ULTRA SHORT BOND FUND

Transcription

1 ULTRA SHORT BOND FUND S E P T E M B E R 3 0, Copyright 2017 by Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC. All rights reserved. Lord Abbett mutual fund shares are distributed by Lord Abbett Distributor LLC. Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC Lord Abbett Distributor LLC 90 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ This presentation has been prepared exclusively for use by analysts, institutional investors and their consultants, registered investment advisors, broker-dealers, and sponsors of plans with a minimum of 100 participants. It is not intended for, and should not be used with, small plan sponsors, plan participants, or the public in written or oral form or for any other purpose.

2 OUR FIRM INVESTMENT-LED. INVESTOR-FOCUSED. AT A GLANCE Independent, privately held firm 67 partners Assets under management: $154.2 billion* 159 investment professionals with an average of 18 years of industry experience 2 INVESTMENT-LED. INVESTOR-FOCUSED. OUR FIRM A singular focus on the management of money since 1929 OUR MISSION Delivering superior long-term investment performance and a client experience that exceeds expectations OUR DIFFERENTIATORS Independent Perspective Commitment to Active Management Intelligent Product Design Data as of 09/30/2017. *Includes approximately $1.6 billion for which Lord Abbett provides investment models to managed account sponsors.

3 DELIVERING ON OUR MISSION: 2016 ACCOLADES 3 As of 12/31/2016, there were 19 firms with $100B+ AUM in actively managed assets. Source: Morningstar. Actively Managed U.S. Open-end Funds from 01/01/ /31/2016 (excludes Money Market, Fund of Funds and Obsolete Funds). *Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 11, In the Barron's/Lipper annual rankings of the best fund families, based on the total return and excludes 12b-1 fees and sales charges. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. Please see Important Information regarding Barron s & Lipper rankings.

4 TAXABLE FIXED INCOME INVESTMENT CAPABILITIES ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT BY STRATEGY & CAPABILITY (AS OF 09/30/2017) Strategy Assets Total Taxable Fixed Income $100,560,171,454 Money Market $453,331,061 Ultra Short $1,371,692,402 Short Duration Credit $44,637,156,952 Intermediate Government/Credit $352,253,552 Government $376,756,462 Core $4,164,238,725 Core Plus $5,902,892,471 Inflation Focused $1,148,108,579 Corporate Credit $2,151,631,660 Bank Loan $12,304,844,117 Multi Sector $13,398,101,030 Emerging Markets Corporate $70,269,231 Emerging Markets Currency $238,005,825 Long Duration $37,765,092 High Yield Core $4,591,619,687 High Yield Opportunistic $7,759,544,700 Convertible $1,591,626,862 Emerging Markets Local Bond $10,333,046 Capability Assets Total Corporate Credit $59,993,433,544 Investment Grade Corporate $21,158,403,478 U.S. IG Corporate $14,486,994,502 Non-U.S IG Corporate $6,671,408,976 High Yield Corporate $18,937,839,147 U.S. HY Corporate $14,744,218,080 Non-U.S. HY Corporate $4,193,621,067 Short Duration High Yield $4,765,553,628 U.S. HY Corporate $3,475,743,904 Non-U.S. HY Corporate $1,289,809,724 Bank Loans $13,145,133,862 Convertibles $1,986,503,429 Total Securitized Products $24,620,021,726 Commercial MBS $11,871,917,967 Asset Backed Securities $12,674,196,866 Residential MBS $73,906,893 U.S. Government-Related $6,550,506,148 Emerging Markets Debt $4,236,510,117 EM Corporate $3,490,839,673 EM Sovereign US$ $684,143,341 EM Sovereign Local Currency $61,527,103 4 Assets under management data is as of 09/30/2017 unless noted and includes approximately $713.5 million for which Lord Abbett provides investment models to managed account sponsors. In addition to the strategies listed above, the fixed income asset totals include the fixed income portion of the multi-asset class strategies managed by Lord Abbett. Strategy and Capability total assets may differ since only key capabilities are displayed.

5 INVESTMENT TEAM Experienced investment team led by: Robert A. Lee Partner & Chief Investment Officer 26 Years Steven F. Rocco, CFA Partner & Director of Taxable Fixed Income Leveraged Credit 16 Years Kewjin Yuoh Partner & Portfolio Manager Liquid & Securitized Products 23 Years Andrew H. O Brien, CFA Partner & Portfolio Manager Corporates 19 Years Jeffrey D. Lapin, J.D. Partner & Portfolio Manager Bank Loans 20 Years Alan R. Kurtz Portfolio Manager Convertibles 17 Years 5 Gregory S. Parker, CFA Portfolio Management Andrew M. Khatri Partner & Director of Global Credit Research 26 Years 23 Additional Research Analysts 15 Years Average Additional Resources: Walter H. Prahl, Ph.D. Partner & Director of Quantitative Research 32 Years Bjorn Flesaker, Ph.D. Director of Quantitative Research, Fixed Income 25 Years 6 Additional Investment Professionals 13 Years Average Specializing in the major sectors of the Fixed Income market 18 Additional Investment Professionals 14 Years Average Giulio Martini Partner & Director of Strategic Asset Allocation 32 Years Leah G. Traub, Ph.D. Partner & Portfolio Manager Currencies & Emerging Markets 16 Years 4 Additional Investment Professionals 13 Years Average Partner & Director of Trading 15 Years 9 Additional Traders 9 Years Average Brian Arsenault Investment Strategist 23 Years Timothy Paulson Investment Strategist 18 Years As of 10/02/2017. Years of industry experience, as of 01/01/2017.

6 CATEGORY OVERVIEW: ULTRA SHORT BOND

7 MORNINGSTAR CATEGORY DEFINITIONS DURATION RANGES 0 1 YEAR YEAR YEAR Ultra Short Bond Short Term Bond Intermediate Term Bond 7

8 WHY ULTRA SHORT BONDS? Higher Income and Total Return Potential versus Money Markets Lower Volatility than Short- and Intermediate-Term Bonds Diversification Benefits Due to Low Correlation 8 Attractive Performance During Periods of Rising Rates

9 $B U.S. CASH BALANCES REMAIN HIGH CASH & SHORT TERM ASSETS VERSUS MONEY MARKET ASSETS (AS OF 09/30/2017) $16,000 Total Cash & Short Term Assets* $14,000 $12,000 ICI U.S. Money Market Mutual Fund Assets $13.9 Trillion $10,000 9 $8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $2.7 Trillion $0 Sep-03 Sep-04 Sep-05 Sep-06 Sep-07 Sep-08 Sep-09 Sep-10 Sep-11 Sep-12 Sep-13 Sep-14 Sep-15 Sep-16 Sep-17 Source: Investment Company Institute data, Federal Reserve, and Bloomberg. For illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment. *Total cash and short-term assets include money market assets (ICI), large time deposits, all commercial banks, NSA (not seasonally adjusted), savings deposits, and small time deposits.

10 PORTFOLIO BENEFITS OF ULTRA SHORT BONDS LOWER VOLATILITY TRAILING 5-YEAR STANDARD DEVIATION LOWER CORRELATION TRAILING 5-YEAR CORRELATION Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Morningstar Intermediate-Term Bond Morningstar Short- Term Bond Morningstar Ultrashort Bond 0.0 Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Morningstar Intermediate-Term Bond Morningstar Short- Term Bond Morningstar Ultrashort Bond Less than 20% of the volatility of the broad U.S. Bond Market Provides diversification benefits Source: Morningstar and Zephyr. Data as of 09/30/2017. Data represents standard deviation and correlation statistics for the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index and Morningstar Category averages. For illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment, and not intended to predict or depict future results. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss in declining markets. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.

11 PERFORMANCE DURING RISING RATES PERFORMANCE DURING PERIODS OF FED RATE HIKES Date 10- Year U.S. Treasury Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index Morningstar Ultrashort Bond 12/15/ /04/ % -0.4% 1.7% 03/28/ /24/ % 3.4% 6.0% 02/03/ /01/ % -2.2% 2.5% 06/29/ /16/ % 2.2% 4.3% 06/29/ /29/ % 3.1% 2.7% Average -1.9% 1.2% 3.4% PERFORMANCE DURING PERIODS OF RISING TREASURY YIELDS Date 10- Year U.S. Treasury Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index Morningstar Ultrashort Bond 09/30/ /30/ % -3.0% 2.1% 11 01/31/ /31/ % -1.8% 2.7% 09/30/ /31/ % -0.6% 4.3% 06/30/ /30/ % -0.8% 3.3% 12/31/ /31/ % 5.9% 7.2% 08/31/ /31/ % -0.8% 0.9% 07/31/ /31/ % -1.1% 0.8% 06/30/ /31/ % -2.5% 0.6% Average -7.3% -0.6% 2.7% Source: Morningstar. 10-Year Treasury represented by Citigroup 10 Year Treasury Bond Index. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. For illustrative purposes only and does not represent any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment.

12 MONEY MARKET FUND REFORM IMPACTING SHORT TERM MARKETS SEC REGULATIONS FOR MONEY MARKET MUTUAL FUNDS Retail & Institutional Funds Net Asset Value Redemption Fee Redemption Suspension Government Stable at $1.00 None* None* *Government money market funds are permitted, but not required, to impose redemption fees and restrictions Retail Funds Ownership is restricted to individual investors (defined as natural persons ) Prime Municipal/Tax-Exempt Net Asset Value Redemption Fee Stable at $1.00 Up to 2% Redemption Suspension Up to 10 business days 12 Institutional Funds Ownership is open to all investors, including individual investors Net Asset Value Redemption Fee Redemption Suspension Prime Municipal/Tax-Exempt Floating Up to 2% Up to 10 business days Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). For illustrative purposes only. An investment in a money market fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. You could lose money by investing in a money market fund. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. The fund may impose a fee upon the sale of your shares or may temporarily suspend your ability to sell shares if the fund s liquidity falls below required minimums because of market conditions or other factors. The fund s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.

13 Assets ($B) Assets ($B) ASSETS HAVE SHIFTED TO GOVERNMENT MONEY MARKET FUNDS PRIME MONEY MARKET FUND ASSETS (12/02/ /30/2017) $1,300 $1,100 GOVERNMENT-ONLY FUND ASSETS (12/02/ /30/2017) $2,400 $2,200 $2,000 Assets have increased by over $1T $900 $1,800 $1, $700 $1,400 $500 Assets have declined by over $1T $1,200 $1,000 $800 $300 Dec-15 Mar-16 Jun-16 Sep-16 Dec-16 Mar-17 Jun-17 Sep-17 $600 Dec-15 Mar-16 Jun-16 Sep-16 Dec-16 Mar-17 Jun-17 Sep-17 Assets have declined in money market funds due to fund manager conversions and investor outflows Source: Bloomberg and ICI Money Market Fund data. For illustrative purposes only, does not represent the performance of any specific portfolio managed by Lord Abbett or any particular investment, and not intended to predict or depict future results. You could lose money by investing in a money market fund. An investment in a money market fund is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although a money market fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in such a fund. A fund s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and an investor should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time.

14 THE LORD ABBETT ULTRA SHORT BOND FUND

15 FIXED INCOME LINE-UP LORD ABBETT ULTRA SHORT BOND FUND Seeks to generate higher income and potential total return versus cash or money market funds, with potentially less volatility and lower interest rate risk than short or intermediate-term bonds. POTENTIAL RETURN 15 Ultra Short Bond Short Duration Core Bond Short Duration Income Core Fixed Income Total Return Core Plus Bond Inflation Focused Corporate Bond Income Floating Rate Bond Debenture Emerging Markets Corporate Debt Emerging Markets Currency High Yield Convertible Emerging Markets Local Bond RELATIVE RISK The chart represents Lord Abbett s assessment of the relative level of investment risk and potential investment return among the Lord Abbett taxable fixed-income Funds listed in the chart. The information is intended to graphically depict Lord Abbett s overall assessment of relative risk and potential return. It is not intended to depict any specific risk measurement, such as standard deviation, for any particular mutual fund, nor is it to depict any performance of any particular mutual fund. In addition, the graphic above does not depict different types of investment risk and does not reflect that a portion of a Fund s portfolio may be invested in securities that have higher investment risk relative to the overall portfolio. For example, a Fund s portfolio may be depicted as having relatively lower risk because it had less exposure to interest rate changes; however, the Fund may hold higher yielding securities that have relatively higher credit risk.

16 MORNINGSTAR CATEGORY DEFINITIONS DURATION RANGES 0 1 YEAR YEAR YEAR Ultra Short Bond Short Term Bond Intermediate Term Bond 16 LORD ABBETT MUTUAL FUND OFFERINGS Ultra Short Bond Fund Short Duration Income Fund Core Fixed Income Fund Total Return Fund Core Plus Bond Fund

17 KEY PORTFOLIO PARAMETERS LOW DURATION Limited Interest Rate Exposure Average Duration < 1 year Average Maturity < 1 year Maximum Maturity Limits: 2.25 years (Fixed Rate Securities) 3.25 years (Floating Rate Securities and other similar instruments) HIGH QUALITY Limited Credit Exposure 100% Investment Grade* 15% Maximum in BBB 17 FLEXIBLE APPROACH The Fund can seek opportunity across multiple sectors of the ultra short term market, primarily: Investment Grade Corporate Floating Rate Notes Commercial Paper AAA-rated Asset Backed Securities The strategy will not include high yield* bonds, bank loans or CMBS *Securities must be rated investment grade at time of purchase. The Fund s portfolio is actively managed and is subject to change.

18 MANAGED BY AN EXPERIENCED, TENURED TEAM MANAGED BY A DEEP, EXPERIENCED TEAM: Includes over 50 investment professionals with an average of 15 years industry 2010 experience Managed through a collaboration across Portfolio Management, Credit Research, and Trading Recognized for delivering consistent performance 18 *Among 61 fund families. Based on net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2016. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 11, 2017, Lord Abbett Funds ranked 1 out of 61, 1 out of 54, and 1 out of 53 mutual fund families within the taxable bond category for the 1-, 5- and 10-year periods ending 12/31/2016, respectively. Barron s Best Mutual Fund Families, February 6, 2016, #21 in the Taxable Bond Category among 67 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2015. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 7, 2015, #1 in the Taxable Bond Category among 65 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2014. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 8, 2014, #3 in the Taxable Bond Category among 64 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2013. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 11, 2013, #2 in the Taxable Bond Category among 62 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2012. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 6, 2012, #4 in the Taxable Bond Category among 58 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2011. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or a guarantee of future results. Please see Important Performance and Other Information regarding Barron s rankings.

19 TAXABLE FIXED INCOME INVESTMENT CAPABILITIES ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT BY STRATEGY & CAPABILITY (AS OF 09/30/2017) Strategy Assets Total Taxable Fixed Income $100,560,171,454 Money Market $453,331,061 Ultra Short $1,371,692,402 Short Duration Credit $44,637,156,952 Intermediate Government/Credit $352,253,552 Government $376,756,462 Core $4,164,238,725 Core Plus $5,902,892,471 Inflation Focused $1,148,108,579 Corporate Credit $2,151,631,660 Bank Loan $12,304,844,117 Multi Sector $13,398,101,030 Emerging Markets Corporate $70,269,231 Emerging Markets Currency $238,005,825 Long Duration $37,765,092 High Yield Core $4,591,619,687 High Yield Opportunistic $7,759,544,700 Convertible $1,591,626,862 Emerging Markets Local Bond $10,333,046 Capability Assets Total Corporate Credit $59,993,433,544 Investment Grade Corporate $21,158,403,478 U.S. IG Corporate $14,486,994,502 Non-U.S IG Corporate $6,671,408,976 High Yield Corporate $18,937,839,147 U.S. HY Corporate $14,744,218,080 Non-U.S. HY Corporate $4,193,621,067 Short Duration High Yield $4,765,553,628 U.S. HY Corporate $3,475,743,904 Non-U.S. HY Corporate $1,289,809,724 Bank Loans $13,145,133,862 Convertibles $1,986,503,429 Total Securitized Products $24,620,021,726 Commercial MBS $11,871,917,967 Asset Backed Securities $12,674,196,866 Residential MBS $73,906,893 U.S. Government-Related $6,550,506,148 Emerging Markets Debt $4,236,510,117 EM Corporate $3,490,839,673 EM Sovereign US$ $684,143,341 EM Sovereign Local Currency $61,527, Assets under management data is as of 09/30/2017 unless noted and includes approximately $713.5 million for which Lord Abbett provides investment models to managed account sponsors. In addition to the strategies listed above, the fixed income asset totals include the fixed income portion of the multi-asset class strategies managed by Lord Abbett. Strategy and Capability total assets may differ since only key capabilities are displayed.

20 CURRENT SECTOR ALLOCATION AS OF 09/30/2017 Corporate Floating Rate 38.8 Commercial Paper 22.7 ABS Corporate Fixed Rate 7.9 U.S. Government 1.8 Cash 9.7 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Ultra Short Bond Fund The Fund's portfolio is actively managed and sector allocation may change significantly over time. "Other" may include municipal bonds and non-index holdings. Allocations are reported as of the date a security transaction is initiated; however, certain transactions may not settle until several days later. Accordingly, cash may appear as a negative allocation as a result of forward settling instruments, such as currency forwards, certain mortgage-backed securities, and treasury futures.

21 % of Portfolio CREDIT QUALITY DISTRIBUTION AS OF 09/30/ % % 25% 20% 21 15% % % 0% A-2/P-2 A-3/P-3 U.S. Treasury AAA AA A BBB <BBB Cash Ultra Short Bond Fund The Fund's portfolio is actively managed and credit quality distribution may change significantly over time. Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding. Ratings (other than U.S. Treasury securities or securities issued or backed by U.S. agencies) provided by Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch. For certain securities that are not rated by any of these three agencies, credit ratings from other agencies may be used. Where the rating agencies rate a security differently, Lord Abbett uses the median, but if there are only two ratings, the lower rating is used. Ratings range from AAA (highest) to D (lowest). Bonds rated BBB or above are considered investment grade. Credit ratings BB and below are lower-rated securities (junk bonds). High-yielding, non-investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve higher risks than investment-grade bonds. Adverse conditions may affect the issuer's ability to pay interest and principal on these securities. A portion of the portfolio's securities may not be rated. Breakdown is not an S&P credit rating or an opinion of S&P as to the creditworthiness of such portfolio. Ratings apply to the credit worthiness of the issuers of the underlying securities and not the fund or its shares. Ratings may be subject to change. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment. Please see Important Performance and Other Information

22 MATURITY BREAKDOWN MATURITY BREAKDOWN 50% 45% 40% % 30% 25% 20% 15% % % 0% years years years years years Above 2.5 years Ultra Short Bond Fund Average Effective Duration Average Life 0.32 Years 0.92 Years Data as of 09/30/2017. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. The Fund s portfolio is actively managed and is subject to change.

23 ULTRA SHORT BOND FUND: PERFORMANCE AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURNS (AS OF 09/30/2017) YTD Since Inception (10/17/2016) Net Asset Value: (without sales charge) 1.07% 1.22% 23 Returns for less than one year are not annualized. There is no up-front commission on purchases of the Lord Abbett Ultra Short Bond Fund, but a contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) will be charged on shares exchanged from a Lord Abbett -sponsored fund that are subject to a CDSC and that are subsequently redeemed. The average annual total return figures include changes in net asset value, reinvested dividends, and capital gain distribution. Expense Ratio: Net: 0.40%; Gross: 3.62%. The net expense ratio takes into account contractual fee waivers/expense reimbursements that currently are scheduled to remain in place through 03/31/2018. For periods when fees and expenses were waived and/or reimbursed, the Fund benefited by not bearing such expenses. Without such fee waivers/reimbursements, performance would have been lower. Without sales charge (NAV): the net asset value performance above shows the Fund's average annual total returns excluding sales charges. If sales charges, including any applicable contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) had been included, performance would have been lower. With sales charge (MOP): performance of Class A shares with sales charge reflects the reinvestment of all distributions and includes initial maximum sales charge. Certain purchases of Class A shares without a sales charge are subject to CDSC. The CDSC is not reflected in the performance shown. Please see the prospectus for more details. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance data 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 the original cost. You can obtain performance data current to the most recent month-end by calling Lord Abbett at or referring to lordabbett.com.

24 IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE AND OTHER INFORMATION The index performance data cited in this presentation is presented for informational purposes only and do not depict the performance of the Lord Abbett Ultra Short Bond Fund or any other investment. Past performance is not a reliable indicator or guarantee of future results. It is neither implied nor guaranteed that investors in the Lord Abbett Ultra Short Bond Fund will experience the performance of indexes cited above. Because the Fund has a limited operating history, the performance information available at this time is very limited. Indexes are unmanaged, do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses, and are not available for direct investment. You may obtain Fund performance by calling Lord Abbett at or referring to our website at lordabbett.com. Morningstar Information Morningstar, Inc All rights reserved. The information contained herein is the proprietary information of Morningstar, Inc., may not be copied or redistributed for any purpose and may only be used for non-commercial, personal purposes. The information contained herein is not represented or warranted to be accurate, correct, complete or timely. Morningstar, Inc., shall not be responsible for investment decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from the use of this information. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Morningstar, Inc. has not granted consent for it to be considered or deemed an "expert" under the Securities Act of Barron s Information Among 61 fund families. Based on net total return of the one-year period ending 12/31/2016. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 11, Lord Abbett Funds ranked 1 out of 61, 1 out of 54, and 1 out of 53 mutual fund families within the taxable bond category for the 1-, 5- and 10- year periods ending 12/31/2016, respectively. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 6, 2016, #21 in the Taxable Bond Category among 67 fund families based on the net total return of the one year period ending 12/31/2015. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 7, 2015, #1 in the Taxable Bond Category among 65 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one year period ending 12/31/2014. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 8, 2014, #3 in the Taxable Bond Category among 64 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one year period ending 12/31/2013. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 11, 2013, #2 in the Taxable Bond Category among 62 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one year period ending 12/31/2012. Barron's Best Mutual Fund Families, February 6, 2012, #4 in the Taxable Bond Category among 58 fund families. Based on the net total return of the one year period ending 12/31/2011. Lord Abbett Funds ranked 1 out of 61, 8 out of 54, and 14 out of 53 mutual fund families within the mixed asset category for the 1-, 5- and 10- year periods ending 12/31/2016, respectively. Barron s Best Mutual Fund Families rankings are based on asset weighted returns in funds in five categories: U.S. 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, 2016, 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 2016 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. Reuters All Rights Reserved. Lipper Analytical Services, Inc. is an independent mutual fund research and rating service. Although Lipper makes reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data contained herein, the accuracy is not guaranteed by Lipper. 24

25 IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE AND OTHER INFORMATION 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. New Fund Risk: The Fund is newly organized. There can be no assurance that the Fund will reach or maintain a sufficient asset size to effectively implement its investment strategy. A Note about Risk: Ultra Short Bond Fund: The Fund is subject to the general risks associated with investing in debt securities, including market, credit, liquidity, and interest rate risk. The value of an investment in the Fund will change as interest rates fluctuate in response to market movements. When interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities are likely to decline, and when interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise. Debt securities are subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the issuer will fail to make timely payments of interest and principal to the Fund. The Fund may invest in foreign or emerging market securities, which may be adversely affected by economic, political, or regulatory factors and subject to currency volatility and greater liquidity risk. The Fund may invest in derivatives, which are subject to greater liquidity, leverage, and counterparty risk. Although the Fund may invest in money market securities, this is not a money market fund. These factors can affect Fund performance. As it is a newly organized fund, the Fund s performance at this time is very limited. The Fund's performance achieved during its initial period of investment operation may not be replicated over longer periods and may not be indicative of how the Fund will perform in the future. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. 25 Taxable Fixed-Income: 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. High-yield securities, sometimes called junk bonds, carry increased risks of price volatility, illiquidity, and the possibility of default in the timely payment of interest and principal. Convertible securities have both equity and fixedincome risk characteristics. Like all fixed-income securities, the value of convertible securities is susceptible to the risk of market losses attributable to changes in interest rates. Generally, the market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, to increase as interest rates decline.

26 IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE AND OTHER INFORMATION This information in this presentation is only for illustrative purposes and is intended to provide general investment education and is not intended to provide legal, tax or investment advice. It is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or research regarding a particular investment or the markets in general, nor is it intended to predict or depict performance of any investment or serve as a recommendation or offer to buy or sell securities. Bonds are affected by interest rate movements. Bond prices and, likewise, a bond fund s share price, generally move in the opposite direction of interest rates. As the prices of bonds in a fund adjust to a rise in interest rates, a fund s share price may decline. In addition, bonds are subject to call, credit, liquidity, interest rate, and general market risks. Investors should be aware of the special risks involved with investments in high-yield bonds. High-yield bonds invest in lower-rated, higher-yielding instruments, which are subject to increased risk of default and can potentially result in loss of principal. Higher-yielding, lower-rated corporate bonds entail a greater degree of credit risk than investment-grade securities. Adverse conditions may affect the issuer s ability to pay interest and principal on the securities. Lower-rated bonds may carry greater risks than higher-rated bonds. Mortgage-backed securities are susceptible to prepayment risk. Please note: The credit quality of the securities in a portfolio are assigned by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO), such as Standard & Poor s, Moody s, or Fitch, as an indication of an issuer s creditworthiness. Ratings range from AAA (highest) to D (lowest). Bonds rated BBB or above are considered investment grade. Credit ratings BB and below are lower-rated securities (junk bonds). High-yielding, non-investment-grade bonds (junk bonds) involve higher risks than investmentgrade bonds. Adverse conditions may affect the issuer s ability to pay interest and principal on these securities. The credit quality distribution breakdown is not an S&P credit rating or an opinion of S&P as to the creditworthiness of the portfolio. The information provided is not directed at any investor or category of investors and is provided solely as general information about Lord Abbett s products and services and to otherwise provide general investment education. None of the information provided should be regarded as a suggestion to engage in or refrain from any investmentrelated course of action as neither Lord Abbett nor its affiliates are undertaking to provide impartial investment advice, act as an impartial adviser, or give advice in a fiduciary capacity. If you are an individual retirement investor, contact your financial advisor or other fiduciary about whether any given investment idea, strategy, product or service may be appropriate for your circumstances. 26 Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of the Lord Abbett Funds. This and other important information is contained in the Fund's summary prospectus and/or prospectus. To obtain a prospectus or summary prospectus on any Lord Abbett mutual fund, contact your investment professional, Lord Abbett Distributor LLC at or visit us at lordabbett.com. Read the prospectus carefully before you invest. Mutual funds are not insured by the FDIC, are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed by banks, and are subject to investment risks including possible loss of principal amount invested. Lord Abbett Distributor LLC is the principal underwriter of the Lord Abbett Mutual Funds.