Lord Abbett

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC

Industry	Investment Management
Founded	1929
Headquarters	Jersey City, New Jersey, USA[citation needed]
Key People	Robert S. Dow: Senior Partner Daria L. Foster: Managing Partner
Partners	62*
Employees	Approximately 800*
Products	Mutual Funds, Institutional Portfolio Management, and Separately Managed Accounts (SMA)
Websites	Lord Abbett Lord Abbett Investor Lord Abbett Advisor Lord Abbett Institutional
Social Media	Lord Abbett on Twitter Lord Abbett on iTunes Lord Abbett on YouTube
* As of 3/31/2012

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC is an independent, privately held U.S. investment management firm that offers a broad array of equity and fixed-income strategies to individual and institutional investors. Lord Abbett’s strategies are available within separate and sub-advised accounts, commingled and mutual fund vehicles, and managed account platforms.

Ownership

The firm is a privately owned, limited liability company with 62 active partners. The firm is led by Senior Partner Robert S. Dow and Managing Partner Daria L. Foster who are responsible for setting strategic direction and business management. Robert I. Gerber, Partner and Chief Investment Officer, is responsible for the organization’s investment professionals. The firm focuses solely on long-only, actively managed investment portfolios (as of 3/31/12).^[1][2]

History

1929–1945

On November 18, 1929, several weeks after the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression, Andrew James Lord and his associates incorporated as Lord, Westerfield & Co., Inc., with headquarters at 68 William Street in lower Manhattan, a few blocks from the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Lord believed that mutual funds, managed and sold by professionals, were better investments for most people than individual securities.^{[citation needed]}

When the Westerfields resigned from the company in 1931, Leon Abbett,^[3] a member of the founding group and the son of a former two-time New Jersey governor and state supreme court justice, provided the capital contribution that enabled the firm to continue. Two years later, the name of the company was changed to Lord, Abbett & Co.^{[citation needed]}

In 1932, Mr. Lord organized his own investment trust - American Business Shares. Today, this trust is known as the Lord Abbett Income Fund. Two years later, the firm’s second longest-running fund - the Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund - was launched with a focus on the stocks of large cap companies.^[4]

1946–1986

In 1946, Leon Abbett assumed leadership of the firm from Mr. Lord. In 1949, Mr. Abbett was succeeded by Harry I. Prankard II, an accountant whose firm had worked with Lord Abbett since its founding. During his 15 years at the helm, Mr. Prankard led the firm through a period of expansion for both the investment industry and for Lord Abbett.^{[citation needed]}

In 1964, Mr. Prankard was (briefly) succeeded by Lord Abbett’s National Sales Manager, Albert R. Hughes, who died of a sudden illness three months after his appointment. Consequently, Robert S. Driscoll was chosen as Managing Partner.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1970s, Lord Abbett expanded its mutual fund offerings, becoming one of the first firms to offer a high-yield bond fund.^[5] The firm also launched its institutional business in 1976, with the introduction of a large cap value product for an institutional client.^{[citation needed]}

In 1980, Alvin H. Berndt succeeded Mr. Driscoll as Managing Partner. Mr. Berndt joined Lord Abbett in 1949 as a Regional Manager on the West Coast. In the mid-1970s, he and Jack McCarthy, one of the firm’s senior investment professionals, began calling on major corporations with the objective of offering separately managed accounts (SMAs) for their pension assets. In 1983, Mr. Berndt was succeeded as Managing Partner three years later by Ronald P. Lynch, also a former Regional Manager. Mr. Lynch selected Jack McCarthy as the firm’s Chief Investment Officer and Co-Managing Partner.^{[citation needed]}

1987–2007

In 1987, Lord Abbett moved its headquarters from Wall Street to the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue in New York, a location the firm would occupy for the next decade. Under Mr. Lynch’s leadership, the firm expanded its equity and fixed-income mutual funds, developed its SMA business, and grew its presence as an institutional investment manager.^{[citation needed]}

In 1996, the year the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 6,000 for the first time, Robert S. Dow succeeded Mr. Lynch as Managing Partner. Mr. Dow joined Lord Abbett in 1972 as a Research Analyst for the Lord Abbett Bond Debenture Fund, and was named manager of the fixed-income area in 1982.^{[citation needed]}

To accommodate the firm’s growth Mr. Dow oversaw the relocation of Lord Abbett’s headquarters from Manhattan to Jersey City, New Jersey in 2000 and in 2002, Mr. Dow expanded the partnership by naming 26 new partners, bringing the total to 47.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Mr. Dow assumed the newly created role of Senior Partner, and was succeeded by Daria L. Foster as the firm’s ninth Managing Partner.^[6]

Ms. Foster joined Lord Abbett in 1990, and led the expansion of the firm’s institutional business. She became a partner in 1996 and, in 2005, was named Director of Global Client Services responsible for integrating the firm’s retail and institutional sales and marketing efforts. Mr. Dow retains his title as Chairman of the Board of the Lord Abbett Mutual Funds, and Ms. Foster serves as President and Director of the Lord Abbett Mutual Funds.^[7]

Ms. Foster’s first act as Managing Partner was to name Robert I. Gerber as Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Gerber joined Lord Abbett in 1997, and was leading the investment-grade taxable fixed-income group at the time of his appointment to CIO.^[7]

2007–present

Under Ms. Foster's leadership, Lord Abbett has undertaken a variety of strategic initiatives including the introduction of new investment products, an evaluation of the international distribution and retirement business strategies and the launch of a more aggressive interactive and social media strategy.^{[citation needed]}

New Products

Since 2007, the firm has completed a thorough review of its fund offerings across all asset classes. Such offerings are made available through a prospectus, which discloses the investment objective, strategies, and risks associated with the particular fund.  Prospectuses are made available to prospective investors directly from Lord Abbett Distributor LLC or financial advisors.  As a result, Lord Abbett has expanded its equity and fixed income line-up with the launch and repositioning of several strategies, including bank loans, currencies, corporates, municipals, inflation linked, international dividend, and multi cap growth.   

Strategic Review

As a result of a strategic reassessment of non-US based mutual fund activities, Lord Abbett closed its London office and off-shore mutual funds in mid-2009 and reiterated its commitment to its joint venture in China and the expansion of its institutional offerings in Japan.  In addition, Lord Abbett reiterated its commitment to the advisor community and strategically realigned its retirement business to focus on the Defined Contribution Investment Only (DCIO) marketplace.  

Social Media

Under Ms. Foster’s leadership, Lord Abbett continues to expand its presence within social media outlets including LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, iTunes® and iBooks® to provide investors with up to date market and investment updates.  

Assets Under Management

As of March 31st, 2012, the firm managed $121.3 billion in assets across a full range of separate and sub-advised accounts, commingled and mutual fund vehicles, and managed account platforms, including $3.0 billion for which Lord Abbett provided investment models to managed account sponsors.

Board Members

As of March 2012, Lord Abbett had 62 partners led by Senior Partner Robert S. Dow and Managing Partner Daria L. Foster. Mr. Dow and Ms. Foster serve as Directors and Chairman and President, respectively, of the Lord Abbett Family of Funds. In addition, the Boards of Directors for the Lord Abbett Family of Funds consist of seven independent directors, including:

Thayer Bigelow^[8][9]
Robert B. Calhoun, Jr.^[10]
Evelyn E. Guernsey
Julie A. Hill ^[11]
Franklin W. Hobbs ^[12]
Thomas J. Neff ^[13][14]
James L.L. Tullis ^[15][16]

Business Focus

Since its inception in 1929, Lord Abbett has provided its investment products and services to both individual and institutional investors. The firm has focused on servicing individual investors through financial advisors at wirehouses, global and regional banks, insurance companies, registered investment advisors (RIAs), and independent advisors. The firm's institutional business includes Fortune 500 companies, as well as Taft-Hartley unions, pensions, endowments, universities, insurance companies, hospitals and healthcare organizations, religious organizations, and international organizations.  Within the Separately Managed Account (SMA) business, Lord Abbett commands a market share of $12.8 billion, spanning domestic and international equity and taxable and tax-exempt fixed income, including $3.0 billion for which Lord Abbett provides investment models to managed account sponsors(as of 3/31/12).

Risks to Consider

The value of investments in equity securities will fluctuate in response to general economic conditions and to changes in the prospects of particular companies and/or sectors in the economy. The value of an investment in fixed-income securities will change as interest rates fluctuate and in response to market movements. As interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise. As rates rise, prices tend to fall. Moreover, the specific collateral used to secure a loan may decline in value or become illiquid, which would adversely affect the loan's value. A portion of the income derived from a municipal bond may be subject to the alternative minimum tax. Federal, state, and local taxes may apply. There is a risk that a bond issued as tax-exempt may be reclassified by the IRS as taxable, creating taxable rather than tax-free income. In addition, bonds may be subject to other types of risk such as call, credit, liquidity, interest-rate, and general market risks. Investing in international securities generally poses greater risk than investing in domestic securities, including greater price fluctuations and higher transaction costs. Special risks are inherent to international investing, including those related to currency fluctuations and foreign, political, and economic events. Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.  They generally are determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets and relative merits of investments in different countries, actual or perceived changes in interest rates, and other complex factors.  Currency exchange rates also can be affected unpredictably by intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks, or by currency controls or political developments. No investing strategy can overcome all market volatility or guarantee future results.

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• Lord Abbett — Individual Investor website
• Lord Abbett Advisor — Financial Advisor website
• Lord Abbett Institutional — Institutional website
• Mutual Fund by Family – Lord Abbett
• Lord Abbett Bond Debenture A: Fund Portfolio — MSN.money
• Lord Abbett Capital Structure R2 (LAMQX) — Yahoo! Finance
• Filife

References/Data

1. ^ Lord Abbett advisor web site, Key Executives
2. ^ Business Week Profile. Retrieved 2010-2-11.
3. ^ "LEON ABBETT IS DEAD." New York Times. Retrieved 2010-2-11.
4. ^ "Lord Abbett Affiliated A." Morningstar. Retrieved 2010-2-11.
5. ^ "Lord Abbett Bond-Debenture A." Morningstar. Retrieved 2010-2-11.
6. ^ "10 people to watch in 2010." NJ.com. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
7. ^ ^{a b} "EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT APPOINTMENTS AT LORD ABBETT." Lord Abbett Press Release. 2007-09-17. Retrieved 2010-2-11.
8. ^ "E. Thayer Bigelow." Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
9. ^ Lord Abbett key management. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
10. ^ "Robert B. Calhoun." Monitor Clipper Partners. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
11. ^ "Julie A. Hill." Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
12. ^ "Franklin W. Hobbs." Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
13. ^ "Thomas J. Neff." Spencer Stuart. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
14. ^ "Thomas J. Neff." Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
15. ^ "James L.L. Tullis." Forbes.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
16. ^ "Jim Tullis." Tullis Health Investors. Retrieved 2010-02-11.