Strategy. The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in small capitalization companies. For purposes of the Portfolio, small capitalization companies are generally those that have market capitalizations no larger than the largest capitalized company in the Russell 2000 Growth Index at the time of the Portfolio's investment (approximately $15.3 billion as of February 28, 2025). The Portfolio may invest in securities of U.S. and foreign companies, including emerging markets companies. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg. The Portfolio has two Subadvisors, Segall … Show more… The Portfolio, under normal circumstances, invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in small capitalization companies. For purposes of the Portfolio, small capitalization companies are generally those that have market capitalizations no larger than the largest capitalized company in the Russell 2000 Growth Index at the time of the Portfolio's investment (approximately $15.3 billion as of February 28, 2025). The Portfolio may invest in securities of U.S. and foreign companies, including emerging markets companies. An issuer of a security is considered to be a U.S. or foreign issuer based on the issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by a third-party such as Bloomberg. The Portfolio has two Subadvisors, Segall Bryant & Hamill, LLC (SBH) and Brown Advisory LLC (Brown Advisory). New York Life Investment Management LLC, the Portfolios Manager, believes the Subadvisors investment processes and styles are complementary. Each Subadvisor is responsible for managing a portion of the Portfolios assets, as designated by the Manager from time to time. SBHs Investment Strategy and Process: SBH implements its investment strategy primarily through independent bottom-up fundamental research. SBH seeks to construct a portfolio designed to generate risk-adjusted excess return relative to the Portfolios benchmark, primarily through stock selection. SBH uses a proprietary discounted cash flow (DCF) model for purposes of valuing and generating price targets for individual stocks. The DCF model is utilized for two primary purposes: (i) to understand what assumptions are implied in a stocks current price; and (ii) to generate an expected value for each stock, based on the teams internally generated forecasts. SBH typically maintains exposure to most sectors within the Russell 2000 Growth Index; however, with an active management process, there will be variances in sector exposure relative to the Russell 2000 Growth Index. SBH typically invests only in securities of companies whose stock is traded on U.S. markets, including depositary receipts or shares issued by companies incorporated outside of the United States (e.g., American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)). SBH may sell a security when conditions have changed and it believes a companys prospects are no longer attractive, the securitys price has achieved the teams valuation target, certain objective criteria are met or better relative investment opportunities have been identified. SBH integrates a companys environmental, social and corporate governance ESG practices within its investment process alongside other non-ESG factors. SBH believes ESG factors may be important drivers of value in conjunction with the underlying strength and potential of a business, however, its consideration of these factors would not necessarily result in a company being included or excluded from the evaluation process but rather would contribute to the overall evaluation of that company. Brown Advisorys Investment Strategy and Process: Under normal conditions, Brown Advisory seeks to achieve the Portfolios investment objective by investing in equity securities of small capitalization domestic companies. Brown Advisory primarily selects companies it believes have above average growth prospects. Brown Advisory conducts an in-depth analysis of a companys fundamentals to identify those companies it believes have the potential for long-term earnings growth that is not fully reflected in the securitys price. Brown Advisory employs a bottom-up, fundamental research approach to the identification, examination and selection of securities. Equity securities include domestic common and preferred stock, convertible debt securities, ADRs, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The Portfolio may also invest in private placements in these types of securities. The Portfolio invests primarily in ETFs that have an investment objective similar to the Portfolios or that otherwise are permitted investments with the Portfolios investment policies. Brown Advisory may sell a security or reduce its position if it believes: (i) the security subsequently fails to meet initial investment criteria; (ii) a more attractively priced security is found; or (iii) the security becomes overvalued relative to the long-term expectation. Show less