How to Invest in Lord Abbett Mutual Funds

Independent and privately held, Lord Abbett is a firm with the sole purpose of managing money. In business since 1929, it is among the oldest United States money-management firms, helping countless clients to invest their money. Today, Lord Abbett offers individual and institutional accounts, as well as a wide selection of mutual funds. As of September 2006, Lord Abbet was credited with managing assets totaling $107 billion.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• Internet access
• Money to invest

Instructions

Prepare to Invest in Lord Abbett Mutual Funds

1. Review your investment objectives. Decide whether you want to invest in mutual funds for capital appreciation, income, diversification or a combination of these things.

2. Consider your investment time horizon. Figure out how long you have to reach your goals.

3. Determine your risk tolerance level. Decide whether you can afford to invest in a more aggressive fund or if you'd do better by investing conservatively.

4. Review your financial standing and determine how much you can afford to invest in Lord Abbett mutual funds.

Choosing a Fund

1. Know that Lord Abbett offers equity, global, international, fixed income, taxable fixed income and municipal bond funds. The firm also offers a money market fund.

2. Visit LordAbbett.com and review the available mutual funds. Funds are listed according to category.

3. Keep your investment objectives in mind and review online fund reports, fact sheets and statements of additional information.

4. Download Lord Abbett mutual fund prospectuses online using Adobe Acrobat Reader. Alternatively, you may request to have prospectuses mailed to you.

5. Use an investment research and analysis site, such as MorningStar.com, to compare Lord Abbett fund ratings and rankings with similar mutual funds offered by other companies.

6. Print, complete and mail an investment account application or contact your broker or financial adviser to purchase mutual fund shares.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep in mind that a fund's performance is greatly influenced by the professionals in charge of managing it. Sometimes portfolio management teams change. If the professionals responsible for the fund's past performance leave, there is a chance the fund's performance will change as well. To learn if a mutual fund still has the same managers, check its prospectus.

• By looking at a fund's statement of additional information, you can learn the amount the portfolio manager has invested in the fund. It is thought that a manager with a significant investment in a fund will be more motivated to seek high returns.