Fund Evaluator:

NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I Overview

NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I (ICEUX) is an actively managed International Equity Foreign Large Blend fund. New York Life Investment Management LLC launched the fund in 1997.

The investment seeks total return. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in a portfolio consisting mostly of foreign equity securities, which may include companies in emerging markets. It will invest at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in foreign equity securities. The fund will normally invest in companies in at least three countries outside of the United States. It may invest more than 25% of its net assets in securities of companies in each of the United Kingdom and Japan.

About NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I (ICEUX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.54 years: William Booth (2017), Glen Petraglia (2018), Nikolay Petrakov (2024), Wayne Lin (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: MSCI EAFE NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I has 43 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 38.6% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity fund group. NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I has 89.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 6.0%. There is 89.7% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I has 4.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $270 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Foreign Large Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

ICEUX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Foreign Large Blend category. NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I has an expense ratio of 0.95%, which is 1% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I has a portfolio turnover rate of 51%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 62% for the Foreign Large Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I returned 2.9%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Foreign Large Blend category had an average return of 0.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I has a trailing yield of 1.72%, which is below the 2.17% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-annually and its capital gains annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

NYLI Epoch International Choice Class I Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 17.4%, 5.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 30.2% over the past year (grade of A), 14.3% over the past three years (grade of D) and 7.9% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 8.4% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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