Dividend Growth Fund

12-Month Dividend Yield is a financial ratio that shows how much a mutual fund pays out in dividends each year relative to its value with maximum sales charges and without sales charges. The fund’s dividend yield is calculated by dividing the fund’s income distributions over the previous year by the fund’s current value with maximum sales charges and without sales charges.

The 30-Day Standardized Yield represents net investment income earned by a fund over a 30-day period. It is expressed as an annual percentage rate using a method of calculation adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yields for other share classes will vary.

The Fund’s Dividend Yield, 12-Month Dividend Yield and 7 Day Yield are shown with and without sales charges and with maximum sales charges. The Fund’s Subsidized Dividend yield takes into account any fee waiver or expense limitation arrangements, if any. Without such fee waivers or expense limitation arrangements, the Fund’s dividend yield would have been lower. Information regarding any fee waivers or expense limitation arrangements applicable to the Fund is provided with the Fund’s expense ratio information.

The Fund’s Unsubsidized Dividend yield is shown without sales charges and with maximum sales charges. The Fund’s unsubsidized dividend yield reflects what the yield would have been without the effect of fee waivers or expense limitation arrangements.

The 30-day Standardized Subsidized yields reflect fee waivers in effect. Without such fee waivers, yields would be reduced.  

The 30-day Standardized Unsubsidized yield does not reflect fee waivers.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

A Note about Risk: The value of investments in equity securities will fluctuate in response to general economic conditions and to changes in the prospects of particular companies, including market, liquidity, currency, and political risks. Mid cap company stocks tend to be more volatile and may be less liquid than large cap company stocks. Mid cap companies typically experience a higher risk of failure than large cap companies. However, larger companies may be unable to respond quickly to certain market developments and may have slower rates of growth as compared to smaller successful companies. A company's dividend payments may vary over time, and there is no guarantee that a company will pay a dividend at all. These factors can adversely affect Fund performance.

Performance data quoted is historical. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance quoted. The investment return and principal value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate so that shares, on any given day or when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. To obtain performance data current to the most recent quarter-end, go to quarter ending performance on our Website or call Lord Abbett at (888) 522-2388.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indexes reflect total return, unless otherwise specified, with all dividends reinvested. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.

The Overall Morningstar RatingTM is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with a fund's three-, five-, and 10-year (as applicable) Morningstar RatingTM metrics. © Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information.

Morningstar proprietary ratings reflect historical risk-adjusted performance. For each fund with at least a three-year history, Morningstar calculates a Morningstar RatingTM based on a Morningstar risk-adjusted return measure that accounts for variation in a fund's monthly performance (including the effects of sales charges, loads and redemption fees), placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. Load-waived ratings do not include any front-end sales charges (which are only available for certain defined contribution plans and certain mutual fund advisory programs) and should only be considered by investors who are not subject to sales loads. Not all funds with a load-waived rating may waive their front-end load. An investor should check with their advisor to determine if they are eligible to purchase the load-waived Class A share. The top 10% of the funds in an investment category receive 5 stars, 22.5% receive 4 stars, 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. (Each share class is counted as a fraction of one fund within this scale and rated separately, which may cause slight variations in the distribution percentages). The Overall Morningstar rating is a weighted average of funds' three-, five-, and 10-year (as applicable) ratings. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Morningstar Rating is for the Class A share only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.

Expense Ratio: The net expense ratio takes into account a contractual management fee waiver/expense reimbursement agreement that currently is scheduled to remain in place through March 31, 2016. For periods when gross expenses exceeded the cap, the Fund benefited by not bearing certain expenses. Without such cap, performance would have been lower. 

Lipper Category Average - Peer group averages are based on universes of funds with the same investment objectives. The average return for the peer group is based on the returns of each individual fund within the group for the period shown. This average assumes reinvestment of dividends.

The Fund's portfolio is actively managed and portfolio characteristics, such as individual holdings and sector weightings may change significantly over time. The portfolio data is for information only. It does not constitute a recommendation or an offer for a particular security or fund, nor should it be taken as a solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell securities or other investments.  

Dividends and Capital Gains: The information presented in this section is intended for general information and is not intended to be relied upon and should not be relied upon, as financial, legal or tax advice for any particular investor. We strongly recommend that you contact your financial, legal or tax advisor regarding your particular tax situation.

The information presented in this section is not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding any tax liabilities or penalties.