Mainstay Funds Trust

08/28/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/28/2024 06:59

Summary Prospectus by Investment Company - Form 497K

NYLI Epoch Capital Growth Fund

(formerly MainStay Epoch Capital Growth Fund)

Summary Prospectus

February 28, 2024
As revised August 28, 2024

Class/Ticker

AMECDXInvestor MECVXC MECEXI MECFX

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund's Prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund's Prospectus, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund by going online to dfinview.com/NYLIM, by calling 800-624-6782 or by sending an e-mail to [email protected]. The Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, both dated February 28, 2024, as may be amended from time to time, are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
Investment Objective

The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and example below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in the Fund. In addition, different financial intermediary firms and financial professionals may impose different sales loads and waivers. More information about these and other discounts or waivers is available from your financial professional, in the "Information on Sales Charges" section starting on page 139 of the Prospectus and Appendix A - Intermediary-Specific Sales Charge Waivers and Discounts, and in the "Alternative Sales Arrangements" section on page 147 of the Statement of Additional Information.

Class A

Investor Class

Class C

Class I

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)

5.50

%

5.00

%

None

None

Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of the lesser of the original offering price or redemption proceeds)

None

1

None

1

1.00

%

None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Management Fees (as an annual percentage of the Fund's average daily net assets)

0.75

%

0.75

%

0.75

%

0.75

%

Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees

0.25

%

0.25

%

1.00

%

None

Other Expenses

0.26

%

0.46

%

0.45

%

0.26

%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses

1.26

%

1.46

%

2.20

%

1.01

%

Waivers / Reimbursements2

(0.11

)%

0.00

%

0.00

%

(0.11

)%

Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Waivers / Reimbursements2

1.15

%

1.46

%

2.20

%

0.90

%

1. No initial sales charge applies on investments of $1 million or more (and certain other qualified purchases). However, a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% may be imposed on certain redemptions made within 18 months of the date of purchase on shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge.

2.New York Life Investment Management LLC ("New York Life Investments") has contractually agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse expenses so that Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (excluding taxes, interest, litigation, extraordinary expenses, brokerage and other transaction expenses relating to the purchase or sale of portfolio investments, and acquired (underlying) fund fees and expenses) for a class do not exceed the following percentage of its average daily net assets: Class A, 1.15% and Class I, 0.90%. This agreement will remain in effect until February 28, 2025, and thereafter shall renew automatically for one-year terms unless New York Life Investments provides written notice of termination prior to the start of the next term or upon approval of the Board of Trustees of the Fund.

Example

The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated whether or not you redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods (except as indicated with respect to Class C shares). The Example reflects Class C shares converting into Investor Class shares in years 9-10; expenses could be lower if you are eligible to convert to Class A shares instead. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund'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:

Expenses After

Class A

Investor

Class C

Class I

Class

Assuming no redemption

Assuming redemption at end of period

1 Year

$ 661

$ 641

$ 223

$ 323

$ 92

3 Years

$ 917

$ 939

$ 688

$ 688

$ 311

5 Years

$ 1,194

$ 1,258

$ 1,180

$ 1,180

$ 547

10 Years

$ 1,980

$ 2,159

$ 2,347

$ 2,347

$ 1,226

(NYLIM) NL282 MSECG01

-08/24

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund 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 and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 30% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Fund generally invests in a diversified portfolio consisting of equity securities of companies located throughout the world, including the United States, that have a history of earning a high return on their invested capital relative to their cost of capital and that have positive growth in operating cash flow. Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets (net assets plus any borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities of companies across all market capitalizations. Equity securities include, among others, common stocks, depositary receipts, master limited partnerships, real estate investment trusts, warrants, and rights. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities issued by companies in emerging markets as determined by the Fund's Subadvisor, Epoch Investment Partners, Inc., when it believes those securities represent attractive investment opportunities. Securities held by the Fund may be denominated in both U.S. and non-U.S. currencies. Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest a significant amount (ranging from 20% to 60%) of its net assets in foreign securities. 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, Factset or ICE Data Services Inc. The Subadvisor defines emerging market countries as those countries that are included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The Fund will normally invest in companies in at least three countries outside of the United States. The Fund does not have any explicit limits on the weighting within any individual country or sector.

Investment Process: The Subadvisor invests primarily in companies that generate increasing levels of free cash flow and, in the view of the Subadvisor, allocate free cash flow effectively to grow the value of the company. Free cash flow is the cash generated by a company's operations, minus cash taxes paid and all planned capital expenditures.

The security selection process focuses on free-cash-flow analytics as opposed to traditional accounting-based metrics. The Subadvisor seeks to identify companies with a consistent, straightforward ability to both generate free cash flow and to reinvest it in a way that generates a return on investment that is greater than the firm's cost of capital.

Material environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors are identified and monitored by the Subadvisor. Material ESG factors vary by company and industry, but the Subadvisor pays particular attention to factors relating to climate change and corporate governance. This information is taken into account by the Subadvisor in making investment decisions. Material ESG factors are identified and monitored by the Subadvisor through review of ESG information published by the company (where relevant) or selected specialist third-party research and data providers. While the Subadvisor considers ESG factors in the investment decision-making process of the Fund, this does not mean that ESG considerations are the sole or foremost considerations for investment decisions.

The Subadvisor may sell or reduce a position in a security when it believes its investment objectives have been met or if the investment thesis is failing to materialize. The Subadvisor may also sell or reduce a position in a security if it sees a deterioration in fundamentals or when the security is deemed less attractive relative to another security on a return/risk basis.

Principal Risks

You can lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund 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 Fund invests or other investments. The Fund may receive large purchase or redemption orders which may have adverse effects on performance if the Fund 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 Fund are summarized below.

Market Risk: Changes in markets may cause the value of investments to fluctuate, which could cause the Fund 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 as a result of various market, economic and geopolitical factors for potentially prolonged periods that may result in: (i) increased market volatility; (ii) reduced market liquidity; and (iii) increased redemptions of shares. Such conditions may add significantly to the risk of volatility in the net asset value of the Fund's shares and adversely affect the Fund and its investments.

Portfolio Management Risk: The investment strategies, practices and risk analyses used by the Subadvisor may not produce the desired results or expected returns. The Subadvisor may give consideration to certain ESG criteria when evaluating an investment opportunity. The application of ESG criteria may result in the Fund (i) having exposure to certain securities or industry sectors that are significantly different than the composition of the Fund'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 Fund's benchmark.

Equity Securities Risk: Investments in common stocks and other equity securities are particularly subject to the risk of changing economic, stock market, industry and company conditions and the risks inherent in the ability to anticipate such changes that can adversely affect the value of portfolio holdings.

Market Capitalization Risk: Investments in securities issued by small-, mid-, or large-cap companies will be subject to the risks associated with securities issued by companies of the applicable market capitalization. Securities of small-cap and mid-cap companies may be subject to greater price volatility, significantly lower trading volumes, cyclical, static or moderate growth prospects and greater spreads between their bid and ask prices than securities of larger companies. Smaller capitalization companies frequently rely on narrower product lines and niche markets and may be more vulnerable to adverse business or market developments. Securities issued by larger companies may have less growth potential and may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies, especially during strong economic periods. In addition, larger companies may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes, including those resulting from improvements in technology, and may suffer sharper price declines as a result of

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earnings disappointments. There is a risk that the securities issued by companies of a certain market capitalization may underperform the broader market at any given time.

Growth Stock Risk: If growth companies do not increase their earnings at a rate expected by investors, the market price of the stock may decline significantly, even if earnings show an absolute increase. Growth company stocks also typically lack the dividend yield that can cushion stock prices in market downturns. These risks may be more pronounced in companies that are in the earlier stages of their growth cycle.

Foreign Securities Risk: 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 (or another similar third party). The issuer's "country of risk" is determined based on a number of criteria, which may change from time to time and currently include, but are not limited to, its country of domicile, the primary stock exchange on which it trades, the location from which the majority of its revenue comes, and its reporting currency. Although a Fund will generally rely on an issuer's "country of risk" (or similar designation) as determined by Bloomberg (or another similar third party) when categorizing securities as either U.S. or foreign-based, it is not required to do so.

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 investments in foreign securities. Foreign securities may also subject the Fund'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 Fund's ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities or groups of foreign securities, and thus may make the Fund'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 Fund may be forced to sell or otherwise dispose of foreign investments at inopportune times or prices. The Fund may seek to hedge against its exposure to changes in the value of foreign currency, but there is no guarantee that such hedging techniques will be successful in reducing any related foreign currency valuation risk. 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.

Emerging Markets Risk: The risks related to investing in foreign securities are generally greater with respect to securities of companies that conduct their business activities in emerging markets or whose securities are traded principally in emerging markets. The risks of investing in emerging markets are elevated under adverse market conditions and include: (i) smaller trading volumes for such securities and limited access to investments in the event of market closures (including due to local holidays), which result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (ii) less government regulation, which could lead to market manipulation, and less extensive, transparent and frequent accounting, auditing, recordkeeping, financial reporting and other requirements, which limit the quality and availability of financial information; (iii) the absence of developed legal systems, including structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress (such as limits on rights and remedies available) for investment losses and injury to private property; (iv) loss resulting from problems in share registration and custody; (v) sensitivity to adverse political or social events affecting the region where an emerging market is located; (vi) particular sensitivity to economic and political disruptions, including adverse effects stemming from wars, sanctions, trade restrictions, recessions, depressions or other economic crises, or reliance on international or other forms of aid, including trade, taxation and development policies; and (vii) the nationalization of foreign deposits or assets.

Geographic Focus Risk: Issuers that operate in a single country, a small number of countries, or a particular geographic region can be affected similarly by the market, currency, political, economic, regulatory, geopolitical and other conditions in such country or region, and the Fund's performance will be affected by the conditions, in the countries or regions to which the Fund is exposed. To the extent the Fund focuses its investments in a particular country or region, its performance will be more susceptible to adverse developments in such country or region than a more geographically diversified fund.

Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may entail the special risks of investing in foreign securities, including currency exchange fluctuations, government regulations, and the potential for political and economic instability.

Real Estate Investment Trust Risk: Investments in REITs involve risks associated with direct ownership of real estate, including decline in property values, extended vacancies, increases in property taxes and changes in interest rates. Additionally, the appreciation of securities issued by a REIT depends, in part, on the skills of the REIT's manager. REITs may not be diversified, may experience substantial cost in the event of borrower or lessee defaults and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency.

Master Limited Partnerships ("MLPs") and Other Natural Resources Sector Companies Risks:Natural resources sector companies, including energy companies and MLPs, are subject to risks, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in the prices of commodities, a significant decrease in the production of or a sustained decline in demand for commodities, and construction risk, development risk, acquisition risk or other risks arising from their specific business strategies. Energy companies are affected by worldwide energy prices and may suffer losses as a result of adverse changes in these prices and market volatility. Additionally, energy companies may be at risk for increased government regulation and intervention and litigation. In addition, investing in MLPs involves certain risks related to investing in the underlying assets of the MLPs and risks associated with pooled investment vehicles. MLPs are subject to certain risks inherent in the structure of MLPs, including (i) tax risks; (ii) the limited ability to elect or remove management or the general partner or managing member; (iii) limited voting rights; and (iv) conflicts of interest between the general partner or managing member and its affiliates, on the one hand, and the limited partners or members, on the other hand, including those arising from incentive distribution payments or corporate opportunities. Securities issued by MLPs may experience limited trading volumes and, thus, may be relatively illiquid.

Rights and Warrants Risk:Rights and warrants may provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying securities. Prices of these investments do not necessarily move in tandem with the prices of the underlying securities, and warrants are speculative investments. If a right or warrant is not exercised by the date of its expiration, the Fund will lose its entire investment in such right or warrant.

3

Liquidity and Valuation Risk: The Fund'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 Fund 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 Fund 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 Fund. To meet redemption requests or to raise cash to pursue other investment opportunities, the Fund may be forced to sell securities at an unfavorable time and/or under unfavorable conditions, which may adversely affect the Fund's performance.

Past Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance over time. Sales loads, if any, are not reflected in the bar chart. If they were, returns would be less than those shown. The Fund has selected the MSCI World Index (Net), which represents a broad measure of market performance, and is generally representative of the market sectors or types of investments in which the Fund invests.

Index returns reflect no deductions for fees, expenses or taxes, except for foreign withholding taxes where applicable.

Performance data for the classes varies based on differences in their fee and expense structures. Performance data is not shown for classes with less than one calendar year of performance. Past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Please visit newyorklifeinvestments.com/funds for more recent performance information.

Annual Returns, Class I Shares

(by calendar year 2017-2023)

Best Quarter

2020, Q2

22.42

%

Worst Quarter

2020, Q1

-15.31

%

4

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2023)

Inception

1 Year

5 Years

Since

Inception

Return Before Taxes

Class I

6/30/2016

29.68

%

17.04

%

13.88

%

Return After Taxes on Distributions

Class I

29.49

%

14.20

%

11.60

%

Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares

Class I

17.69

%

13.22

%

10.85

%

Return Before Taxes

Class A

6/30/2016

22.34

%

15.44

%

12.76

%

Investor Class

6/30/2016

22.61

%

15.13

%

12.49

%

Class C

6/30/2016

27.20

%

15.59

%

12.52

%

MSCI World Index (Net)1

23.79

%

12.80

%

10.95

%

1.The MSCI World Index (Net) is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets.

After-tax returns are calculated using the highest individual federal marginal income tax rates in effect at the time of each distribution or capital gain or upon the sale of Fund shares, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of shares at the end of the measurement period. Actual after-tax returns depend on your tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant if you hold your shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns shown are for Class I shares. After-tax returns for the other share classes may vary.

Management

New York Life Investment Management LLC serves as the Manager. Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. serves as the Subadvisor. The individuals listed below are jointly and primarily responsible for day-to-day portfolio management.

Subadvisor

Portfolio Managers

Service Date

Epoch Investment Partners, Inc.

Michael A. Welhoelter, President and Co-Chief Investment Officer*

Since 2016

Steven D. Bleiberg, Managing Director

Since 2016

David J. Siino, Managing Director

Since 2016

Lin Lin, Managing Director

Since July 2024

* Effective on or about December 31, 2024, Mr. Welhoelter will retire from Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. and will no longer serve as a portfolio manager of the Fund.

How to Purchase and Sell Shares

You may purchase or sell shares of the Fund on any day the Fund is open for business by contacting your financial adviser or financial intermediary firm, or by contacting the Fund by telephone at 800-624-6782, by mail at New York Life Investments Funds, P.O. Box 219003, Kansas City, MO 64121-9000, by overnight mail to 430 West 7th Street, Suite 219003, Kansas City, MO 64105-1407, or by accessing our website at newyorklifeinvestments.com/accounts. Generally, an initial investment minimum of $2,500 applies if you invest in Investor Class or Class C shares, $15,000 for Class A shares and $1,000,000 for individual investors in Class I shares investing directly (i) with the Fund; or (ii) through certain private banks and trust companies that have an agreement with NYLIFE Distributors LLC, the Fund's principal underwriter and distributor, or its affiliates. A subsequent investment minimum of $50 applies to investments in Investor Class and Class C shares. These initial investment minimum and subsequent purchase amounts also apply to Investor Class and Class C shares purchased through AutoInvest, New York Life Investments' systematic investment plan. Class A shares have no subsequent investment minimum. Institutional shareholders in Class I shares have no initial or subsequent investment minimums.

Certain financial intermediaries through whom you may invest may impose their own investment minimums, fees, policies and procedures for purchasing and selling Fund shares, which are not described in this Prospectus or the Statement of Additional Information, and which will depend on the policies, procedures and trading platforms of the financial intermediary. Consult a representative of your financial intermediary about the availability of shares of the Fund and the intermediary's policies, procedures and other information.

Tax Information

The Fund's distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination of the two, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account.

Compensation to Financial Intermediary Firms

If you purchase Fund shares through a financial intermediary firm (such as a broker/dealer or bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the financial intermediary firm or your financial adviser to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or visit your financial intermediary firm's website for more information.

"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.

5