Michael Aronstein has found a mutual fund shop to adopt the MarketField Fund [profile].

In a letter today to the shareholders of the fund, Aronstein revealed that New York Life will adopt the $1.7-billion, five-star, bronze, long/short equity mutual fund under the MainStay Funds [profile] brand. Marketfield Asset Management will continue to handle the mutual fund's portfolio as its subadvisor. And the fund will have a new name, the MainStay Marketfield Fund.

MFWire.com could not immediately reach executives with New York Life for comment on the deal.

The fund adoption remains subject to approval of shareholders.

Aronstein, president of Marketfield, declined to comment on the pricing and terms of the adoption. He described the deal as a way for him to focus on investment management.

"We've reached the stage where going forward would necessitate us building a real marketing and support and distribution structure, and neither Michael Shaoul [Marketfield's chairman] or I have the appetite to become managers of a big non-investment force," Aronstein told MFWire.com. "It's an opportunity to have New York Life handle all of the non-investment functions of the fund."

"New York Life is probably the highest-quality investment institution out there," Aronstein added, point to New York's strong ratings and mutual ownership structure. "They have a reputation for behaving themselves properly."

The deal will be followed by at least one new Marketfield hire.

"We are bringing on a senior compliance officer in two weeks," Aronstein said. "We've been looking for several months."

The Marketfield Fund and its offshore sibling make up the entirety of Marketfield's business.

"We don't have any separate accounts at this point," Aronstein said. "All the institutional business we have is in the fund."

Aronstein also confirmed that the deal will not mean any pricing changes for the mutual fund's existing shareholders.

"Our existing shareholders will be grandfathered in at the same terms [share class] forever," Aronstein told MFWire. "There's a cap on the current fees that NYL will guarantee [for two years]."  

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