A slew of name changes aimed at boosting interest in domestic equities will soon be underway for a group of large-cap funds. Lord Abbett revealed Wednesday that it will rename four of its existing domestic large-cap equity funds, in an attempt to better characterize the funds’ investment strategies for investors and advisors. The All Value Fund will change its name to the Fundamental Equity Fund, The Large Cap Core Fund will now be called the Classic Stock Fund, the America’s Value Fund will be renamed the Capital Structure Fund and the Large Cap Growth Fund will now be the Stock Appreciation Fund. The newly dubbed Classic Stock Fund will also reduce its net expense ratio from 1.3 percent to 98 bps.
Mike Weldon Lord Abbett director of regional marketing
The name changes, which went into effect Wednesday, will not affect any of the funds’ underlying investment objectives or strategies, and the ticker symbols for the funds will stay the same. Mike Weldon, director of regional marketing at Lord Abbett, told the MFWire that the name changes were "the result of a process that was initiated several years ago."
"We wanted to make sure that our products are positioned and priced correctly," Weldon said.
Weldon noted that there appeared to be a disconnect between the large-cap funds’ performance and fund flows—in particular , the Classic Stock and Fundamental Equity Funds were the two best performing domestic stock funds over the past 3, 5, and ten years. This disconnect pointed to the need for the fund names to reflect the distinguishing characteristics of the funds for the average retail investor.
Company Press Release
Jersey City, NJ – July 1, 2009 – As part of its ongoing strategy to enhance the quality of the firm’s investment offerings, Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC (“Lord Abbett”), an independent, privately held investment management firm, announced today the repositioning of several domestic large cap equity funds. As a result of this effort, four funds will have new names and one fund will have a lower total expense ratio.
As part of this repositioning, the Lord Abbett All Value Fund will change its name to the Lord Abbett Fundamental Equity Fund; Lord Abbett Large Cap Core Fund will be called the Lord Abbett Classic Stock Fund; the Lord Abbett America’s Value Fund will be named the Lord Abbett Capital Structure Fund; and the Lord Abbett Large Cap Growth Fund will change to the Lord Abbett Stock Appreciation Fund. A fifth Lord Abbett large cap domestic equity fund, the Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund, Lord Abbett’s oldest and largest equity fund, will retain its current name. In addition to the name changes, the net expense ratio for the Lord Abbett Classic Stock Fund (formerly the Large Cap Core Fund) has been reduced to 98 basis points (Class A shares of the Fund).*
Lord Abbett believes the recent market turmoil underscores the need for investors and their advisors to have a better understanding of each strategy’s distinguishing characteristics. Daria Foster, Lord Abbett Managing Partner, said, “The quality of our clients’ investment experience is directly related to their having a clear understanding of what is distinctive about each investment approach. These name changes are the latest result of a process initiated several years ago to enhance the firm’s investment capabilities, to provide our clients with investment choices of the highest quality, and to increase the competitiveness of our products in the marketplace.”
While each of these five investment portfolios pursues a distinct investment strategy, they are built on the firm’s common investment philosophy. “The three principle tenets of this philosophy, which we refer to as the ‘ties that bind,’ are: our belief in active management, our commitment to research, and our adherence to risk management,” said Foster.
With regard to the lower expense ratio, Foster commented: “We are continuously evaluating our funds to make sure they are competitive in every way, including how they are priced.” Earlier this year, Lord Abbett lowered the net expense ratio on the Lord Abbett High Yield Fund (Class A and F shares). **
Over the past three years, the firm has reviewed extensively all its mutual fund offerings, resulting in a series of strategic changes. These endeavors include broadening the taxable fixed-income offerings, expanding the municipal bond capabilities, and adding to the strategic allocation fund selection. These changes resulted in increased inflows for each of these capabilities. With these latest changes, Lord Abbett now offers investors what the firm believes is a complete selection of domestic large cap equity strategies in anticipation of renewed interest in equity funds going forward. “Since we made many of these changes, we have experienced a significant interest in our taxable and tax-exempt offerings. As equity investors return to the market, we should be well positioned to achieve the same result,” said Foster.
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A Note about Risk
The value of investments in equity securities will fluctuate in response to general economic conditions and to changes in the prospectus of particular companies and / or sectors in the economy. Small and midsize company stocks have historically had more price volatility than large company stocks, particularly over the short term. The value of investments in fixed-income securities will change as interest rates fluctuate in response to market movements. When interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities are likely to decline, and when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise. Investments in 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. There is a risk that a bond issued as tax-exempt may be reclassified by the IRS as taxable, creating taxable rather than tax-exempt income. Additionally, bonds are subject to other risks such as call, credit, liquidity, interest rate, and general market risks. Fund of funds invest in underlying funds that may engage in a variety of investment strategies involving certain risks; these funds of funds may be subject to the particular risks of the underlying funds in the proportion to which each fund invests in them. Performance may be lower than the performance of the asset class which they were selected to represent. No investing strategy can overcome all market volatility or guarantee future results. Shareholders should consult with their tax advisors for more specific information on taxation.
Please see a Fund’s prospectus for more details on risk.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
A prospectus contains important information about a fund, including its investment objectives, risks, charges, and ongoing expenses, which an investor should carefully consider before investing. To obtain a prospectus for any Lord Abbett mutual fund, please contact your investment professional or Lord Abbett Distributor LLC at (888) 522-2388, or visit us at www.LordAbbett.com. Read the prospectus carefully before investing.
About Lord Abbett
Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC is an independent, privately held firm with a singular focus on the management of money. As one of the oldest money management firms in the United States, we have consistently provided generations of clients and their financial advisors with a quality investment experience since 1929. We approach our business as a craft, driven by core fundamentals: an unwavering discipline and commitment to a reproducible process; integrity that is as much an asset as the portfolios we manage; accountability for every decision we make; dedication to the prudent stewardship of our clients’ assets; and intellectual rigor across all aspects of our business. As a trusted steward, Lord Abbett today manages approximately $73 billion in assets (as of May 31, 2008), offering a full range of mutual funds, institutional, and individually managed accounts, and manages two of the nation’s oldest mutual funds.
For more information on Lord Abbett mutual funds, please call 888-522-2388 or visit our Website at HYPERLINK "http://www.lordabbett.com/" \o "http://www.lordabbett.com/" www.lordabbett.com for a prospectus. Read the prospectus carefully before investing. Shares of Lord Abbett mutual funds are not deposits or obligations of any bank, are not guaranteed by any bank, and are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency, and involve investment risks, including the possible loss of principal amount invested.
Lord Abbett mutual fund shares are distributed by Lord Abbett Distributor LLC.
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