Dividend Growth Fund

*“Barron’s Best Fund Families of 2020,” #9 ranking in the General Equity category based on the net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2020, among 53 qualifying fund families.

Source: Barron’s, “Barron’s Best Fund Families of 2020,” February 20, 2021. Barron’s rankings are based on asset weighted returns in funds in five categories: general equity, world equity (including international and global portfolios), mixed asset (which invest in stocks, bonds and other securities), taxable bond, and tax-exempt (each a "Barron's ranking category"). Rankings also take into account an individual fund's performance within its Lipper peer universe. Lipper calculated each fund's net total return for the year ended December 31, 2020, minus the effects of 12b-1 fees and sales charges. Each fund in the survey was given a percentile ranking with 100 the highest and 1 the lowest in its category. That ranking measured how a fund compared with its peer "universe," as tracked by Lipper, not just the funds in the survey. Individual fund scores were then multiplied by the 2020 weighting of their Barron's ranking category as determined by the entire Lipper universe of funds. Those fund scores were then totaled, creating an overall score and ranking for each fund family in the survey in each Barron's ranking category. The process is repeated for the five- and ten-year rankings as well.

Barron's Fund Family Rankings are awarded annually.

To qualify for the ranking, firms must offer at least three active mutual funds or actively run ETFs in Lipper’s general U.S. stock category; one in world equity; and one mixed asset, such as a balanced or allocation fund. They also need to offer at least two taxable bond funds and one national tax-exempt bond fund. All funds must have a track record of at least one year. While the ranking excludes index funds, it does include actively managed ETFs and “smart beta” ETFs, which are run passively but built on active investment strategies.

© Refinitiv Lipper 2021. All Rights Reserved. Refinitiv, an LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) business, is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure. Lipper provides global, independent fund performance data. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper.

Minimum initial investment varies depending on the class of shares you buy and the type of account. IRAs, SIMPLEs, and SEP accounts with payroll deductions have no minimums. Please see Fund prospectuses for additional information.      

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 yield reflects 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.

Class A  Except as noted below, returns with sales charges reflect a maximum sales charge of 5.75% for equity funds, 2.25% for all tax-free income funds, fixed income funds and multi-asset class funds. There are also ongoing 12b-1 service fees (and, in certain cases, distribution fees).

Class A Shares purchased subject to a front-end sales charge have no contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC). However, certain purchases of Class A shares made without a front-end sales charge may be subject to a CDSC of 1% if the shares are redeemed before the first day of the month in which the one year anniversary of the purchase falls. The CDSC is not reflected in the performance with maximum sales charge.

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.

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.

Lipper Category Average Expense Ratio reflects the average net expenses of Class A shares of all funds with in the peer group based on Lipper data available.

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.