01/30/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/30/2026 15:59
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Lord Abbett Trust I |
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PROSPECTUS |
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DECEMBER 1, 2025 (as revised JANUARY 30, 2026) Lord Abbett Diversification Shares (LADS) |
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TICKER |
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LORD ABBETT DIVERSIFICATION SHARES: CORE COMPLETION FUND ("LADS: CORE COMPLETION FUND") |
LCCDX |
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LORD ABBETT DIVERSIFICATION SHARES: CORE PLUS COMPLETION FUND ("LADS: CORE PLUS COMPLETION FUND") |
LACPX |
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved of these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. |
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INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED-NO BANK GUARANTEE-MAY LOSE VALUE |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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FUND SUMMARY |
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Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Completion Fund |
2 |
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Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Plus Completion Fund |
12 |
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MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS |
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Investment Objectives |
22 |
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Principal Risks |
29 |
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Additional Information About Investment and Operational Risks |
40 |
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Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings |
46 |
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Management and Organization of the Funds |
46 |
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INFORMATION FOR MANAGING YOUR FUND ACCOUNT |
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Purchases |
48 |
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Redemptions |
48 |
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Account Policies |
49 |
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Distributions and Taxes |
52 |
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FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
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Financial Highlights |
55 |
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FUND SUMMARY |
Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Completion Fund
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income.
FEES AND EXPENSES
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees that are not reflected in the table and example below. Shares of the Fund are available only to separately managed account clients where Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC ("Lord Abbett") has an agreement with the separately managed account program sponsor, or directly with the client, to provide advisory and administrative and other similar services for compensation. Such investors pay an advisory fee, or other fee that covers advisory and administrative or other similar services, which fee is paid at the separately managed account program level.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)
None
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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Class |
LADS: Core Completion Fund |
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Management Fees(1) |
0.00% |
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Other Expenses(2) |
0.23% |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.23% |
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Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3) |
(0.23)% |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3) |
0.00% |
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(1) |
The Fund does not pay a management fee to Lord Abbett under the management agreement between the Trust and Lord |
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(2) |
"Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
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(3) |
Lord Abbett has contractually agreed to waive all fees and to bear and/or reimburse all expenses of the Fund, including |
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
2
Example
This 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 and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangement described above. The Example does not include any fees paid at the separately managed account program level. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
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LADS: Core Completion Fund |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
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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 the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. The Fund does not show any portfolio turnover because the Fund is recently organized and has not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Under normal conditions, the Fund will pursue its investment objective by investing in fixed income securities of various types. The Fund may invest in debt securities and securities issued by non-U.S. entities, including in emerging markets, and denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
The Fund generally may invest in the following types of debt securities:
● mortgage-backed, mortgage-related, and other asset-backed securities, including privately issued mortgage-related securities, collateralized mortgage obligations and commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS");
● inflation-linked investments;
● loans, including bridge loans, novations, assignments, and participations;
● structured securities and collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs");
● derivative instruments, including options, futures contracts, forward contracts, and swap agreements;
● repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
● securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
3
● corporate debt securities.
The Fund may invest in individual securities of any maturity or duration and in investment grade debt securities. Investment grade debt securities are securities that are rated within the four highest grades assigned by an independent rating agency such as Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Aaa, Aa, A, Baa), S&P Global Ratings (AAA, AA, A, BBB), or Fitch Ratings (AAA, AA, A, BBB), or are unrated but determined by Lord Abbett to be of comparable quality.
The Fund may invest in floating or adjustable rate loans. The Fund may invest in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities ("TIPS"), which are U.S. Government bonds whose principal automatically is adjusted for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers ("CPI-U"), and other inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any industry. For purposes of this restriction, the Fund does not consider mortgage-backed and mortgage-related securities, including commercial mortgage-backed securities and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, securitized products, and securities issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities as representing interests in any particular "industry" or group of industries.
The Fund may use derivatives to hedge against risk or to gain investment exposure. Currently, the Fund expects to invest in derivatives consisting principally of futures, forwards, options, and swaps. The Fund may use derivatives to seek to enhance returns, to attempt to hedge some of its investment risk, to manage portfolio duration, as a substitute for holding the underlying asset on which the derivative instrument is based, or for cash management purposes. For example, the Fund may invest in or sell short U.S. Treasury futures, securities index futures, other futures, and/or currency forwards to adjust the Fund's exposure to the direction of interest rates, or for other portfolio management reasons.
The portfolio management team buys and sells securities using a relative value- oriented investment process, meaning the portfolio management team generally seeks more investment exposure to securities believed to be undervalued and less investment exposure to securities believed to be overvalued. The portfolio management team combines top-down and bottom-up analysis to construct its portfolio, using a blend of quantitative and fundamental research. As part of its top-down analysis, the portfolio management team evaluates global economic conditions, including monetary, fiscal, and regulatory policy, as well as the political and geopolitical environment, in order to identify and assess opportunities and risks across different segments of the fixed income market. The portfolio management team employs bottom-up analysis to identify and select securities for investment by the Fund based on in-depth company, industry, and market research and analysis. The portfolio management team applies proprietary filters to this analysis to determine security selection, sector exposure, and term structure. The portfolio management team may actively rotate sector exposure based on its assessment of
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
4
relative value. The Fund engages in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities.
The Fund may sell a security when the Fund believes the security is less likely to benefit from the current market and economic environment, or shows signs of deteriorating fundamentals, among other reasons. The Fund may deviate from the investment strategy described above for temporary defensive purposes. The Fund may miss certain investment opportunities if defensive strategies are used and thus may not achieve its investment objective.
The Fund is intended to be used as part of a broader investment program, and it is expected that the Fund will hold securities and use derivatives, including to hedge some of its investment risk, that the portfolio management team believes will help the overall investment program achieve its investment objective, but that the portfolio management team believes may be transacted in more efficiently through a collective vehicle, such as the Fund, than by each individual separately managed account in the investment program. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program. The Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or to be used as a standalone investment.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
As with any investment in a mutual fund, investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you may lose a portion or all of the money you invested in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its performance, include:
● Portfolio Management Risk:If the strategies used and investments selected by the Fund's portfolio management team fail to produce the intended result, the Fund may suffer losses or underperform other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a favorable market.
● Market Risk:The market values of securities will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions, governmental actions or intervention, market disruptions caused by trade disputes, tariffs or other factors, political developments, and other factors. Prices of equity securities tend to rise and fall more dramatically than those of debt securities.
● New Fund Risk: The Fund is recently organized. There can be no assurance that the Fund will reach or maintain a sufficient asset size to effectively implement its investment strategy. In addition, until the Fund achieves sufficient scale, a Fund shareholder may experience proportionally higher Fund expenses than would be experienced by shareholders of a fund with a larger asset base.
● Completion Fund Risk:An investment in this Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or a standalone investment. It is intended to be a
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
5
component of a broader investment program for whose use the Fund is exclusively designed. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program.
● Fixed Income Securities Risk:The Fund is subject to the general risks and considerations associated with investing in debt securities, including the risk that issuers will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest or default altogether. Lower-rated securities in which the Fund may invest may be more volatile and may decline more in price in response to negative issuer developments or general economic news due to their increased credit risk relative to other fixed-income investments. In addition, as interest rates rise, the Fund's investments typically will lose value. Fiscal, economic, monetary, or other governmental policies ormeasures have in the past-and may in the future-cause or exacerbateinterest rate risks.
● Credit Risk:Debt securities are subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a security may not make interest and principal payments as they become due or may default altogether. In addition, if the market perceives a deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer, the value and liquidity of securities issued by that issuer may decline. To the extent that the Fund holds below investment grade securities, these risks may be heightened. Insured debt securities have the credit risk of the insurer in addition to the credit risk of the underlying investment being insured.
● Interest Rate Risk:As interest rates rise, prices of bonds (including tax-exempt bonds) generally fall, typically causing the Fund's investments to lose value. Additionally, rising interest rates or lack of market participants may lead to decreased liquidity in fixed income markets. Interest rate changes generally have a more pronounced effect on the market value of fixed-rate instruments, such as corporate bonds, than they have on floating rate instruments, and typically have a greater effect on the price of fixed income securities with longer durations. A wide variety of market factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation, and changes in general economic conditions.
● Liquidity/Redemption Risk:The Fund may lose money when selling securities at inopportune times to fulfill shareholder redemption requests. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests, whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices, and whether the securities the Fund intends to sell have decreased in value or are illiquid. The Fund may be less able to sell illiquid securities at its desired time or price. It may be more difficult for the Fund to value its investments in illiquid securities than more liquid securities.
● Government Securities Risk:The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as the Government National Mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae"), the Federal
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
6
National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"), or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac")). Different types of U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of credit risk, including the risk of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. Unlike Ginnie Mae securities, securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support. Past long-term U.S. credit rating downgrades have introduced greater uncertainty about the ability of the United States to repay its obligations. The value of the Fund's shares may be adversely affected by any future rating agency downgrades.
● Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk:Mortgage-related securities, including commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, and other asset-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates and economic conditions, including delinquencies and defaults. The prices of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, depending on their structure and the rate of payments, can be volatile. They are subject to prepayment risk (higher than expected prepayment rates of mortgage obligations due to a fall in market interest rates) and extension risk (lower than expected prepayment rates of mortgage obligations due to a rise in market interest rates). These risks increase the Fund's overall interest rate risk. Some mortgage-related securities receive government or private support, but there is no assurance that such support will remain in place.
● Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk:CMBS include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. Many of the risks of investing in CMBS reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants. The economic impacts of COVID-19 have created a unique challenge for real estate markets, with the transition to remote-working environments potentially negatively impacting the occupancy rates of commercial real estate. CMBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities.
● Inflation-Linked Investments Risk:Unlike traditional fixed income securities, the principal and interest payments of inflation-linked investments are adjusted periodically based on the inflation rate. The value of the Fund's inflation-linked investments may be vulnerable to changes in expectations of inflation or interest rates and there is no guarantee that the Fund's use of these instruments will be successful.
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
7
● Foreign and Emerging Market Company Risk: Investments in foreign companies and in U.S. companies with economic ties to foreign markets generally involve special risks. These companies may be more vulnerable to economic, political, and social instability and subject to less government supervision, lack of transparency, inadequate regulatory and accounting standards, and foreign taxes. Foreign company securities also include American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), which may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Foreign securities also may subject the Fund's investments to changes in currency exchange rates. Emerging market securities generally are more volatile than other foreign securities, and are subject to greater liquidity, regulatory, and political risks. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative and generally are riskier than investments in more developed markets. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations. Securities of emerging market companies may have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than securities of issuers in developed markets. In certain emerging market countries, governments participate to a significant degree in their respective economies. Action by these governments could have a significant adverse effect on market prices of securities and payment of dividends.Companies with economic ties to emerging markets may be susceptible to the same risks as companies organized in emerging markets.
● Foreign Currency Risk:Investments in securities that are denominated or receiving revenues in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar, or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.
● Loan Risk: Investments in floating or adjustable rate loans are subject to increased credit and liquidity risks. Loan prices also may be adversely affected by supply-demand imbalances caused by conditions in the loan market or related markets. Below investment grade loans, like high-yield debt securities, or junk bonds, usually are more credit sensitive than interest rate sensitive, although the value of these instruments may be affected by interest rate swings in the overall fixed income market. Loans may be subject to structural subordination and may be subordinated to other obligations of the borrower or its subsidiaries.
● Collateralized Loan Obligations and Other Collateralized Obligations Risk:An investment in a CLO can be viewed as investing in (or through) another investment adviser and is subject to the layering of fees associated with such an investment. The risks of investing in a CLO generally can be summarized as a combination of economic risks of the underlying loans combined with the risks associated with the CLO structure governing the priority of payments, and
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
8
include interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, prepayment risk, and the risk of default of the underlying asset, among others.
● Derivatives Risk:The risks associated with derivatives may be different from and greater than the risks associated with directly investing in securities and other investments. Derivatives may increase the Fund's volatility and reduce its returns. Derivatives may not perform as expected and the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. Whether the Fund's use of derivatives is successful may depend on, among other things, the portfolio managers' ability to correctly forecast market movements, company and industry valuation levels and trends, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, and other factors. If the portfolio managers incorrectly forecast these and other factors, the Fund's performance could suffer. Derivatives are also subject to liquidity risk and the risk that the counterparty to a derivative transaction may fail to fulfill its contractual obligations under the derivative contract. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives are subject to the risk that improper or misunderstood documentation may expose the Fund to losses.
● High Portfolio Turnover Risk: High portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, reduced investment performance, and higher taxes resulting from increased realized capital gains, including short-term capital gains taxable as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. For more information on the principal risks of the Fund, please see the "More Information About the Funds - Principal Risks" section in the prospectus.
PERFORMANCE
This prospectus does not show performance information for the Fund because the Fund has not commenced investment operations as of the date of this prospectus. Performance for the Fund, which provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund, will vary from year to year. After the Fund begins investment operations, updated performance information will be available at www.lordabbett.com or by calling 888-522-2388.
MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser.The Fund's investment adviser is Lord Abbett.
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
9
Portfolio Managers
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Portfolio Managers/Title |
Member of |
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Robert A. Lee, Partner and Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income |
2024 |
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Andrew H. O'Brien, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
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Leah G. Traub, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
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Adam C. Castle, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
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Harris A. Trifon, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
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Karen J. Gunnerson, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
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Yoana N. Koleva, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2025 |
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Shares of the Fund may be purchased only by or on behalf of separately managed account clients where Lord Abbett has an agreement with the managed account program sponsor (the "Program Sponsor"), or directly with the client, to provide advisory and administrative and other similar services for compensation to the managed account (each a "Program Account").
The Fund does not impose any maximum or minimum investment requirements. Minimum or maximum investment amounts may be imposed by a Program Sponsor.
Redemption orders are made based on instructions from Lord Abbett or your Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for your Program Account. Shares of the Fund can be redeemed through the broker/dealer on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund's distributions, if any, generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains or a combination of the two, unless you are a tax-exempt investor or investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Any withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and the Fund's distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
10
intermediary and your individual financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Completion Fund
11
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FUND SUMMARY |
Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Plus Completion Fund
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
The Fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income.
FEES AND EXPENSES
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees that are not reflected in the table and example below. Shares of the Fund are available only to separately managed account clients where Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC ("Lord Abbett") has an agreement with the separately managed account program sponsor, or directly with the client, to provide advisory and administrative and other similar services for compensation. Such investors pay an advisory fee, or other fee that covers advisory and administrative or other similar services, which fee is paid at the separately managed account program level.
Shareholder Fees (Fees paid directly from your investment)
None
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Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
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(Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) |
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Class |
LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund |
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Management Fees(1) |
0.00% |
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Other Expenses(2) |
0.23% |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses |
0.23% |
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Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3) |
(0.23)% |
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Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(3) |
0.00% |
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(1) |
The Fund does not pay a management fee to Lord Abbett under the management agreement between the Trust and Lord |
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(2) |
"Other Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
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(3) |
Lord Abbett has contractually agreed to waive all fees and to bear and/or reimburse all expenses of the Fund, including |
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund
12
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Example
This 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 and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangement described above. The Example does not include any fees paid at the separately managed account program level. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
Class |
1 Year |
3 Years |
5 Years |
10 Years |
|||||
|
LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
$ |
0 |
|
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 the annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund's performance. The Fund does not show any portfolio turnover because the Fund is recently organized and has not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Under normal conditions, the Fund will pursue its investment objective by investing in a variety of debt (or fixed-income) securities. The Fund may invest without limitation in high-yield debt securities (commonly referred to as "lower-rated" or "junk" bonds), which are bonds that are rated BB+/Ba1 or lower (at the time of purchase), or an equivalent short-term rating, as applicable, by an independent rating agency or are unrated but deemed by Lord Abbett to be of comparable quality. The Fund may invest in debt securities and securities issued by non-U.S. entities, including in emerging markets, and denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
The Fund generally may invest in the following types of debt securities:
● mortgage-backed, mortgage-related, and other asset-backed securities, including privately issued mortgage-related securities, collateralized mortgage obligations and commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS");
● inflation-linked investments;
● loans, including bridge loans, novations, assignments, and participations;
● structured securities and collateralized loan obligations ("CLOs");
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund
13
● derivative instruments, including options, futures contracts, forward contracts, and swap agreements;
● repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
● securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and
● corporate debt securities.
The Fund may invest in Treasury Inflation Protected Securities ("TIPS"), which are U.S. Government bonds whose principal automatically is adjusted for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers ("CPI-U"), and other inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any industry. For purposes of this restriction, the Fund does not consider mortgage-backed and mortgage-related securities, including commercial mortgage-backed securities and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, securitized products, and securities issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities as representing interests in any particular "industry" or group of industries.
The Fund may use derivatives to hedge against risk or to gain investment exposure. Currently, the Fund expects to invest in derivatives consisting principally of futures, forwards, options, and swaps. The Fund may use derivatives to seek to enhance returns, to attempt to hedge some of its investment risk, to manage portfolio duration, as a substitute for holding the underlying asset on which the derivative instrument is based, or for cash management purposes. For example, the Fund may invest in or sell short U.S. Treasury futures, securities index futures, other futures, and/or currency forwards to adjust the Fund's exposure to the direction of interest rates, or for other portfolio management reasons.
The portfolio management team buys and sells securities using a relative value- oriented investment process, meaning the portfolio management team generally seeks more investment exposure to securities believed to be undervalued and less investment exposure to securities believed to be overvalued. The portfolio management team combines top-down and bottom-up analysis to construct its portfolio, using a blend of quantitative and fundamental research. As part of its topdown analysis, the portfolio management team evaluates global economic conditions, including monetary, fiscal, and regulatory policy, as well as the political and geopolitical environment, in order to identify and assess opportunities and risks across different segments of the fixed income market. The portfolio management team employs bottom-up analysis to identify and select securities for investment by the Fund based on in-depth company, industry, and market research and analysis. The portfolio management team may actively rotate sector exposure based on its assessment of relative value. The Fund engages in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities.
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund
14
The Fund may sell a security when the Fund believes the security is less likely to benefit from the current market and economic environment, or shows signs of deteriorating fundamentals, among other reasons. The Fund may deviate from the investment strategy described above for temporary defensive purposes. The Fund may miss certain investment opportunities if defensive strategies are used and thus may not achieve its investment objective.
The Fund is intended to be used as part of a broader investment program, and it is expected that the Fund will hold securities and use derivatives, including to hedge some of its investment risk, that the portfolio management team believes will help the overall investment program achieve its investment objective, but that the portfolio management team believes may be transacted in more efficiently through a collective vehicle, such as the Fund, than by each individual separately managed account in the investment program. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program. The Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or to be used as a standalone investment.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
As with any investment in a mutual fund, investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you may lose a portion or all of the money you invested in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its performance, include:
● Portfolio Management Risk:If the strategies used and investments selected by the Fund's portfolio management team fail to produce the intended result, the Fund may suffer losses or underperform other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a favorable market.
● Market Risk:The market values of securities will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions, governmental actions or intervention, market disruptions caused by trade disputes, tariffs or other factors, political developments, and other factors. Prices of equity securities tend to rise and fall more dramatically than those of debt securities.
● New Fund Risk: The Fund is recently organized. There can be no assurance that the Fund will reach or maintain a sufficient asset size to effectively implement its investment strategy. In addition, until the Fund achieves sufficient scale, a Fund shareholder may experience proportionally higher Fund expenses than would be experienced by shareholders of a fund with a larger asset base.
● Completion Fund Risk:An investment in this Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or a standalone investment. It is intended to be a component of a broader investment program for whose use the Fund is
PROSPECTUS - LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund
15
exclusively designed. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program.
● Fixed Income Securities Risk:The Fund is subject to the general risks and considerations associated with investing in debt securities, including the risk that issuers will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest or default altogether. Lower-rated securities in which the Fund may invest may be more volatile and may decline more in price in response to negative issuer developments or general economic news due to their increased credit risk relative to other fixed-income investments. In addition, as interest rates rise, the Fund's investments typically will lose value. Fiscal, economic, monetary, or other governmental policies ormeasures have in the past-and may in the future-cause or exacerbate interest rate risks.
● High Yield Securities Risk: High yield securities (commonly referred to as "junk" bonds) typically pay a higher yield than investment grade securities, but may have greater price fluctuations and have a higher risk of default than investment grade securities. The market for high yield securities may be less liquid due to such factors as interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally, and less secondary market liquidity. This may make such securities more difficult to sell at an acceptable price, especially during periods of financial distress, increased market volatility, or significant market decline.
● Credit Risk:Debt securities are subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a security may not make interest and principal payments as they become due or may default altogether. In addition, if the market perceives a deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer, the value and liquidity of securities issued by that issuer may decline. To the extent that the Fund holds below investment grade securities, these risks may be heightened. Insured debt securities have the credit risk of the insurer in addition to the credit risk of the underlying investment being insured.
● Interest Rate Risk:As interest rates rise, prices of bonds (including tax-exempt bonds) generally fall, typically causing the Fund's investments to lose value. Additionally, rising interest rates or lack of market participants may lead to decreased liquidity in fixed income markets. Interest rate changes generally have a more pronounced effect on the market value of fixed-rate instruments, such as corporate bonds, than they have on floating rate instruments, and typically have a greater effect on the price of fixed income securities with longer durations. A wide variety of market factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation, and changes in general economic conditions.
● Liquidity/Redemption Risk:The Fund may lose money when selling securities at inopportune times to fulfill shareholder redemption requests. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests,
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whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices, and whether the securities the Fund intends to sell have decreased in value or are illiquid. The Fund may be less able to sell illiquid securities at its desired time or price. It may be more difficult for the Fund to value its investments in illiquid securities than more liquid securities.
● Government Securities Risk:The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as the Government National Mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae"), the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"), or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac")). Different types of U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of credit risk, including the risk of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. Unlike Ginnie Mae securities, securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government-related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government and no assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support. Past long-term U.S. credit rating downgrades have introduced greater uncertainty about the ability of the United States to repay its obligations. The value of the Fund's shares may be adversely affected by any future rating agency downgrades.
● Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk:Mortgage-related securities, including commercial mortgage-backed securities ("CMBS") and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, and other asset-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates and economic conditions, including delinquencies and defaults. The prices of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, depending on their structure and the rate of payments, can be volatile. They are subject to prepayment risk (higher than expected prepayment rates of mortgage obligations due to a fall in market interest rates) and extension risk (lower than expected prepayment rates of mortgage obligations due to a rise in market interest rates). These risks increase the Fund's overall interest rate risk. Some mortgage-related securities receive government or private support, but there is no assurance that such support will remain in place.
● Foreign and Emerging Market Company Risk: Investments in foreign companies and in U.S. companies with economic ties to foreign markets generally involve special risks. These companies may be more vulnerable to economic, political, and social instability and subject to less government supervision, lack of transparency, inadequate regulatory and accounting standards, and foreign taxes. Foreign company securities also include American Depositary Receipts ("ADRs"), which may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Foreign securities also may subject the Fund's investments to changes in currency exchange rates. Emerging market securities generally are more volatile than other foreign securities, and are subject to greater liquidity, regulatory, and political risks. Investments in
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emerging markets may be considered speculative and generally are riskier than investments in more developed markets. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations. Securities of emerging market companies may have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than securities of issuers in developed markets. In certain emerging market countries, governments participate to a significant degree in their respective economies. Action by these governments could have a significant adverse effect on market prices of securities and payment of dividends. Companies with economic ties to emerging markets may be susceptible to the same risks as companies organized in emerging markets.
● Foreign Currency Risk:Investments in securities that are denominated or receiving revenues in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar, or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.
● Loan Risk: Investments in floating or adjustable rate loans are subject to increased credit and liquidity risks. Loan prices also may be adversely affected by supply-demand imbalances caused by conditions in the loan market or related markets. Below investment grade loans, like high-yield debt securities, or junk bonds, usually are more credit sensitive than interest rate sensitive, although the value of these instruments may be affected by interest rate swings in the overall fixed income market. Loans may be subject to structural subordination and may be subordinated to other obligations of the borrower or its subsidiaries.
● Collateralized Loan Obligations and Other Collateralized Obligations Risk:An investment in a CLO can be viewed as investing in (or through) another investment adviser and is subject to the layering of fees associated with such an investment. The risks of investing in a CLO generally can be summarized as a combination of economic risks of the underlying loans combined with the risks associated with the CLO structure governing the priority of payments, and include interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, prepayment risk, and the risk of default of the underlying asset, among others.
● Derivatives Risk:The risks associated with derivatives may be different from and greater than the risks associated with directly investing in securities and other investments. Derivatives may increase the Fund's volatility and reduce its returns. Derivatives may not perform as expected and the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. Whether the Fund's use of derivatives is successful may depend on, among other things, the portfolio managers' ability to correctly forecast market movements, company and industry valuation levels and trends, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, and other factors. If the portfolio managers incorrectly forecast these and other factors, the Fund's performance could suffer. Derivatives are also subject to liquidity risk and the risk that the
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counterparty to a derivative transaction may fail to fulfill its contractualobligations under the derivative contract. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives are subject to the risk that improper or misunderstood documentation may expose the Fund to losses.
● High Portfolio Turnover Risk: High portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs, reduced investment performance, and higher taxes resulting from increased realized capital gains, including short-term capital gains taxable as ordinary income when distributed to shareholders.
● Inflation-Linked Investments Risk:Unlike traditional fixed income securities, the principal and interest payments of inflation-linked investments are adjusted periodically based on the inflation rate. The value of the Fund's inflation-linked investments may be vulnerable to changes in expectations of inflation or interest rates and there is no guarantee that the Fund's use of these instruments will be successful.
● Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk:CMBS include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property. Many of the risks of investing in CMBS reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans. These risks reflect the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants. The economic impacts of COVID-19 have created a unique challenge for real estate markets, with the transition to remote-working environments potentially negatively impacting the occupancy rates of commercial real estate. CMBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities.
An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. For more information on the principal risks of the Fund, please see the "More Information About the Funds - Principal Risks" section in the prospectus.
PERFORMANCE
This prospectus does not show performance information for the Fund because the Fund has not commenced investment operations as of the date of this prospectus. Performance for the Fund, which provides some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund, will vary from year to year. After the Fund begins investment operations, updated performance information will be available at www.lordabbett.com or by calling 888-522-2388.
MANAGEMENT
Investment Adviser.The Fund's investment adviser is Lord Abbett.
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Portfolio Managers
|
Portfolio Managers/Title |
Member of |
|
Robert A. Lee, Partner and Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income |
2024 |
|
Andrew H. O'Brien, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
|
Steven F. Rocco, Partner and Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income |
2024 |
|
Leah G. Traub, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
|
Adam C. Castle, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
|
Harris A. Trifon, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
|
Karen J. Gunnerson, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager |
2024 |
|
Yoana N. Koleva, Partner and Portfolio Manager |
2025 |
PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES
Shares of the Fund may be purchased only by or on behalf of separately managed account clients where Lord Abbett has an agreement with the managed account program sponsor (the "Program Sponsor"), or directly with the client, to provide advisory and administrative and other similar services for compensation to the managed account (each a "Program Account").
The Fund does not impose any maximum or minimum investment requirements. Minimum or maximum investment amounts may be imposed by a Program Sponsor.
Redemption orders are made based on instructions from Lord Abbett or your Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for your Program Account. Shares of the Fund can be redeemed through the broker/dealer on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open.
TAX INFORMATION
The Fund's distributions, if any, generally are taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains or a combination of the two, unless you are a tax-exempt investor or investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Any withdrawals from such a tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
PAYMENTS TO BROKER-DEALERS AND OTHER FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES
If you purchase Fund shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and the Fund's distributor or its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may
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create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your individual financial professional to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your individual financial professional or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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|
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS |
INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES
Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Completion Fund
The Fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income.
Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Plus Completion Fund
The Fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income.
PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
LADS: Core Completion Fund
Under normal conditions, the Fund will pursue its investment objective by investing in fixed income securities of various types. The Fund may invest in debt securities and securities issued by non-U.S. entities, including in emerging markets, and denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
The Fund generally may invest in the following types of debt securities:
● mortgage-backed, mortgage-related, and other asset-backed securities, including privately issued mortgage-related securities, collateralized mortgage obligations and CMBS;
● inflation-linked investments;
● loans, including bridge loans, novations, assignments, and participations;
● structured securities and CLOs;
● derivative instruments, including options, futures contracts, forward contracts, and swap agreements;
● repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
● securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and
● corporate debt securities.
The Fund may invest in individual securities of any maturity or duration and in investment grade debt securities. Investment grade debt securities are securities that are rated within the four highest grades assigned by an independent rating agency such as Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Aaa, Aa, A, Baa), S&P Global Ratings (AAA, AA, A, BBB), or Fitch Ratings (AAA, AA, A, BBB), or are unrated but determined by Lord Abbett to be of comparable quality.
The Fund may invest in floating or adjustable rate loans. The Fund may invest in TIPS, which are U.S. Government bonds whose principal automatically is adjusted
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for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers CPI-U, and other inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any industry. For purposes of this restriction, the Fund does not consider mortgage-backed and mortgage-related securities, including CMBS and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, securitized products, and securities issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities as representing interests in any particular "industry" or group of industries.
The Fund may use derivatives to hedge against risk or to gain investment exposure. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their value from the value of an underlying asset, reference rate, or index. The Fund may use derivatives for hedging purposes, including protecting the Fund's unrealized gains by hedging against possible adverse fluctuations in the securities markets or changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates that may reduce the market value of the Fund's investment portfolio. The Fund also may use derivatives for non-hedging purposes to seek to enhance the Fund's returns, spreads or gains, or to efficiently invest excess cash or quickly gain market exposure. For example, the Fund may invest in or sell short U.S. Treasury futures, securities index futures, other futures, and/or currency forwards to adjust the Fund's exposure to the direction of interest rates, or for other portfolio management reasons. The Fund may engage in derivative transactions on an exchange or in the over-the-counter ("OTC") market.
The types of derivative instruments that the Fund may use include:
● Futures and Options on Futures: The Fund may enter into futures contracts and options on futures contracts, which involve the purchase or sale of a contract to buy or sell a specified security or other financial instrument at a specific future date and price on an exchange or the OTC market. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right to buy or sell a futures contract in exchange for the payment of a premium. The Fund may enter into such contracts as a substitute for taking a position in any underlying asset or to increase returns.
● Foreign Currency Forward Contracts and Options: The Fund may use foreign currency forward contracts and options to hedge the risk to the portfolio that foreign exchange price movements will be unfavorable for U.S. investors. Under some circumstances, the Fund may commit a substantial portion or the entire value of its portfolio to the completion of forward contracts. Generally, these instruments allow the Fund to lock in a specified exchange rate for a period of time. Foreign currency forward contracts also may be used to increase the Fund's exposure to foreign currencies that Lord Abbett believes may rise in value relative to the U.S. dollar or to shift the Fund's exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another.
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● Options: The Fund may purchase call and put options and write (i.e., sell) covered call and put option contracts in accordance with its investment objective and policies. A "call option" is a contract sold for a price giving its holder the right to buy a specific number of securities at a specific price prior to a specified date. A "covered call option" is a call option issued on securities already owned by the writer of the call option for delivery to the holder upon the exercise of the option. A "put option" gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying securities at the exercise price at any time during the option period.
The Fund may purchase and sell call and put options in respect of specific securities (or groups or "baskets" of specific securities) or securities indices, currencies, or futures. The Fund also may enter into OTC options contracts, which are available for a greater variety of securities, and a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices, than are exchange-traded options. Successful use by the Fund of options and options on futures will depend on Lord Abbett's ability to predict correctly movements in the prices of individual securities, the relevant securities market generally, foreign currencies or interest rates.
● Swaps: The Fund may enter into interest rate, equity index, credit, currency, and total return swap agreements, and swaptions (options on swaps) and similar transactions. The Fund may enter into these swap transactions for hedging purposes or in an attempt to obtain a particular return when it is considered desirable to do so. An OTC swap transaction involves an agreement between two parties to exchange different cash flows based on a specified or "notional" amount. The cash flows exchanged in a specific transaction may be, among other things, payments that are the equivalent of interest on a principal amount, payments that would compensate the purchaser for losses on a defaulted security or basket of securities, or payments reflecting the performance of one or more specified currencies, securities or indices. The Fund may enter into OTC swap transactions with counterparties that generally are banks, securities dealers or their respective affiliates. Certain types of swaps, such as interest rate swaps, may be cleared through clearing houses.
The portfolio management team buys and sells securities using a relative value-oriented investment process, meaning the portfolio management team generally seeks more investment exposure to securities believed to be undervalued and less investment exposure to securities believed to be overvalued. The portfolio management team combines top-down and bottom-up analysis to construct its portfolio, using a blend of quantitative and fundamental research. As part of its top-down analysis, the portfolio management team evaluates global economic conditions, including monetary, fiscal, and regulatory policy, as well as the political and geopolitical environment, in order to identify and assess opportunities and risks across different segments of the fixed income market. The portfolio management team employs bottom-up analysis to identify and select securities for investment by the Fund based on in-depth company, industry, and market research and analysis.
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The portfolio management team applies proprietary filters to this analysis to determine security selection, sector exposure, and term structure. The portfolio management team may actively rotate sector exposure based on its assessment of relative value. The Fund engages in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities.
The Fund may sell a security if it no longer meets the Fund's investment criteria or for a variety of other reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, maintain its duration, redeploy assets into opportunities believed to be more promising, increase cash, or satisfy redemption requests, among others. The Fund will not be required to sell a security that has been downgraded after purchase; however, in these cases, the Fund will monitor the situation to determine whether it is advisable for the Fund to continue to hold the security. In considering whether to sell a security, the Fund may evaluate factors including, but not limited to, the condition of the economy, changes in the issuer's competitive position or financial condition, changes in the outlook for the issuer's industry, the Fund's valuation target for the security, and the impact of the security's duration on the Fund's overall duration.
The Fund is intended to be used as part of a broader investment program, and it is expected that the Fund will hold securities and use derivatives, including to hedge some of its investment risk, that the portfolio management team believes will help the overall investment program achieve its investment objective, but that the portfolio management team believes may be transacted in more efficiently through a collective vehicle, such as the Fund, than by each individual separately managed account in the investment program. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program. The Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or to be used as a standalone investment.
Lord Abbett is registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a commodity pool operator ("CPO") under the Commodity Exchange Act ("CEA"). However, with respect to the Fund, Lord Abbett has filed a claim of exclusion from the definition of the term CPO and therefore, Lord Abbett is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the CEA with respect to the Fund.
Temporary Defensive Strategies.The Fund seeks to remain fully invested in accordance with its investment objective. However, in an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may take a temporary defensive position that is inconsistent with its principal investment strategies by holding some or all of its assets in short-term investments. These investments include cash, commercial paper, money market instruments, repurchase agreements, and U.S. Government securities. The Fund also may hold these types of investments while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to manage liquidity. Taking a temporary defensive position could prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund
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Under normal conditions, the Fund will pursue its investment objective by investing in a variety of debt (or fixed-income) securities. The Fund may invest without limitation in high-yield debt securities (commonly referred to as "lower-rated" or "junk" bonds), which are bonds that are rated BB+/Ba1 or lower (at the time of purchase), or an equivalent short-term rating, as applicable, by an independent rating agency or are unrated but deemed by Lord Abbett to be of comparable quality. The Fund may invest in debt securities and securities issued by non-U.S. entities, including in emerging markets, and denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.
The Fund generally may invest in the following types of debt securities:
● mortgage-backed, mortgage-related, and other asset-backed securities, including privately issued mortgage-related securities, collateralized mortgage obligations and CMBS;
● inflation-linked investments;
● loans, including bridge loans, novations, assignments, and participations;
● structured securities and CLOs;
● derivative instruments, including options, futures contracts, forward contracts, and swap agreements;
● repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements;
● securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities; and
● corporate debt securities.
The Fund may invest in TIPS, which are U.S. Government bonds whose principal automatically is adjusted for inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers CPI-U, and other inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The Fund will not invest more than 25% of its total assets in any industry. For purposes of this restriction, the Fund does not consider mortgage-backed and mortgage-related securities, including CMBS and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, securitized products, and securities issued by the U.S. Government, its agencies and instrumentalities as representing interests in any particular "industry" or group of industries.
The Fund may use derivatives to hedge against risk or to gain investment exposure. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their value from the value of an underlying asset, reference rate, or index. The Fund may use derivatives for hedging purposes, including protecting the Fund's unrealized gains by hedging against possible adverse fluctuations in the securities markets or changes in interest rates or currency exchange rates that may reduce the market value of the Fund's investment portfolio. The Fund also may use derivatives for non-hedging purposes to seek to
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enhance the Fund's returns, spreads or gains, or to efficiently invest excess cash or quickly gain market exposure. For example, the Fund may invest in or sell short U.S. Treasury futures, securities index futures, other futures, and/or currency forwards to adjust the Fund's exposure to the direction of interest rates, or for other portfolio management reasons. The Fund may engage in derivative transactions on an exchange or in the OTC market.
The types of derivative instruments that the Fund may use include:
● Futures and Options on Futures: The Fund may enter into futures contracts and options on futures contracts, which involve the purchase or sale of a contract to buy or sell a specified security or other financial instrument at a specific future date and price on an exchange or the OTC market. An option on a futures contract gives the purchaser the right to buy or sell a futures contract in exchange for the payment of a premium. The Fund may enter into such contracts as a substitute for taking a position in any underlying asset or to increase returns.
● Foreign Currency Forward Contracts and Options: The Fund may use foreign currency forward contracts and options to hedge the risk to the portfolio that foreign exchange price movements will be unfavorable for U.S. investors. Under some circumstances, the Fund may commit a substantial portion or the entire value of its portfolio to the completion of forward contracts. Generally, these instruments allow the Fund to lock in a specified exchange rate for a period of time. Foreign currency forward contracts also may be used to increase the Fund's exposure to foreign currencies that Lord Abbett believes may rise in value relative to the U.S. dollar or to shift the Fund's exposure to foreign currency fluctuations from one country to another.
● Options: The Fund may purchase call and put options and write (i.e., sell) covered call and put option contracts in accordance with its investment objective and policies. A "call option" is a contract sold for a price giving its holder the right to buy a specific number of securities at a specific price prior to a specified date. A "covered call option" is a call option issued on securities already owned by the writer of the call option for delivery to the holder upon the exercise of the option. A "put option" gives the purchaser of the option the right to sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying securities at the exercise price at any time during the option period.
The Fund may purchase and sell call and put options in respect of specific securities (or groups or "baskets" of specific securities) or securities indices, currencies, or futures. The Fund also may enter into OTC options contracts, which are available for a greater variety of securities, and a wider range of expiration dates and exercise prices, than are exchange-traded options. Successful use by the Fund of options and options on futures will depend on Lord Abbett's ability to predict correctly movements in the prices of individual securities, the relevant securities market generally, foreign currencies or interest rates.
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● Swaps: The Fund may enter into interest rate, equity index, credit, currency, and total return swap agreements, and swaptions (options on swaps) and similar transactions. The Fund may enter into these swap transactions for hedging purposes or in an attempt to obtain a particular return when it is considered desirable to do so. An OTC swap transaction involves an agreement between two parties to exchange different cash flows based on a specified or "notional" amount. The cash flows exchanged in a specific transaction may be, among other things, payments that are the equivalent of interest on a principal amount, payments that would compensate the purchaser for losses on a defaulted security or basket of securities, or payments reflecting the performance of one or more specified currencies, securities or indices. The Fund may enter into OTC swap transactions with counterparties that generally are banks, securities dealers or their respective affiliates. Certain types of swaps, such as interest rate swaps, may be cleared through clearing houses.
The portfolio management team buys and sells securities using a relative value-oriented investment process, meaning the portfolio management team generally seeks more investment exposure to securities believed to be undervalued and less investment exposure to securities believed to be overvalued. The portfolio management team combines top-down and bottom-up analysis to construct its portfolio, using a blend of quantitative and fundamental research. As part of its top-down analysis, the portfolio management team evaluates global economic conditions, including monetary, fiscal, and regulatory policy, as well as the political and geopolitical environment, in order to identify and assess opportunities and risks across different segments of the fixed income market. The portfolio management team employs bottom-up analysis to identify and select securities for investment by the Fund based on in-depth company, industry, and market research and analysis. The portfolio management team applies proprietary filters to this analysis to determine security selection, sector exposure, and term structure. The portfolio management team may actively rotate sector exposure based on its assessment of relative value. The Fund engages in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities.
The Fund may sell a security if it no longer meets the Fund's investment criteria or for a variety of other reasons, such as to secure gains, limit losses, maintain its duration, redeploy assets into opportunities believed to be more promising, increase cash, or satisfy redemption requests, among others. The Fund will not be required to sell a security that has been downgraded after purchase; however, in these cases, the Fund will monitor the situation to determine whether it is advisable for the Fund to continue to hold the security. In considering whether to sell a security, the Fund may evaluate factors including, but not limited to, the condition of the economy, changes in the issuer's competitive position or financial condition, changes in the outlook for the issuer's industry, the Fund's valuation target for the security, and the impact of the security's duration on the Fund's overall duration.
The Fund is intended to be used as part of a broader investment program, and it is expected that the Fund will hold securities and use derivatives, including to hedge
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some of its investment risk, that the portfolio management team believes will help the overall investment program achieve its investment objective, but that the portfolio management team believes may be transacted in more efficiently through a collective vehicle, such as the Fund, than by each individual separately managed account in the investment program. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program. The Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or to be used as a standalone investment.
Lord Abbett is registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a CPO under the CEA. However, with respect to the Fund, Lord Abbett has filed a claim of exclusion from the definition of the term CPO and therefore, Lord Abbett is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the CEA with respect to the Fund.
Temporary Defensive Strategies.The Fund seeks to remain fully invested in accordance with its investment objective. However, in an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may take a temporary defensive position that is inconsistent with its principal investment strategies by holding some or all of its assets in short-term investments. These investments include cash, commercial paper, money market instruments, repurchase agreements, and U.S. Government securities. The Fund also may hold these types of investments while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to manage liquidity. Taking a temporary defensive position could prevent the Fund from achieving its investment objective.
PRINCIPAL RISKS
As with any investment in a mutual fund, investing in a Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you may lose a portion or all of the money you invested in a Fund. Before you invest in a Fund, you should carefully evaluate the risks in light of your investment goals. An investment in a Fund held for longer periods over full market cycles typically provides more favorable results.
The principal risks you assume when investing in each Fund are described below. The Funds attempt to manage these risks through careful security selection, portfolio diversification, and continual portfolio review and analysis, but there can be no assurance or guarantee that these strategies will be successful in reducing risk. Please see the SAI for a further discussion of certain types of investments and investment techniques that each Fund may use and the risks associated with an investment in the Fund.
All Funds
● Portfolio Management Risk:The Fund is actively managed and depends heavily on its portfolio management team's judgments in selecting investments for the Fund's portfolio. As part of its analysis of an investment opportunity, the
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Fund's portfolio management team may consider a variety of factors and may determine that certain factors are more significant than others in arriving at an investment decision. The strategies used and investments selected by the Fund's portfolio management team may fail to produce the intended result and the Fund may not achieve its objective. The securities selected for the Fund may not perform as well as other securities that were not selected for the Fund. As a result, the Fund may suffer losses or underperform other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, and may generate losses even in a favorable market.
● Market Risk:The market values of securities will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions, governmental actions or intervention, market disruptions caused by trade disputes, tariffs or other factors, political developments, and other factors (such as natural disasters, epidemics and pandemics, terrorism, conflicts and social unrest, or rapid technological developments such as artificial intelligence). Changes in the financial condition of a single issuer can impact a market as a whole. For many fixed income securities, market risk is significantly, but not necessarily exclusively, influenced by changes in interest rates. A rise in interest rates typically causes a decrease in the value of investments in bonds and other debt securities, while a fall in rates typically causes an increase in value. Equity securities have experienced significantly more volatility in returns than fixed income securities over the long term, although under certain market conditions fixed income securities may have comparable or greater price volatility. In addition, data imprecision, technology malfunctions, operational errors, and similar factors may adversely affect a single issuer, a group of issuers, an industry, or the market as a whole. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various securities held by the Fund. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are becoming increasingly interconnected, which raises the likelihood that events or conditions in one country or region will adversely affect markets or issuers in other countries or regions.
● New Fund Risk: The Fund is recently organized. There can be no assurance that the Fund will reach or maintain a sufficient asset size to effectively implement its investment strategy. In addition, the Fund's gross expense ratio may fluctuate during its initial operating period because of the Fund's relatively smaller asset size and, until the Fund achieves sufficient scale, a shareholder of the Fund may experience proportionally higher Fund expenses than would be experienced by shareholders of a fund with a larger asset base.
● Completion Fund Risk:An investment in this Fund is not designed to be a complete investment program or a standalone investment. It is intended to be a component of a broader investment program for whose use the Fund is exclusively designed. The performance and objectives of the Fund should be evaluated only in the context of your complete investment program. The Fund is managed to take into account the investment goals of the broader investment
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program and therefore changes in value of the Fund may be particularly pronounced and the Fund may underperform a similar fund managed without consideration of the broader investment program.
● Fixed Income Securities Risk:The Fund is subject to the general risks and considerations associated with investing in debt securities, including the risk that issuers will fail to make timely payments of principal or interest or default altogether. Typically, shorter-term bonds are less volatile than longer-term bonds; however, longer-term bonds typically offer higher yields and more stable interest income than shorter-term bonds due to their longer term and extended fixed payment schedule. Lower-rated securities in which the Fund may invest may be more volatile and may decline more in price in response to negative issuer developments or general economic news than higher rated securities. In addition, as interest rates rise, the Fund's investments typically will lose value. Fiscal, economic, monetary, or other governmental policies ormeasures have in the past-and may in the future-cause or exacerbate interest rate risks.
● Credit Risk:Debt securities are subject to the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a security may not make interest and principal payments as they become due or may default altogether. Litigation, legislation or other political events, business or economic conditions, or the bankruptcy of the issuer could have a significant effect on an issuer's ability to make payments of principal and interest. In addition, if the market perceives a deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer, the value and liquidity of securities issued by that issuer may decline. Credit risk varies based on the economic and fiscal conditions of each issuer. To the extent the Fund holds below investment grade securities, these risks may be heightened. The credit quality of the Fund's portfolio securities or instruments may meet the Fund's credit quality requirements at the time of purchase but then deteriorate thereafter, and such a deterioration can occur rapidly. In certain instances, the downgrading or default of a single holding or guarantor of the Fund's holding may impair the Fund's liquidity and have the potential to cause significant NAV deterioration. Insurance or other credit enhancements supporting the Fund's investment may be provided by either U.S. or foreign entities. These securities have the credit risk of the entity providing the credit support in addition to the credit risk of the underlying investment that is being enhanced. Credit support provided by foreign entities may be less certain because of the possibility of adverse foreign economic, political or legal developments that may affect the ability of the entity to meet its obligations. A change in the credit rating or the market's perception of the creditworthiness of any of the bond insurers that insure securities in the Fund's portfolio may affect the value of the securities they insure, the Fund's share prices, and Fund performance. A downgrading of an insurer's credit rating or a default by the insurer could reduce the credit rating of an insured bond and, therefore, its value. The Fund also may be adversely affected by the inability of an insurer to meet its insurance obligations.
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● Interest Rate Risk:As interest rates rise, prices of bonds (including tax-exempt bonds) generally fall, typically causing the Fund's investments to lose value. Additionally, rising interest rates or lack of market participants may lead to decreased liquidity in fixed income markets. Interest rate changes generally have a more pronounced effect on the market value of fixed-rate instruments, such as corporate bonds, than they have on floating rate instruments, and typically have a greater effect on the price of fixed income securities with longer durations. Interest rate changes can be sudden and unpredictable, and the Fund may lose money as a result of movements in interest rates. A wide variety of market factors can cause interest rates to rise, including central bank monetary policy, rising inflation, and changes in general economic conditions. To the extent the Fund invests in floating rate instruments, changes in short-term market interest rates may affect the yield on those investments. If short-term market interest rates fall, the yield on the Fund's shares will also fall. Conversely, when short-term market interest rates rise, because of the lag between changes in such short-term rates and the resetting of the floating rates on the floating rate debt in the Fund's portfolio, the impact of rising rates may be delayed. To the extent the Fund invests in fixed rate instruments, fluctuations in the market price of such investments may not affect interest income derived from those instruments, but may nonetheless affect the Fund's NAV, especially if the instrument has a longer maturity. Substantial increases in interest rates may cause an increase in issuer defaults, as issuers may lack resources to meet higher debt service requirements.
● Liquidity/Redemption Risk:The Fund may lose money when selling securities at inopportune times to fulfill shareholder redemption requests. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests, whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices, and whether the securities the Fund intends to sell have decreased in value or are illiquid. The Fund may be less able to sell illiquid securities at its desired time or price. It may be more difficult for the Fund to value its investments in illiquid securities than more liquid securities. Illiquidity can occur quickly and be caused by a variety of factors, including economic conditions, geopolitical events such as sanctions, trading halts or wars, market events, events relating to the issuer of the securities, a drop in overall market trading volume, an inability to find a ready buyer, or legal restrictions on the securities' resale. Certain securities that are liquid when purchased may later become illiquid, particularly in times of overall economic distress or due to geopolitical events such as sanctions, trading halts, or wars. Liquidity risk may be magnified in a rising interest rate environment or other circumstances where investor redemptions from the mutual funds may be higher than normal, causing increased supply in the market due to selling activity. The SEC has in the past proposed amendments to certain rules under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), that, if adopted, would have caused more investments to be treated as illiquid, which could have prevented the Fund from investing in securities that Lord Abbett believes are appropriate or desirable.
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While the SEC has withdrawn certain of these proposed amendments, there can be no assurance that the SEC will not re-propose similar or related rulemaking in the future, which could adversely affect the Fund's ability to implement its investment strategies.
● Government Securities Risk:The Fund invests in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and instrumentalities (such as Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac securities). Securities issued or guaranteed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are not issued directly by the U.S. Government. Ginnie Mae is a wholly-owned U.S. corporation that is authorized to guarantee, with the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, the timely payment of principal and interest of its securities. By contrast, securities issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government related organizations, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government. Different types of U.S. government securities are subject to different levels of credit risk, including the risk of default, depending on the nature of the particular government support for that security. No assurance can be given that the U.S. Government would provide financial support to its agencies and instrumentalities if not required to do so by law. The maximum potential liability of the issuers of some U.S. government securities may greatly exceed their current resources, including their legal right to support from the U.S. Treasury. It is possible that these issuers will not have the funds to meet their payment obligations in the future. The downgrade in the long-term U.S. credit rating by all three major rating agencies has introduced greater uncertainty about the ability of the United States to repay its obligations. Further credit rating downgrades or a U.S. credit default may result in increased volatility or liquidity risk, higher interest rates and lower prices for U.S. government securities and increased costs for all kinds of debt.
● Mortgage-Related and Other Asset-Backed Securities Risk:Mortgage-related securities, including CMBS and other privately issued mortgage-related securities, and other asset-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates and economic conditions, including delinquencies and defaults. The prices of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, depending on their structure and the rate of payments, can be volatile. Like other debt securities, when interest rates rise, the value of mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities generally will decline; however, when interest rates are declining, the value of mortgage-related securities with prepayment features may not increase as much as other fixed income securities. Alternatively, rising interest rates may cause prepayments to occur at a slower-than-expected rate, extending the duration of a security and typically reducing its value. Early repayment of principal on some mortgage-related securities may deprive the Fund of income payments above current market rates. The payment rate thus will affect the price and volatility of a mortgage-related security. The value of some mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities may fluctuate in response to the market's perception of the
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creditworthiness of the issuers. Additionally, although mortgages and mortgage-related securities generally are supported by some form of government or private guarantee and/or insurance, there is no assurance that private guarantors or insurers will meet their obligations.
● Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Risk:CMBS include securities that reflect an interest in, and are secured by, mortgage loans on commercial real property (such as office properties, retail properties, hospitality properties, industrial properties, healthcare-related properties or other types of income producing real property). Many of the risks of investing in CMBS reflect the risks of investing in the real estate securing the underlying mortgage loans, which include the risks associated with the effects of local and other economic conditions on real estate markets, the ability of tenants to make loan payments, increases in interest rates, real estate tax rates and other operating expenses, changes in governmental rules, regulations and fiscal policies, the effects of and responses to infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, and the ability of a property to attract and retain tenants. There is still uncertainty regarding the potential consequences of the partial or full transition to a remote working environment that took place during or as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This transition may be short term or may continue and may negatively impact the occupancy rates of commercial real estate over time. CMBS depend on cash flows generated by underlying commercial real estate loans, receivables, and other assets, and can be significantly affected by changes in market and economic conditions, the availability of information regarding the underlying assets and their structures, and the creditworthiness of the borrowers or tenants. CMBS may be less liquid and exhibit greater price volatility than other types of mortgage- or asset-backed securities. CMBS issued by private issuers may offer higher yields than CMBS issued by government issuers, but also may be subject to greater volatility than CMBS issued by government issuers. The CMBS market may experience substantially lower valuations and greatly reduced liquidity. CMBS held by the Fund may be subordinated to one or more other classes of securities of the same series for purposes of, among other things, establishing payment priorities and offsetting losses and other shortfalls with respect to the related underlying mortgage loans. There can be no assurance that the subordination will be sufficient on any date to offset all losses or expenses incurred by the underlying trust.
● Inflation-Linked Investments Risk:Unlike traditional fixed income securities, the principal and interest payments of inflation-linked investments are adjusted periodically based on the inflation rate. As inflation increases, the value of the Fund's assets can decline as can the value of the Fund's distributions. Although the Fund invests in inflation-linked investments, the value of its securities may be vulnerable to changes in expectations of inflation or interest rates. Changes in interest rates may be sudden and unexpected, and could adversely affect the value (or income generated by) and liquidity of the Fund's investments, which may in turn impact the Fund's ability to sell securities. Although
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inflation-linked investments are expected to be protected from long-term inflationary trends, short-term increases in inflation may lead to a decline in value. If interest rates rise because of reasons other than inflation (for example, because of changes in currency exchange rates), investors in these securities may not be protected to the extent that the increase is not reflected in the security's inflation measure. There is no guarantee that the Fund will generate returns that exceed the rate of inflation in the U.S. economy over time or that the Fund's use of inflation-linked investments will be successful. Furthermore, during periods of deflation or periods when the actual rate of inflation is lower than anticipated, the Fund is likely to underperform funds that hold fixed income securities similar to those held by the Fund but do not hold inflation-linked investments.
● Foreign and Emerging Market Company Risk: Investments in foreign (including emerging market) companies and in U.S. companies with economic ties to foreign markets generally involve special risks that can increase the likelihood that the Fund will lose money. For example, as compared with companies organized and operated in the U.S., these companies may be more vulnerable to economic, political, and social instability and subject to less government supervision, lack of transparency, inadequate regulatory and accounting standards, and foreign taxes. In addition, the securities of foreign companies also may be subject to inadequate exchange control regulations (including limitations on currency movements and exchanges), the imposition of economic sanctions or tariffs or threat thereof or other government restrictions, higher transaction and other costs, and delays in settlement to the extent they are traded on non-U.S. exchanges or markets. Investments in foreign companies also may be adversely affected by governmental actions such as the nationalization of companies or industries, expropriation of assets, or confiscatory taxation. Foreign company securities also include ADRs, GDRs, and other similar depositary receipts. ADRs, GDRs, and other similar depositary receipts may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
Foreign company securities also may be subject to thin trading volumes and reduced liquidity, which may lead to greater price fluctuation. A change in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar will change the value of securities held by the Fund that are denominated in that foreign currency, including the value of any income distributions payable to the Fund as a holder of such securities. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time for a number of reasons, including changes in interest rates and the overall economic health of the issuer. Devaluation of a currency by a country's government or banking authority also will have an adverse impact on the U.S. dollar value of any investments denominated in that currency. These and other factors can materially adversely affect the prices of securities the Fund holds, impair the Fund's ability to buy or sell securities at their desired price or time, or otherwise adversely affect the Fund's operations. The Fund may invest in securities of issuers, including emerging market issuers, whose economic
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fortunes are linked to non-U.S. markets, but which principally are traded on a U.S. securities market or exchange and denominated in U.S. dollars. To the extent the Fund invests in this manner, the percentage of the Fund's assets that is exposed to the risks associated with foreign companies may exceed the percentage of the Fund's assets that is invested in foreign securities that are principally traded outside of the U.S.
The Fund's investments in emerging market companies generally are subject to heightened risks compared to its investments in developed market companies. Investments with economic exposure to emerging markets may be considered speculative and generally are riskier than investments in more developed markets because such markets tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations. Securities of emerging market companies may have far lower trading volumes, tend to be less liquid, be subject to greater price volatility, have a smaller market capitalization, have less government regulation and may not be subject to as extensive and frequent accounting, financial and other reporting requirements as securities issued in more developed countries. Further, investing in the securities of issuers with economic exposure to emerging countries may present a greater risk of loss resulting from problems in security registration and custody, substantial economic or political disruptions, terrorism, armed conflicts and other geopolitical events, and the impact of tariffs and other restrictions on trade or economic sanctions. Geopolitical events such as nationalization or expropriation could even cause the loss of the Fund's entire investment in one or more country. In addition, infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics may exacerbate pre-existing problems in emerging market countries with less established health care systems. In certain emerging market countries, governments participate to a significant degree, through ownership or regulation, in their respective economies. Action by these governments could have a significant adverse effect on market prices of securities and payment of dividends. The Fund may invest in securities of companies whose economic fortunes are linked to emerging markets but which principally are traded on a non-emerging market exchange. Such investments do not meet the Fund's definition of an emerging market security. To the extent the Fund invests in this manner, the percentage of the Fund's portfolio that is exposed to emerging market risks may be greater than the percentage of the Fund's assets that the Fund defines as representing emerging market securities.
● Foreign Currency Risk: Investments in securities that are denominated or receiving revenues in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar, or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time. A decline in the value of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will reduce the value of securities that are denominated in those currencies. The Fund may engage in foreign currency
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hedging transactions to attempt to protect the Fund from adverse currency movements. Such transactions include the risk that Lord Abbett will not accurately predict currency movements. As a result, the Fund may experience significant losses or see its return reduced. Also, it may be difficult or impractical to hedge currency risk in many developing or emerging markets. The risks associated with exposure to emerging market currencies may be heightened in comparison to those associated with exposure to developed market currencies.
● Loan Risk: Investments in floating or adjustable rate loans are subject to increased credit and liquidity risks. Loan prices also may be adversely affected by supply-demand imbalances caused by conditions in the loan market or related markets. The frequency and magnitude of such changes cannot be predicted. Below investment grade loans, like high-yield debt securities, or junk bonds, usually are more credit sensitive than interest rate sensitive, although the value of these instruments may be affected by interest rate swings in the overall fixed income market. Loans may be subject to structural subordination and may be subordinated to other obligations of the borrower or its subsidiaries. In some cases, no active trading market may exist for certain loans, which may impair the ability of the Fund to realize full value in the event of the need to sell a loan and may make it difficult for the Fund to value loans.
Compared to securities and to certain other types of financial assets, purchases and sales of loans take longer to settle. This extended settlement process can (i) increase the counterparty risk borne by the Fund; (ii) leave the Fund unable to timely exercise voting and other rights as a holder of loans it has agreed to purchase; (iii) delay the Fund from realizing the proceeds of a sale of a loan; (iv) inhibit the Fund's ability to re-sell a loan that it has agreed to purchase if conditions change (leaving the Fund more exposed to price fluctuations); (v) prevent the Fund from timely collecting principal and interest payments; and (vi) expose the Fund to adverse tax or regulatory consequences. To the extent the extended loan settlement process gives rise to short-term liquidity needs, such as the need to satisfy redemption requests, the Fund may hold cash, sell investments, or temporarily borrow from banks or other lenders.
In certain circumstances, loans may not be considered securities, and in the event of fraud or misrepresentation by a borrower or an arranger, the Fund will not have the protection of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, as would be the case for bonds or stocks. Instead, in such cases, the Fund generally will rely on the contractual provisions in the loan agreement itself, and common-law fraud protections under applicable state law.
● Collateralized Loan Obligations and Other Collateralized Obligations Risk:An investment in a CLO can be viewed as investing in (or through) another investment adviser and is subject to the layering of fees associated with such an investment. The cash flows from a CLO are divided into two or more classes called "tranches," each having a different risk-reward structure in terms of the
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right (or priority) to receive interest payments from the CLO. The risks of an investment in a CLO depend largely on the type of the collateral held in the CLO portfolio and the tranche of securities in which the Fund invests. The risks of investing in a CLO generally can be summarized as a combination of economic risks of the underlying loans combined with the risks associated with the CLO structure governing the priority of payments, and include interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, prepayment risk, and the risk of default of the underlying asset, among others.
● Derivatives Risk:The risks associated with derivatives may be different from and greater than the risks associated with directly investing in securities and other investments. Derivatives may increase the Fund's volatility and reduce its returns. The risks associated with derivatives include, among other things, the following:
● The risk that the value of a derivative may not correlate with the value of the underlying asset, rate, or index in the manner anticipated by the portfolio management team and may be more sensitive to changes in economic or market conditions than anticipated.
● Derivatives may be difficult to value, especially under stressed or unforeseen market conditions.
● The risk that the counterparty may fail to fulfill its contractual obligations under the derivative contract. Central clearing of derivatives is intended to decrease counterparty risk but does not eliminate it.
● The risk that there will not be a liquid trading market for the derivative, or that the Fund will otherwise be unable to sell or otherwise close a derivatives position when desired, exposing the Fund to additional losses.
● Because derivatives generally involve a small initial investment relative to the risk assumed (known as leverage), derivatives can magnify the Fund's losses and increase its volatility.
● The Fund's use of derivatives may affect the amount, timing, and character of distributions, and may cause the Fund to realize more short-term capital gain and ordinary income than if the Fund did not use derivatives.
There is no assurance that the Fund will be able to employ its derivatives strategies successfully. Derivatives may not perform as expected and the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. Whether the Fund's use of derivatives is successful may depend on, among other things, the portfolio managers' ability to correctly forecast market movements, company and industry valuation levels and trends, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, and other factors. If the portfolio managers incorrectly forecast these and other factors, the Fund's performance could suffer. Although hedging may reduce or eliminate losses, it also may reduce or eliminate gains. When used for hedging purposes, the changes in value of a derivative may not correlate as expected with the currency,
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security, portfolio, or other risk being hedged. When used as an alternative or substitute for, or in combination with, direct investments, the return provided by the derivative may not provide the same return as direct investment. In addition, given their complexity, derivatives are subject to the risk that improper or misunderstood documentation may expose the Fund to losses.
The U.S. Government has enacted legislation that provides for additional regulation of the derivatives market, including clearing, margin, reporting, and registration requirements. The European Union ("EU"), the United Kingdom ("UK"), and other jurisdictions have implemented or are in the process of implementing similar requirements, which will affect the Fund when it enters into a derivatives transaction with a counterparty organized in such a jurisdiction or otherwise subject to that jurisdiction's derivatives regulations. These regulations continue to evolve and their ultimate impact on the Fund remains unclear. It is possible that government regulation of various types of derivative instruments could potentially limit or restrict the ability of the Fund to use these instruments as a part of its investment strategy, increase the costs of using these instruments, make them less effective, or otherwise adversely affect their value. Limits or restrictions applicable to the counterparties with which the Fund engages in derivative transactions could also prevent the Fund from using these instruments or affect the pricing or other factors relating to these instruments.
● High Portfolio Turnover Risk: High portfolio turnover may result in increased transaction costs. These costs are not reflected in the Fund's annual operating expenses or in the expense example in the prospectus and shareholder reports, but they can reduce the Fund's investment performance. If the Fund realizes capital gains when it sells investments, it generally must distribute those gains to shareholders, resulting in higher taxes to shareholders when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. Realized capital gains that are considered "short term" for tax purposes result in higher taxes to shareholders when distributed than long term capital gains.
LADS: CORE PLUS COMPLETION FUND
● High Yield Securities Risk: High yield securities (commonly referred to as "junk" bonds) typically pay a higher yield than investment grade securities, but may have greater price fluctuations and have a higher risk of default than investment grade securities. The market for high yield securities may be less liquid due to such factors as specific industry developments, interest rate sensitivity, negative perceptions of the junk bond markets generally, and less secondary market liquidity, and may be subject to greater credit risk than investment grade securities. Below investment grade securities are speculative due to their increased credit risk relative to other fixed-income investments and have poor prospects for reaching investment grade standing. Issuers of below investment grade securities generally are not as strong financially as those issuers with higher credit ratings, and are more likely to encounter financial difficulties, especially during periods of rising interest rates or other unfavorable
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economic or market conditions. Below investment grade securities are subject to the increased risk of an issuer's inability to meet principal and interest obligations and a greater risk of default. Some issuers of below investment grade securities may be more likely to default as to principal or interest payments after the Fund purchases their securities. A default, or concerns in the market about an increase in risk of default or the deterioration in the creditworthiness of an issuer, may result in losses to the Fund. The Fund may incur higher expenses to protect its interests in such securities and may lose its entire investment in defaulted bonds.
The secondary market for high yield securities is concentrated in relatively few market makers and is dominated by institutional investors, including mutual funds, insurance companies, and other financial institutions. As a result, the secondary market for such securities is not as liquid as, and is more volatile than, the secondary market for higher rated securities. In addition, market trading volume for lower rated securities is generally lower and the secondary market for such securities could shrink or disappear suddenly and without warning as a result of adverse market or economic conditions, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. Because of the lack of sufficient market liquidity, the Fund may incur losses because it may be required to effect sales at a disadvantageous time and then only at a substantial drop in price. These factors may have an adverse effect on the market price and the Fund's ability to dispose of particular portfolio investments. A less liquid secondary market also may make it more difficult for the Fund to obtain precise valuations of the below investment grade securities in its portfolio.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTMENT AND OPERATIONAL RISKS
In addition to the principal investment risks described above, each Fund may also be subject to other investment and operational risks, including:
● Cyber Security Risk:As the use of technology has become more prevalent in the course of business, Lord Abbett and other service providers have become more susceptible to operational and information security risks. Cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events and include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to electronic systems for purposes of misappropriating assets, personally identifiable information ("PII") or proprietary information (e.g., trading models and algorithms), corrupting data, or causing operational disruption, for example, by compromising trading systems or accounting platforms. Other ways in which the business operations of Lord Abbett, other service providers, or issuers of securities in which Lord
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Abbett invests a shareholder's assets may be impacted include interference with a shareholder's ability to value its portfolio, the unauthorized release of PII or confidential information, and violations of applicable privacy, recordkeeping and other laws. A shareholder and/or its account could be negatively impacted as a result.
While Lord Abbett has established internal risk management security protocols designed to identify, protect against, detect, respond to and recover from cyber security incidents, there are inherent limitations in such protocols including the possibility that certain threats and vulnerabilities have not been identified or made public due to the evolving nature of cyber security threats. Furthermore, Lord Abbett cannot control the cyber security systems of third-party service providers or issuers. Any problems relating to the performance and effectiveness of security procedures used by the Fund or its service providers to protect the Fund's assets, such as algorithms, codes, passwords, multiple signature systems, encryption and telephone call-backs, may have an adverse impact on the Fund or its investors. Furthermore, as the Fund's assets grow, it may become a more appealing target for cybersecurity threats such as hackers and malware. Geopolitical tensions could increase the scale and sophistication of deliberate cybersecurity attacks, particularly those from nation-states or from entities with nation-state backing. There currently is no insurance policy available to cover all of the potential risks associated with cyber incidents. Unless specifically agreed by Lord Abbett separately or required by law, Lord Abbett is not a guarantor against, or obligor for, any damages resulting from a cyber security-related incident.
● Artificial Intelligence Risk:Lord Abbett and the Fund's other service providers may utilize AI in their business operations, and the challenges with properly managing its use could result in reputational harm, competitive harm, and legal liability, and/or an adverse effect on Lord Abbett's or the Fund's other service providers' business operations. AI models may rely on techniques such as natural language processing and machine learning which are less transparent or interpretable and may produce unexpected results, which could adversely impact the Fund. If the content, analyses, or recommendations that AI applications assist Lord Abbett or the Fund's other service providers in producing are or are alleged to be deficient, inaccurate, or biased, the Fund may be adversely affected. Additionally, AI tools used by Lord Abbett may produce inaccurate, misleading or incomplete responses that could lead to errors in Lord Abbett's and its employees' decision-making, portfolio management or other business activities, which could have a negative impact on the performance of the Fund. Such AI tools could also be used against Lord Abbett, the Fund's other service providers or the Fund and its investments in criminal or negligent ways. Lord Abbett's competitors or other third parties could incorporate AI into their products more quickly or more successfully, which could impair Lord Abbett's ability to compete effectively. Legal and regulatory changes,
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particularly related to information privacy and data protection, may have an impact on AI, and may additionally impact Lord Abbett and the Fund.
● Large Transactions Risk:To the extent a large number of shares of the Fund are held by a single shareholder or group of related shareholders (e.g., an institutional investor, another Lord Abbett Fund or multiple accounts advised by a common adviser) or a group of shareholders with a common investment strategy, the Fund is subject to the risk that a redemption by those shareholders of all or a large portion of their Fund shares will adversely affect the Fund's performance by forcing the Fund to sell portfolio securities, potentially at disadvantageous prices, to raise the cash needed to satisfy the redemption request. In addition, the funds and other accounts over which Lord Abbett has investment discretion that invest in the Fund may not be limited in how often they may purchase or sell Fund shares. Certain Lord Abbett Funds or accounts may hold substantial percentages of the shares of the Fund, and asset allocation decisions by Lord Abbett may result in substantial redemptions from (or investments in) the Fund. A large number of shareholders collectively may purchase or redeem Fund shares in large amounts rapidly or unexpectedly (collectively, such transaction are referred to as "large shareholder transactions"). Large shareholder transactions may adversely affect the Fund's performance to the extent that the Fund is required to sell investments (or invest cash) when it would not otherwise do so. Redemptions of a large number of shares also may affect the liquidity of the Fund's portfolio, increase transaction costs or, by necessitating a sale of portfolio securities, have adverse tax consequences for Fund shareholders, particularly those who do not hold their Fund shares in an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged plan. To the extent that such transactions result in short-term capital gains, such gains will generally be taxed at the ordinary income tax rate for shareholders who hold Fund shares in a taxable account. Additionally, redemptions by a large shareholder also potentially limit the use of any capital loss carryforwards and other losses to offset future realized capital gains (if any) and may limit or prevent the Fund's use of tax equalization.
A number of circumstances may cause the Fund to experience large redemptions, such as changes in the eligibility criteria for a Fund or share class of the Fund; liquidations, reorganizations, repositionings, or other announced Fund events; or changes in investment objectives, strategies, policies, risks, or investment personnel. Large redemptions may be more likely during times of market stress or reduced liquidity, exacerbating the potential impact on the Fund. In addition, Fund returns may be adversely affected if the Fund holds a portion of its assets in liquid, cash-like investments in connection with or in anticipation of shareholder redemptions.
● Operational Risk:The Fund also is subject to the risk of loss as a result of other services provided by Lord Abbett and other service providers, including pricing, administrative, accounting, tax, legal, custody, transfer agency, and other services. Operational risk includes the possibility of loss caused by
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inadequate procedures and controls, human error, and system failures by a service provider, each of which may negatively affect the Fund's performance. For example, trading delays or errors could prevent the Fund from benefiting from potential investment gains or avoiding losses. In addition, a service provider may be unable to provide an NAV for the Fund or share class on a timely basis. Similar types of operational risks also are present for issuers of securities in which the Fund invests, which could result in material adverse consequences for such issuers, and may cause the Fund's investment in such securities to lose value.
● Business Continuity Risk:Lord Abbett has developed a Business Continuity Program (the "Program") that is designed to minimize the disruption of normal business operations in the event of an adverse incident impacting Lord Abbett, its affiliates, or the Fund. While Lord Abbett believes that the Program should enable it to reestablish normal business operations in a timely manner in the event of an adverse incident, there are inherent limitations in such programs (including the possibility that contingencies have not been anticipated and procedures do not work as intended) and, under some circumstances, Lord Abbett, its affiliates, and any vendors used by Lord Abbett, its affiliates, or the Fund could be prevented or hindered from providing services to the Fund for extended periods of time. These circumstances may include, without limitation, acts of God, acts of governments, any act of declared or undeclared war or of a public enemy (including acts of terrorism), power shortages or failures, utility or communication failure or delays, labor disputes, strikes, shortages, supply shortages, system failures or malfunctions. The Fund's ability to recover any losses or expenses it incurs as a result of a disruption of business operations may be limited by the liability, standard of care, and related provisions in its contractual arrangements with Lord Abbett and other service providers.
● Market Disruption and Geopolitical Risk:Geopolitical and other events (e.g., tariffs and other trade barriers, wars, terrorism, natural disasters, infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics), or the threat of or potential for one or more such events, may disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets, thereby decreasing the value of the Fund's investments. Sudden or significant changes in the supply or prices of commodities or other economic inputs may have material and unexpected effects on both global securities markets and individual countries, regions, sectors, companies, or industries, which could significantly reduce the value of the Fund's investments. Wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics could result in unplanned or significant securities market closures or declines. Securities markets also may be susceptible to market manipulation or other fraudulent trading practices, which could disrupt the orderly functioning of markets, increase overall market volatility, or reduce the value of investments traded in them, including investments of the Fund. Instances of fraud and other deceptive practices committed by senior management of certain companies in which the Fund invests may undermine Lord Abbett's due diligence efforts with
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respect to such companies, and if such fraud is discovered, negatively affect the value of the Fund's investments. Financial fraud also may impact the rates or indices underlying the Fund's investments.
Raising the U.S. Government debt ceiling has become increasingly politicized. Any failure to increase the total amount that the U.S. Government is authorized to borrow could lead to a default on U.S. Government obligations. A default by the U.S. Government would be highly disruptive to the U.S. and global securities markets and could significantly reduce the value of the Fund's investments. Similarly, political events within the United States at times have resulted, and may in the future result, in a shutdown of government services, which could adversely affect the U.S. economy, decrease the value of many Fund investments, and increase uncertainty in or impair the operation of the U.S. or other securities markets.
Substantial government interventions (e.g., currency controls) also could adversely affect the Fund. War, terrorism, economic uncertainty, and related geopolitical events have led, and in the future may lead, to increased short-term market volatility and may have adverse long-term effects on U.S. and world economies and markets generally. Likewise, sanctions threatened or imposed by jurisdictions, including the United States, against a country or entities or individuals in another country (such as sanctions imposed against Russia, Russian entities and Russian individuals in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022) may impair the value and liquidity of securities issued by issuers in such country and may result in the Fund using fair valuation procedures to value such securities. Even if the Fund does not have significant investments in securities affected by sanctions, sanctions, or the threat of sanctions (including any retaliatory responses to such sanctions), may cause volatility in regional and global markets and may negatively impact the performance of various sectors and industries, as well as companies in other countries, including through global supply chain disruptions, increased inflationary pressures and reduced economic activity, which could have a negative effect on the performance of the Fund. Furthermore, if after investing in the Fund an investor is included on a sanctions list, the Fund may be required to cease any further dealings with the investor's interest in the Fund until such sanctions are lifted or a license is sought under applicable law to continue dealings. Although Lord Abbett expends significant effort to comply with the sanctions regimes in the countries where it operates, one of these rules could be violated by Lord Abbett's or the Fund's activities or investors, which would adversely affect the Fund.
In addition, natural and environmental disasters, (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes), infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, and systemic market dislocations, have been highly disruptive to economies and markets, adversely affecting individual companies and industries, securities markets, interest rates, credit ratings, inflation, investor sentiment, and other factors affecting the value of the Fund's investments. During such market disruptions,
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the Fund's exposure to the risks described elsewhere in the "Principal Risks" section of the prospectus will likely increase. Market disruptions and sudden government interventions can also prevent the Fund from implementing its investment strategies and achieving its investment objective. To the extent the Fund has focused its investments in the stock index of a particular region, adverse geopolitical and other events in that region could have a disproportionate impact on the Fund.
Adverse developments that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, may reduce liquidity in the market generally or have other adverse effects on the economy, the Fund or issuers in which the Fund invests. In addition, issuers in which the Fund invests and the Fund may not be able to identify all potential solvency or stress concerns with respect to a financial institution or to transfer assets from one bank or financial institution to another in a timely manner in the event such bank or financial institution comes under stress or fails.
The impacts and effects of infectious illness outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics (such as the COVID-19 outbreak), may be short term or may continue for an extended period of time. For example, a global pandemic or other widespread health crises could negatively affect the global economy, the economies of individual countries, and the financial performance of individual issuers, sectors, industries, asset classes, and markets in significant and unforeseen ways. Health crises caused by outbreaks of disease may also exacerbate other pre-existing political, social, and economic risks in certain countries or globally. The foregoing could disrupt the operations of the Fund and its service providers, adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Fund's investments, and negatively impact the Fund's performance and an investment in the Fund.
Advancements in technology may also adversely impact markets and the overall performance of the Fund. For instance, the economy may be significantly impacted by the advanced development and increased regulation of technology. As the use of technology grows, liquidity and market movements may be affected. As technology is used more widely in the asset management industry, the profitability and growth of Fund holdings may be impacted, which could significantly impact the overall performance of the Fund.
● Valuation Risk:The valuation of the Fund's investments involves subjective judgment. There can be no assurance that the Fund will value its investments in a manner that accurately reflects their current market values or that the Fund will be able to sell any investment at a price equal to the valuation ascribed to that investment for purposes of calculating the Fund's NAV. Incorrect valuations of the Fund's portfolio holdings could result in the Fund's shareholder transactions being effected at an NAV that does not accurately reflect the underlying value of the Fund's portfolio, resulting in the dilution of shareholder interests.
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DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS
A description of the Funds' policies and procedures regarding the disclosure of the Funds' portfolio holdings is available in the SAI. Further information is available at www.lordabbett.com.
MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE FUNDS
Board of Trustees. The Board oversees the management of the business and affairs of the Funds. The Board appoints officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Funds and who execute policies authorized by the Board. At least 75 percent of the Board members are not "interested persons" (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Funds.
Investment Adviser.Lord Abbett, located at 30 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302-4804, serves as the investment adviser to the Lord Abbett Funds and other investment vehicles. Founded in 1929, Lord Abbett is an independent, privately held investment management firm providing active investment management to individual and institutional clients globally. As of December 31, 2025, Lord Abbett managed approximately $247.4 billion in assets across a broad range of strategies.
The firm offers investment solutions through U.S.-registered mutual funds, Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) funds, separate accounts, Collective Investment Trusts (CITs), and other commingled products. Lord Abbett's investment capabilities span fixed income, equity, multi-asset and alternative strategies, supported by fundamental research and a collaborative investment process.
Portfolio Managers.The Funds are managed by experienced portfolio managers responsible for investment decisions together with a team of investment professionals who provide issuer, industry, sector and macroeconomic research and analysis. The SAI contains additional information about portfolio manager compensation, other accounts managed, and ownership of shares of the Funds.
LADS: Core Completion Fund.Robert A. Lee, Partner and Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income, heads the Fund's team. Mr. Lee joined Lord Abbett in 1997. Additional members of the Fund's team are Andrew H. O'Brien, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Leah G. Traub, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Adam C. Castle, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Harris A. Trifon, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Karen J. Gunnerson, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, and Yoana N. Koleva, Partner and Portfolio Manager. Mr. Trifon was formerly a Co-Head of Mortgage and Consumer Credit at Western Asset Management from 2014 to 2021. Messrs. O'Brien, Castle, Trifon, and Mses. Traub, Gunnerson, and Koleva joined Lord Abbett in 1998, 2015, 2021, 2007, 2017, and 2011, respectively. Messrs. Lee, O'Brien, Castle, Trifon, and Mses. Traub, Gunnerson, and Koleva are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
LADS: Core Plus Completion Fund.Robert A. Lee, Partner and Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income, heads the Fund's team. Mr. Lee joined Lord Abbett in 1997.
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Additional members of the Fund's team are Andrew H. O'Brien, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Steven F. Rocco, Partner and Co-Head of Taxable Fixed Income, Leah G. Traub, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Adam C. Castle, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Harris A. Trifon, Partner and Portfolio Manager, Karen J. Gunnerson, Senior Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, and Yoana N. Koleva, Partner and Portfolio Manager. Mr. Trifon was formerly a Co-Head of Mortgage and Consumer Credit at Western Asset Management from 2014 to 2021. Messrs. O'Brien, Rocco, Castle, Trifon, and Mses. Traub, Gunnerson, and Koleva joined Lord Abbett in 1998, 2004, 2015, 2021, 2007, 2017, and 2011, respectively. Messrs. Lee, O'Brien, Rocco, Castle, Trifon, and Mses. Traub, Gunnerson, and Koleva are jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.
Management and Other Fees.The Funds do not pay any fee, including a management or administrative fee, to Lord Abbett. Shares of the Funds are available only to Program Account clients. Such investors pay an advisory fee, or other fee that covers advisory and administrative or other similar services, which fee is paid at the Program Account level. Participants in a Program Account should review the Program Account brochure or literature provided by the Program Sponsor for a discussion of fees and expenses charged.
Lord Abbett has contractually agreed to waive all fees and to bear and/or reimburse all expenses of the Funds, including organizational and offering expenses, but excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, brokerage fees and commissions and other portfolio transaction expenses, investment-related expenses including, but not limited to costs of borrowing money and other leveraging methods, interest-related expenses, taxes, governmental fees, expenses related to litigation and potential litigation, and extraordinary expenses. This agreement will continue in effect, unless sooner terminated by the Trust's Board of Trustees, for so long as Lord Abbett serves as the investment adviser to the Funds pursuant to the management agreement between Lord Abbett and the Trust.
Each year the Board considers whether to approve the continuation of the existing management and administrative services agreements between the Fund and Lord Abbett. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board's approval of the Fund's management agreement will be included in the Fund's initial Form N-CSR filing, following the Fund's commencement of operations.
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INFORMATION FOR MANAGING YOUR FUND ACCOUNT |
PURCHASES
Eligible Investors and Opening an Account.Shares of the Fund may be purchased only by or on behalf of Program Account clients. A client agreement to open an account typically may be obtained by contacting the Program Sponsor.
The Fund does not impose any maximum or minimum investment requirements. Minimum or maximum investment amounts may be imposed by the Program Sponsor. Purchase orders are made based on instructions from Lord Abbett or your Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for your account. To make a purchase, your broker-dealer must submit a purchase order to the Fund's transfer agent, either directly or through an appropriate clearing agency (e.g., the National Securities Clearing Corporation-Fund/SERV). For more information about purchasing shares, please contact your Program Sponsor.
Other Purchase Information.The Fund and Lord Abbett Distributor LLC, the Fund's principal underwriter, each reserve the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend the offering of shares of the Fund or to reject any purchase order.
Non-U.S. Investors.The Lord Abbett Family of Funds are not offered to investors resident outside the United States. The Fund may, however, accept purchases from U.S. citizens resident outside the United States who meet applicable eligibility requirements and furnish any requested documentation.
REDEMPTIONS
Shares of the Fund may be held only by Program Account clients. The Fund reserves the right to redeem shares of any investor if the investor ceases to be a participant in a Program Account. The liquidation of Fund shares will have tax consequences for the investor. Each investor, by participating in a Program Account that purchases Fund shares, agrees to the redemption of such Fund shares upon termination of its participation in such program. Subject to applicable law, the Fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.
Redemption orders are placed on your behalf by Lord Abbett or your Program Sponsor with the broker/dealer that executes trades for your account.
Redemption Payments.Redemptions of Fund shares are executed at the NAV next determined after the Fund or the broker/dealer who executes trades for your account receives the redemption request in good order. Normally, redemption proceeds are paid within three (but no more than seven) days after your redemption request is received in good order. The Fund may postpone payment for more than seven days or suspend redemptions (i) during any period that the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is closed, or trading on the NYSE is restricted as determined by the U.S.
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Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"); (ii) during any period when an emergency exists as determined by the SEC as a result of which it is not practicable for the Fund to dispose of securities it owns, or fairly to determine the value of its assets; and/or (iii) for such other periods as the SEC may permit.
The Fund currently does not offer exchange privileges.
Liquidity Management.The Fund has implemented measures designed to enable it to pay redemption proceeds in a timely fashion while maintaining adequate liquidity. The Fund's portfolio management team continually monitors portfolio liquidity and adjusts the Fund's cash level based on portfolio composition, redemption rates, market conditions, and other relevant criteria. Under normal circumstances, the Fund's portfolio management team may meet redemption requests and manage liquidity by selling portfolio securities. Under certain circumstances, including stressed market conditions, the Fund's portfolio management team may meet redemption requests and manage liquidity by (i) borrowing from a bank under a line of credit or from another Lord Abbett Fund (to the extent permitted under any SEC exemptive relief and the Fund's investment restrictions, in each case as stated in the Fund's SAI and/or prospectus, as applicable), (ii) transacting in exchange-traded funds and/or derivatives, or (iii) paying redemption proceeds in kind, as discussed below. Despite the Fund's reasonable best efforts, however, there can be no assurance that the Fund will manage liquidity successfully in all market environments. As a result, the Fund may not be able to pay redemption proceeds in a timely fashion because of unusual market conditions, an unusually high volume of redemption requests, or other factors.
ACCOUNT POLICIES
Householding.Your financial intermediary may deliver only one copy of shareholder documents, including prospectuses, shareholder reports and proxy statements, to shareholders with multiple accounts at the same address. This practice is known as "householding" and is intended to eliminate duplicate mailings and reduce expenses. Mailings of your shareholder documents may be householded indefinitely unless you instruct your financial intermediary otherwise. If you do not want the mailing of these documents to be combined with those for other members of your household, please contact your financial intermediary.
Account Statements.Positions held in the Fund are reflected on the statements for the Program Accounts from your Program Sponsor.
Pricing of Fund Shares.Under normal circumstances, NAV per share is calculated each business day at the close of regular trading on the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, on each day on which the NYSE is open for trading. The most recent NAV per share for the Fund is available at www.lordabbett.com. Purchases and sales (including exchanges) of Fund shares are executed at the NAV of the shares, without any sales charges or other fees, next determined after the Fund or the Fund's authorized agent receives your order in good order. In the case of purchase, redemption, or exchange orders placed through your financial intermediary, when
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acting as the Fund's authorized agent (or the agent's designee), the Fund will be deemed to have received the order when the agent or designee receives the order in good order.
Purchase and sale orders must be placed by the close of trading on the NYSE in order to receive that day's NAV; orders placed after the close of trading on the NYSE will receive the next business day's NAV. Fund shares will not be priced on holidays or other days when the NYSE is closed for trading. In the event the NYSE is closed on a day it normally would be open for business for any reason (including, but not limited to, technology problems or inclement weather), or the NYSE has an unscheduled early closing on a day it has opened for business, the Fund reserves the right to treat such day as a business day. In such cases, the Fund would accept purchase and redemption orders until, and calculate its NAV as of, the normally scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE for that day, so long as Lord Abbett believes there generally remains an adequate market to obtain reliable and accurate market quotations.
In calculating NAV, securities listed on any recognized U.S. or non-U.S. exchange (including NASDAQ) are valued at the market closing price on the exchange or system on which they are principally traded. Unlisted equity securities are valued at the last transaction price, or, if there were no transactions that day, at the mean between the most recently quoted bid and asked prices. Unlisted fixed income securities (other than those with remaining maturities of 60 days or less) are valued at prices supplied by third-party pricing services, which prices are broker/dealer-supplied valuations or evaluated or "matrix" prices based on electronic data processing techniques. Such valuations are based on the mean between the bid and asked prices, when available, and are based on the bid price when no asked price is available. Unlisted fixed income securities (other than senior loans) having remaining maturities of 60 days or less are valued at their amortized cost. The principal markets for non-U.S. securities and U.S. fixed income securities also generally close prior to the close of the NYSE. Consequently, values of non-U.S. investments and U.S. fixed income securities will be determined as of the earlier closing of such exchanges and markets unless the Fund prices such a security at its fair value. This may allow significant events, including broad market moves that occur in the interim, to affect the values of non-U.S. securities and U.S. fixed income securities held by the Fund. These timing differences may allow a shareholder to exploit differences in the Fund's share prices that are based on closing prices of non-U.S. securities and U.S. fixed-income securities that are determined before the Fund calculates its NAV per share. For more information, please see the section "Excessive Trading and Market Timing" below.
Securities for which prices or market quotations are not readily available, do not accurately reflect fair value in Lord Abbett's opinion, or have been materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which the security is principally traded but before 4:00 p.m. Eastern time are valued by Lord Abbett, as the Fund's "valuation designee", subject to oversight by the Board, and in accordance with the Fund's valuation procedures, pursuant to Rule 2a-5 of the 1940
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Act. These circumstances may arise, for instance, when trading in a security is suspended, the market on which a security is traded closes early, or demand for a security (as reflected by its trading volume) is insufficient and thus calls into question the reliability of the quoted or computed price, or the security is relatively illiquid. Lord Abbett may use fair value pricing more frequently for securities primarily traded on foreign exchanges. Because many foreign markets close hours before the Fund values its foreign portfolio holdings, significant events, including broad market moves, may occur in the interim potentially affecting the values of foreign securities held by the Fund. Lord Abbett determines fair value in a manner that fairly reflects the market value of the security on the valuation date based on consideration of any information or factors it deems appropriate. These may include recent transactions in comparable securities, information relating to the specific security, developments in the markets and their performance, and current valuations of relevant general and sector indices. The Fund's use of fair value pricing may cause the NAV of Fund shares to differ from the NAV that would be calculated using market quotations. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security may be materially different from the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security.
Certain securities that are traded primarily on foreign exchanges may trade on weekends or days when the NAV is not calculated. As a result, the value of securities may change on days when shareholders are not able to purchase or sell Fund shares.
Excessive Trading and Market Timing.Excessive, short-term or market timing trading practices ("frequent trading") have the potential to disrupt management of a fund, raise its expenses, and harm long-term shareholders in a variety of ways, or to exploit market movements or inefficiencies in the way a mutual fund prices its shares. Because the Fund is designed to be a component of a broader investment program that also invests, at the direction of Lord Abbett or the Program Sponsor, in individual securities and other investments, Fund shares may be purchased or redeemed on a frequent or short term basis for rebalancing purposes or in order to invest new monies (including through dividend reinvestment) or to accommodate reductions in account size. Such frequent or short-term trading may result in additional costs for the Fund. The Fund is managed in a manner that is consistent with its role as part of a broader investment program. Because all purchases and redemption orders are initiated by Lord Abbett or the Program Sponsor, Program Account clients are not in a position to effect purchase and redemption orders and are, therefore, unable to directly trade in Fund shares. Accordingly, the Board has not adopted policies or procedures to detect or deter frequent trading in the Fund. However, the Fund reserves the right to refuse purchase orders.
Other funds in the Lord Abbett Family of Funds have adopted policies and procedures that are designed to identify and prevent or stop frequent trading.
Procedures Required by the USA PATRIOT Act.To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all
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financial institutions, including the Fund, to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means for you - when you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date and place of organization or date of birth, and taxpayer identification number or Social Security number, and we may ask for other information that will allow us to identify you. We will ask for this information in the case of persons who will be signing on behalf of certain entities that will own the account. We also may ask for copies of documents. If we are unable to obtain the required information within a short period of time after you try to open an account, we will return your purchase order or account application. Your monies will not be invested until we have all required information. You also should know that we may verify your identity through the use of a database maintained by a third party or through other means. If we are unable to verify your identity, we may liquidate and close the account. This may result in adverse tax consequences. In addition, the Fund reserves the right to reject purchase orders or account applications accompanied by cash, cashier's checks, money orders, bank drafts, traveler's checks, and third party or double-endorsed checks, among others.
Additional Information.This prospectus and the SAI do not purport to create any contractual obligations between the Fund and shareholders. Further, shareholders are not intended third-party beneficiaries of any contracts entered into by (or on behalf of) the Fund, including contracts with Lord Abbett or other parties who provide services to the Fund.
DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES
The following discussion is general. Because everyone's tax situation is unique, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the effect that an investment in the Fund may have on your particular tax situation, including the treatment of distributions under the federal, state, local, and foreign tax rules that apply to you, as well as the tax consequences of gains or losses from the sale, redemption, or exchange of your shares.
Each Fund expects to declare dividends from its net investment income daily and to pay such dividends monthly. Each Fund expects to distribute any of its net capital gains annually.
All distributions, including dividends from net investment income, will be paid only in cash. Dividends and capital gains will not be reinvested in additional Fund shares.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund's distributions generally are taxable to shareholders, other than tax-exempt shareholders and shareholders investing through tax-advantaged arrangements (including certain retirement and benefit plan shareholders, as discussed below), regardless of whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional Fund shares. Distributions of net investment income and short-term capital gains are taxable as ordinary income; however, certain qualified dividends that the Fund receives and distributes may be subject to a reduced tax rate if you meet holding period and certain other requirements. Distributions of net long-term capital gains properly reported by the Fund as capital gain dividends are taxable as
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long-term capital gains, regardless of how long you have owned Fund shares. Any gain resulting from a sale, redemption, or exchange of Fund shares generally will also be taxable to you as either short-term or long-term capital gain, depending upon how long you have held such shares.
An additional 3.8% Medicare contribution tax generally will be imposed on the net investment income of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts whose income exceeds certain threshold amounts. For this purpose, net investment income generally will include distributions from the Fund and capital gains attributable to the sale, redemption or exchange of Fund shares.
If you buy shares after the Fund has realized income or capital gains but prior to the record date for the distribution of such income or capital gains, you will be "buying a dividend" by paying the full price for shares and then receiving a portion of the price back in the form of a potentially taxable dividend.
Shareholders that are exempt from U.S. federal income tax or that invest through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as retirement and benefit plans that are qualified under Section 401 of the Code, generally are not subject to U.S. federal income tax on Fund dividends or distributions or on sales or exchanges of Fund shares. However, distributions from a retirement and benefit plan or other tax-advantaged arrangement generally are taxable to recipients as ordinary income.
Income, proceeds and gains received by the Fund from sources within foreign countries may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by such countries. This will decrease the Fund's yield on securities subject to such taxes. Tax treaties between certain countries and the U.S. may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If the Fund meets certain requirements relating to its asset holdings, and the Fund elects to pass through to its shareholders foreign tax credits or deductions, taxable shareholders generally will be entitled to claim a credit or deduction with respect to these foreign taxes. Even if the Fund elects to pass through to its shareholders foreign tax credits or deductions, tax-exempt shareholders and those who invest in the fund through tax-advantaged accounts such as IRAs will not benefit from any such tax credit or deduction.
Certain tax reporting information concerning the tax treatment of Fund distributions, including the source of dividends and distributions of capital gains by the Fund, will be provided to shareholders each year.
Mutual funds are required to report to you and the Internal Revenue Service the "cost basis" of your shares acquired after January 1, 2012 and that are subsequently redeemed. These requirements generally do not apply to investments held in a tax-advantaged account or to certain types of entities (such as C corporations). If you hold Fund shares through a broker (or another nominee), please contact that broker (nominee) with respect to the reporting of cost basis and available elections for your account.
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You are encouraged to consult your tax advisor regarding the application of the cost basis reporting rules and, in particular, which cost basis calculation method you should elect.
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FINANCIAL INFORMATION |
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Funds do not show any financial highlights because the Funds have not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus.
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To Obtain Information: By telephone.For shareholder account inquiries and for literature requests call the Funds at: 888-522-2388.
By mail.Write to the Funds at:
Via the Internet.Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC Text only versions of Fund documents can be viewed online or downloaded from the SEC: http://www.sec.gov. You can also obtain copies by sending your request and a duplicating fee to [email protected]. |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION More information on each Fund is available free upon request, including the following: ANNUAL/SEMI-ANNUAL REPORTS AND FORM N-CSR Additional information about each Fund's investments will be available in the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders and in the Fund's Form N-CSR. In the Funds' annual report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the Funds' performance during the last fiscal year. In the Funds' Form N-CSR, you will find the Funds' annual and semi-annual financial statements. The annual and semi-annual reports and the most recent Form N-CSR will be available free of charge at www.lordabbett.com, and through other means, as indicated on the left STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ("SAI") The SAI provides more details about the Funds and their policies. A current SAI is on file with the SEC and is incorporated by reference into (or legally considered part of) this prospectus. The SAI is available free of charge at www.lordabbett.com, and through other means, as indicated on the left. |
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Lord Abbett Trust I Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Completion Fund Lord Abbett Diversification Shares: Core Plus Completion Fund |
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Lord Abbett Mutual Fund shares are distributed by: LORD ABBETT DISTRIBUTOR LLC |
TRUST I-2B-1 |
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Investment Company Act File Number: 811-10371 |
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