured credit, collateralized loan obligations, asset-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations.

The Fund attempts to manage interest rate risk through its management of the average duration of the securities it holds in its portfolio. Under normal conditions, the Fund will maintain its average dollar-weighted duration range between one and three years. Duration is a measure used to determine the sensitivity of a security's price to changes in interest rates. The longer a security's duration, the more sensitive it will be to changes in interest rates.

The Fund may also invest in futures to seek to enhance returns or reduce the risk of loss by hedging certain of its holdings.

Investment Process: In pursuing the Fund’s investment strategy, the Subadvisor conducts a continuous review of expected returns, yields and other information derived from a database which it maintains in managing fixed income portfolios.

Fundamental economic cycle analysis and credit quality are the principal factors considered by the Subadvisor in managing the Fund and determining whether to increase or decrease the emphasis placed upon a particular type of security or industry sector within the Fund's investment portfolio.

The Subadvisor’s investment process includes a risk analysis that gives consideration to a variety of security-specific risks, including but not limited to, environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks that may have a material impact on the performance of a security. In addition to proprietary research, the Subadvisor 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. The Subadvisor’s consideration of ESG risk is weighed against other criteria and no sectors or industries are explicitly excluded from the Fund.

The Subadvisor may sell a security if it no longer believes that the security will contribute to meeting the investment objective of the Fund. In considering whether to sell a security, the Subadvisor may evaluate, among other things, the condition of the economy, meaningful changes in the issuer's financial condition, and changes in the condition and outlook in the issuer's industry.