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Label Element Value
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Developing Growth Portfolio
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital.

Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading FEES AND EXPENSES
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock

This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. The table does not reflect the fees and expenses of variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies (together, “Variable Contracts”). If such fees and expenses were reflected, expenses shown would be higher.

Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination 2014-04-30
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover.
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the Fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 176.45% of the average value of its portfolio.

Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 176.45%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

The following example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year, that dividends and distributions are reinvested, and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that the example takes into account the contractual management fee waiver and expense limitation agreement between the Fund and Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC for the term of the agreement). The example does not reflect variable contract expenses, fees, and charges. If these expenses, fees, and charges were included, your costs would be higher. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock

To pursue its objective, the Fund invests primarily in the common stocks of companies demonstrating above-average, long-term growth potential. The Fund seeks to identify companies that it believes are strongly positioned in the developing growth phase, which the Fund defines as the period of swift development after a company’s start-up phase when growth occurs at a rate rarely equaled by established companies in their mature years.


Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities of small companies. In selecting investments, the Fund may invest in U.S. and foreign (which may include emerging market) companies. Foreign companies may be traded on U.S. or non-U.S. securities exchanges, may be denominated in the U.S. dollar or other currencies, and may include American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). Although the Fund is diversified across many industries and sectors, its assets may, from time to time, be overweighted or underweighted to certain industries and sectors relative to its benchmark index. The Fund’s principal investments include the following types of securities and other financial instruments:


 

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Equity securities usually include common stocks, but also may include preferred stocks, convertible securities, and equity interests in trusts, partnerships, and limited liability companies. The Fund also may invest in securities that are tied to the price of stock, including rights and convertible debt securities.

 

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Small companies having a market capitalization at the time of purchase that falls within the market capitalization range of companies in the Russell 2000® Index.

 

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Growth companies that the Fund believes exhibit faster-than-average gains in earnings and have the potential to continue profit growth at a high level.


The Fund may engage in active and frequent trading of its portfolio securities.


The Fund generally will sell a security when the Fund believes the security is less likely to benefit from the current market and economic environment, shows signs of deteriorating fundamentals, or has reached its valuation target, among other reasons. The Fund seeks to remain fully invested in accordance with its investment objective; however, in response to adverse economic, market or other unfavorable conditions, the Fund may invest its assets in a temporary defensive manner.

Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading PRINCIPAL RISKS
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock

As with any investment in a mutual fund, investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you may lose a portion or all of the money you invested in the Fund. The principal risks of investing in the Fund, which could adversely affect its performance, include:


 

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Portfolio Management Risk: If the strategies used and securities selected by the Fund’s portfolio management fail to produce the intended result, the Fund may suffer losses or underperform other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a rising market.

 

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Equity Risk: Common stocks and other equity securities, as well as equity-like securities such as convertible bonds, may experience significant volatility. Such securities may fall sharply in response to adverse events affecting overall markets, a particular industry or sector, or an individual company’s financial condition.

 

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Small Company Risk: The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of small companies, which typically involve greater investment risks than larger companies. Small companies may have limited management experience or depth, limited ability to generate or borrow capital needed for growth, and limited products or services or operate in markets that have not yet been established. Accordingly, small company securities tend to be more sensitive to changing economic conditions and tend to be more volatile and less liquid than equity securities of larger companies.

 

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Growth Investing Risk: The Fund uses a growth investing style, which may be out of favor or may not produce the best results over short or longer time periods. In addition, growth stocks tend to be more volatile than slower-growing value stocks.

 

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Foreign Company Risk: The Fund’s investments in foreign (including emerging market) companies and in U.S. companies with economic ties to foreign markets generally involve special risks that can increase the likelihood that the Fund will lose money. For example, as compared with companies organized and operated in the U.S., these companies may be more vulnerable to economic, political, and social instability and subject to less government supervision, inadequate regulatory and accounting standards, and foreign taxes. In addition, the securities of foreign companies also may be subject to inadequate exchange control regulations, higher transaction and other costs, reduced liquidity, and delays in settlement to the extent they are traded on non-U.S. exchanges or markets. Emerging market securities generally are more volatile than other foreign securities, and are subject to greater liquidity, regulatory, and political risks.

 

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Industry/Sector Risk: To the extent that the Fund emphasizes a particular industry or sector, events affecting that industry or sector (such as government regulations, resource availability or economic developments) will impact the Fund’s performance to a greater degree than events affecting other industries or sectors.

 

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High Portfolio Turnover Risk: High portfolio turnover may result in increased brokerage fees or other transaction costs, reduced investment performance, and higher taxes.


An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. For more information on the principal risks of the Fund, please see the “More Information About the Fund – Principal Risks” section in the prospectus.

Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney As with any investment in a mutual fund, investing in the Fund involves risk, including the risk that you may receive little or no return on your investment. When you redeem your shares, they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you may lose a portion or all of the money you invested in the Fund.
Risk Not Insured Depository Institution [Text] rr_RiskNotInsuredDepositoryInstitution An investment in the Fund is not a deposit of any bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading PERFORMANCE
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by illustrating the variability of the Fund’s returns. Each assumes reinvestment of dividends and distributions. The Fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.

Performance Information Illustrates Variability of Returns [Text] rr_PerformanceInformationIllustratesVariabilityOfReturns The bar chart and table below provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by illustrating the variability of the Fund's returns.
Performance Past Does Not Indicate Future [Text] rr_PerformancePastDoesNotIndicateFuture The Fund's past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future.
Bar Chart [Heading] rr_BarChartHeading Bar Chart (per calendar year) - Class VC Shares
Bar Chart Narrative [Text Block] rr_BarChartNarrativeTextBlock

The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the Fund's Class VC shares from calendar year to calendar year. This chart does not reflect the sales charges or other expenses of Variable Contracts. If those sales charges and expenses were reflected, returns would be lower.


Bar Chart Does Not Reflect Sales Loads [Text] rr_BarChartDoesNotReflectSalesLoads This chart does not reflect the sales charges or other expenses of Variable Contracts. If those sales charges and expenses were reflected, returns would be lower.
Bar Chart Closing [Text Block] rr_BarChartClosingTextBlock

 

 

 

Best Quarter 1st Q ’12 +13.39%

 

Worst Quarter 3rd Q ’11 -22.58%

Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Mar. 31, 2012
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 13.39%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (22.58%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2012)
Index No Deduction for Fees, Expenses, Taxes [Text] rr_IndexNoDeductionForFeesExpensesTaxes (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
Performance Table Narrative rr_PerformanceTableNarrativeTextBlock

The table below shows how the Fund’s average annual total returns compare to the returns of a securities market index with investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund.

Russell 2000® Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 14.59%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 9.71%
Inception Date for Performance rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2010
Class VC
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.75%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 25.41%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 26.16%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (25.26%) [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.90% [1]
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 92
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 4,447
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 7,154
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 10,246
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (2.14%)
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 12.11%
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 12.11%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 12.32%
Inception Date for Performance rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2010
[1] For the period from May 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014, Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC has contractually agreed to waive its fees and reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to limit total net annual operating expenses to an annual rate of 0.90%. This agreement may be terminated only by the approval of the Fund's Board of Directors.