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Lord Abbett Review

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

Lord Abbett & Co. is a 91-year-old firm headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It offers services such as portfolio management and investment advisory services. 

Lord Abbett Background

Founded in 1929, Lord Abbett is an independent and privately held company. It is owned solely by current and former senior professionals of the firm (or by their estate or members of their family) and is not publicly traded. No individual or company owns more than 25% of Lord Abbett.

The firm's investment and operations staff are primarily located in its office in Jersey City. 

Lord Abbett Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes

Lord Abbett advises the following types of clients:

  • Individuals
  • High-net-worth individuals
  • Registered investment companies
  • Foreign pooled investment vehicles
  • Pension and profit-sharing plans
  • Charitable organizations
  • State or municipal government entities
  • Other investment advisors
  • Insurance companies
  • Proprietary accounts
  • Other corporations or businesses

For institutional clients, the firm usually requires an account size ranging from $10 million to $100 million, depending on the particular strategy being used for that account. Managed Accounts - one of the firm's wrap fee investment advisory programs - generally have a minimum of $100,000, with certain exceptions.

Services Offered by Lord Abbett

While Lord Abbett does not offer financial planning services, it does offer both discretionary and nondiscretionary investment management services to its many types of clients, including (but not limited to) individuals, small businesses, retirement and benefit plans, endowments, unions, insurance companies, family trusts, registered investment companies and foreign pooled investment vehicles.

Additionally, the firm has two types of managed account or wrap fee programs, called Managed Accounts and Model Portfolios.

Lord Abbett Investing Philosophy

The firm manages a wide range of asset classes - equity, fixed-income, and multi-asset class portfolios - by using a wide range of investment strategies. The method of analysis that its advisors use varies based on the strategy they deem best for the client.

Lord Abbett's portfolio management teams employ a rigorous investment approach and the firm’s investment processes are supported by a strong internal focus on fundamental and quantitative research. Generally, each investment team uses the resources of analysts who are organized by investment style to conduct company research, attend management meetings and use expert networks. These analysts share information across investment teams so as to supplement each other's findings and apply them to various investment strategies.

Fees Under Lord Abbett

Lord Abbett typically charges investment advisory fees based on the value of the client’s account, or based on the client's assets under management. Fees are determined based on the investment strategy as well as the type and level of services provided. As such, the firm does not have a uniform fee schedule across all its various investment strategies.

With regards to institutional client accounts, fees are normally billed and payable in arrears (i.e. money that is still owed) based on assets at the end of the month or quarter.

It is important to note that occasionally, Lord Abbett agrees upon a performance-based fee structure with a qualified client. The firm has policies and procedures in place to ensure that it mitigates all potential conflicts of interest that may arise from such a fee structure. 

Learn more about advisors' typical costs here.

What to Watch Out For

Within the past 10 years, Lord Abbett has not undergone any disciplinary or legal action deemed material to a client’s evaluation of its business integrity. You can view its latest Form ADV on the official website of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).  

Again, the firm does charge both performance-based fees as well as asset-based fees. In its Form ADV filed with the SEC, the firm acknowledges that each of these fee structures has the potential to cause a conflict of interest: Performance-based fees create an incentive to favor those accounts in order to generate greater revenue for the firm and asset-based fees create an incentive to manage client accounts that pay a higher asset-based fee or that contain assets owned by the firm. However, Lord Abbet has adopted securities allocation policies and procedures to mitigate these potential conflicts. The firm also works to ensure that these policies are regularly monitored.

It is also important to note that advisors at Lord Abbett may also be broker-dealers. Employees acting in these non-advisor roles generally receive transaction-based fees, which can be a potential conflict of interest. That said, as an SEC-registered investment advisor, the firm is legally obligated to uphold its fiduciary duty and work in clients’ best interests at all times.

Opening an Account With Lord Abbett

To open an account with Lord Abbett, you can visit the firm's website or call (888) 522-2388.

All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.

Tips for Finding a Financial Advisor 

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How Long $1mm Lasts in Retirement

SmartAsset's interactive map highlights places where $1 million will last the longest in retirement. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any city to learn about the cost of living in retirement for that location.

Least
Most
Rank City Housing Expenses Food Expenses Healthcare Expenses Utilities Expenses Transportation Expenses

Methodology We analyzed data on average expenditures for seniors, cost of living and investment returns to determine how many years of retirement a $1 million nest egg would cover in cities across America.

First, we looked at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the average annual expenditures of seniors. We then applied cost of living data from the Council for Community and Economic Research to adjust those national average spending levels based on the costs of each expense category (housing, food, healthcare, utilities, transportation and other) in each city. Using this data, SmartAsset calculated the average cost of living for retirees in the largest U.S. cities.

We assumed the $1 million would grow at a real return (interest minus inflation) of 2%. Then, we divided $1 million by the sum of each of those annual numbers to determine how long $1 million would cover retirement expenses in each of the cities in our study. Cities where $1 million lasted the longest ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Council for Community and Economic Research