With Sales Charge - Returns with sales charges reflect applicable fees and expenses and include all distributions reinvested.

Without Sales Charge - Returns shown are without sales charges and have all distributions reinvested. If a sales charge had been deducted, the results would have been lower.

Returns shown at less than a year reflect aggregate total returns.

Double-Digit Returns - instances of high double-digit returns were achieved primarily during favorable market conditions and may not be sustainable over time.   

CUSIP identifiers have been provided by CUSIP Global Services, managed on behalf of the American Bankers Association by Standard & Poor’s Financial Services, LLC, and are not for use or dissemination in a manner that would serve as a substitute for any CUSIP service. The CUSIP Database, © 2011 American Bankers Association. “CUSIP” is a registered trademark of the American Bankers Association.

Adjusted Expense Ratio – Excludes certain investment expenses, such as the interest expense from borrowing in certain underlying funds.

In October 1998, Growth Opportunities Fund changed its investment strategy to emphasize growth-oriented investments.

Affiliated Fund commenced operations on May 14, 1934. Performance since inception is shown from January 1, 1950, when the Fund adopted its current investment strategy.

Effective September 27, 2012, the Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund transitioned its investment approach from investing in a mix of equity and fixed-income securities to a domestic dividend-oriented equity strategy. Therefore, the performance of the Fund for periods prior to September 27, 2012, is not representative of the Fund’s current investment strategy. The change in investment approach may affect the Fund’s performance.

Effective July 1, 2008, the Fund adopted its new investment objective of total return and implemented its new investment strategy as part of the Fund's conversion to a "fund-of-funds." The historical performance shown for periods prior July 1, 2008, reflects the performance of the Fund prior to its change in investment objective and strategy. Therefore, the performance of the Fund for periods prior to July 1, 2008, is not representative of the Fund's current investment strategy and the change in strategy may affect the Fund's performance in the future.

The Income Fund since inception performance is calculated from January 1, 1982, when the Fund changed its investment strategy. On December 14, 2007, the Fund adopted its current investment strategy.

Effective December 14, 2007, the Short Duration Income Fund transitioned its investment approach from a limited duration U.S. government and government-sponsored enterprises strategy to a short duration fixed-income strategy. The historical performance shown of the Fund prior to December 14, 2007, reflects periods when the Fund pursued its previous investment strategy. 

The Convertible Fund invests primarily in convertible securities, which are corporate bonds that provide the investor the option to exchange their bonds for a specified number of shares of the underlying equity.  Because of their structure, convertible securities may exhibit the characteristics of both equity and fixed income securities.  While each security has a unique structure, the primary driver of performance of a convertible bond is typically the performance of the underlying equity.  Therefore the Convertible Fund is listed with other Lord Abbett Equity Funds.

A Note about Risk

Domestic Equity - The value of investments in equity securities will fluctuate in response to general economic conditions and to changes in the prospects of particular companies and/or sectors in the economy. Investments in multinational companies generally pose greater risks than those of domestic companies, including market, liquidity, currency, and political risks. Select Funds invest primarily in small cap growth company stocks, which tend to be more volatile and can be less liquid than other types of stocks. Small cap companies may also have more limited product lines, markets, or financial resources and typically experience a higher risk of failure than large cap companies.

The Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund invests primarily in equity securities of large and mid-sized companies that have a history of increasing dividends and that have the potential for capital appreciation. Dividend paying securities may become less available for purchase, limiting the Fund's ability to produce current income and increasing the volatility of the Fund's returns. In addition, a company's dividend payments may vary over time, and there is no guarantee that a company will pay a dividend at all. The fund invests principally in stocks and other securities, which may experience significant volatility at times and may fall sharply in response to adverse events. Individual securities also may experience dramatic movements in price. In addition, if a fund's fundamental research and quantitative analysis fail to produce the intended result, the fund may suffer losses or underperform its benchmark or other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a rising market. These factors can affect Fund performance.

International - Investing in international securities generally poses greater risk than investing in domestic securities, including greater price fluctuations and higher transaction costs. Special risks are inherent to international investing, including those related to currency fluctuations and foreign, political, and economic events. These risks can be greater in the case of emerging country securities.

Asset Allocation - Each Fund invests in underlying funds that may engage in a variety of investment strategies involving certain risks; this fund of funds may be subject to those particular risks of the underlying funds in proportion to which each Fund invests in them. Performance may be lower than the performance of the asset class that they were selected to represent.

Taxable Fixed-Income - The value of an investment in fixed-income securities will change as interest rates fluctuate and in response to market movements. As interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise. As rates rise, prices tend to fall. High-yield securities, sometimes called junk bonds, carry increased risks of price volatility, illiquidity, and the possibility of default in the timely payment of interest and principal. Convertible securities have both equity and fixed-income risk characteristics. Like all fixed-income securities, the value of convertible securities is susceptible to the risk of market losses attributable to changes in interest rates. Generally, the market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline.

Tax-Free Income - There is a risk that a bond issued as tax-exempt may be reclassified by the IRS as taxable, creating taxable rather than tax-free income. In addition, bonds may be subject to other types of risk such as call, credit, liquidity, interest-rate, and general market risks. The Lord Abbett AMT Free Municipal Bond Fund does not invest in any AMT triggering private activity bonds. Although the Fund seeks income that is federally tax-free, a portion of the fund's distribution may be subject to federal, state and local taxes. For all other Lord Abbett Tax Free Funds (Tax Free Funds) a portion of the income derived from the Tax Free Fund's portfolio may be subject to the alternative minimum tax and any capital gains realized may be subject to taxation, in addition, federal, state, and local taxes may apply.

These factors can affect fund performance.

Shares of Lord Abbett mutual funds are not deposits or obligations of any bank, are not guaranteed by any bank, are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency, and involve investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested.

Please click on the Fund’s detail page for more information regarding expense ratio.