New York Life Investment, or NYLI, is streamlining operations and making improvements around the margin. It maintains an Average Parent rating.
CEO Naïm Abou-Jaoudé took the reins in May 2023 after leading wholly owned affiliate Candriam as the CEO since 2007. His tenure in his current role may still be short, but his vision for NYLI and its seven wholly or partially owned boutiques is taking shape. So far, he has overseen the retirement of Mainstay and IndexIQ as stand-alone brands in favor of a unified NYLI brand. At the same time, he is seizing opportunities to integrate back-office functions like data management and distribution across the boutiques. NYLI historically found opportunities to grow through acquisitions and hasn’t slowed down, purchasing six municipal-bond funds and taking minority stakes in private equity managers Bow River Advisers and Andera Partners in 2024.
The firm is taking steps to rationalize its once-sprawling fund lineup, shuttering roughly 20 strategies in 2023 and 2024, including some that targeted niche and trendy themes. NYLI sports several standout strategies, especially through affiliates MacKay Shields, Candriam, and Ausbil, and it partners with well-regarded subadvisors such as Wellington and Epoch. However, the lineup still includes several subscale and expensive strategies in areas where NYLI doesn’t have a demonstrable edge.
Note: This share class' Parent Pillar rating is analyst-driven, as its Branding Name, New York Life (Branding Name ID: BN00000BDQ), is covered by Morningstar Manager Research.
United States