497K 1 c497k.htm
   

MainStay VP Floating Rate Portfolio

Summary Prospectus

May 1, 2022

  
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 newyorklifeinvestments.com, by calling 800-598-2019 or by sending an e-mail to MainStayShareholderServices@nylim.com. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated May 1, 2022, as may be amended from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective

The Portfolio seeks high current 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.

      

 

 

Service

 

 

 

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

 

0.60

%

Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees

 

0.25

%

 

Other Expenses

 

0.04

%

 

Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses

 

0.89

%

1. The management fee is as follows: 0.60% on assets up to $1 billion; 0.575% on assets from $1 billion to $3 billion; and 0.565% on assets over $3 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

 Service Class

 

$        91

 

$      284

 

$      493

 

$   1,096

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 29% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in a portfolio of floating rate loans and other floating rate debt securities. The Portfolio may also purchase fixed-income and variable rate debt securities and money market securities or instruments. When NYL Investors LLC, the Portfolio's Subadvisor, believes that market or economic conditions are unfavorable to investors, up to 100% of the Portfolio's assets may be invested in money market or short-term debt securities. The Subadvisor may also invest in these types of securities or hold a higher than ordinary level of cash, while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to maintain an appropriate level of liquidity.

The Portfolio may invest up to 25% of its total assets in foreign securities which are generally U.S. dollar-denominated loans and other debt securities issued by one or more non-U.S. borrower(s) without a U.S. domiciled co-borrower. An issuer of a security is considered to be U.S. or foreign based on the issuer’s “country of risk,” as determined by a third party service provider such as Bloomberg.

Investment Process: The Subadvisor seeks to identify investment opportunities based on the financial condition and competitiveness of individual companies. The Subadvisor seeks to invest in companies with a high margin of safety that are leaders in industries with high barriers to entry. The Subadvisor prefers companies with positive free cash flow, solid asset coverage and management teams with strong track records. In virtually every phase of the investment process, the Subadvisor attempts to control risk and limit defaults.


Floating rate loans may offer a favorable yield spread over other short-term debt alternatives. Historically, floating rate loans have displayed little correlation to the movements of U.S. common stocks, high-grade bonds and U.S. government securities. Securities that are rated below investment grade by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”) (such as securities rated lower than BBB- and Baa3), commonly referred to as “high-yield securities” or “junk bonds.” Floating rate loans are speculative investments and are usually rated below investment grade by an NRSRO. They typically have less credit risk and historically have had lower default rates than junk bonds. These loans are typically the most senior source of capital in a borrower's capital structure and usually have certain of the borrower's assets pledged as collateral. Floating rate loans feature rates that reset regularly, maintaining a fixed spread over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate or another reference rate or benchmark. The interest rates for floating rate loans typically reset quarterly, although rates on some loans may adjust at other intervals. Floating rate loans mature, on average, in five to seven years, but loan maturity can be as long as nine years.

The Subadvisor’s investment process relies on a comprehensive fundamental investment discipline, including, but not limited to, consideration of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors that may be material to a company’s performance and prospects. In addition to internal research, the Subadvisor may use third-party ESG data to compare internal views with external perspectives. The Subadvisor’s ESG assessment is a component of the fundamental investment due diligence process and may inform overall investment views.

The Subadvisor may reduce or eliminate the Portfolio's position in a holding if it no longer believes the holding will contribute to meeting the investment objective of the Portfolio. In considering whether to sell a holding, the Subadvisor may evaluate, among other things, meaningful changes in the issuer's financial condition and competitiveness. The Subadvisor continually evaluates market factors and comparative metrics to determine relative value.

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 Subadvisor 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: The value of the Portfolio’s investments may fluctuate because of changes in the markets in which the Portfolio invests, 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 for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of Portfolio shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Portfolio's shares.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results. The 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. As of the date of this Prospectus, interest rates in the United States and many parts of the world continue to be near recent historically low levels. These levels of interest rates (or negative interest rates) may magnify the risks associated with rising interest rates. The Portfolio may face a heightened level of interest rate risk due to certain changes or uncertainty in monetary policy, such as one or more interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve in response to inflationary pressure, among other reasons. 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.

Floating Rate Loans Risk: The floating rate loans in which the Portfolio invests are usually rated below investment grade, or if unrated, determined by the 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

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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 the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR"), which function as reference rates or benchmarks. Certain LIBOR tenors were discontinued at the end of 2021, but the most widely used LIBOR tenors may continue to be provided on a representative basis until mid-2023. There remains uncertainty regarding the future use of LIBOR and the nature of any replacement rate, such as SOFR. As such, the potential effect of a transition away from LIBOR tenors may cause increased volatility and illiquidity in the markets for instruments with terms tied to LIBOR or other adverse consequences for these instruments. This may adversely affect the Portfolio and its investments in such instruments.

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 because of the current low interest rate environment.

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 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.

Foreign Securities Risk: 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 the Portfolio's 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 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.These risks may be greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets.

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.

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-based securities market index 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

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less than those shown. The Portfolio has selected the S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index as its primary benchmark. Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future.

Annual Returns, Service Class Shares
(by calendar year 2012-2021)

PerformanceBarChartData(2012:6.89,2013:4.2,2014:0.61,2015:0.14,2016:8.18,2017:3.71,2018:-0.36,2019:8.19,2020:2.2,2021:3.5)

   

Best Quarter

 

2020, Q2

8.53

%

Worst Quarter

 

2020, Q1

-12.02

%

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2021)

          

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Inception

 

       1 Year

5 Years

10 Years

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Service Class

5/2/2005

 

3.50

%

3.41

%

3.68

%

 

S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index1

5.20

%

4.27

%

4.69

%

 

1.  The S&P/LSTA Leveraged Loan Index is a broad index designed to reflect the performance of U.S. dollar facilities in the leveraged loan market.

Management

New York Life Investment Management LLC serves as the Portfolio's Manager. NYL Investors LLC serves as the Subadvisor. The individuals listed below are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day portfolio management of the Portfolio.

   

Subadvisor

Portfolio Managers

Portfolio Service Date

NYL Investors LLC

Robert H. Dial, Managing Director

Since 2005

 

Mark A. Campellone, Managing Director

Since 2012

 

Arthur S. Torrey, Managing Director

Since 2012

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 MainStay 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.

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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 Fund 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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