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

The Fund’s investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.
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 Apr. 30, 2017
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 the 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 55.58% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 55.58%
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock

This 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 and that the Fund’s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangement described above. 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 normally invests at least 65% of its net assets in equity securities of small and mid-sized companies. The remainder of the Fund’s assets may be invested in companies of any size. The Fund may change this policy at any time. The Fund attempts to invest in companies the investment team believes have been undervalued by the market and whose securities are selling at reasonable prices in relation to an assessment of their potential or intrinsic value. The Fund seeks to identify companies that have the strongest fundamentals relative to valuations and looks for positive factors that the Fund believes are likely to improve the value of the company’s stock price.


The Fund may invest in U.S. and foreign (including 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”). The Fund’s principal investments include the following types of securities and other financial instruments:


 

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Equity securities of small and mid-sized companies. The Fund may invest in any security that represents equity ownership in a company. Equity securities usually include common stocks, preferred stocks, equity interests in trusts (including real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and privately offered trusts), partnerships, joint ventures, limited liability companies, vehicles with similar legal structures, and other instruments with similar characteristics. The Fund considers equity securities to include rights offerings and investments that convert into the equity securities described above.
 

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Mid-sized and small companies having a market capitalization at the time of purchase that falls within the market capitalization range of companies in the Russell 2500™ Index.
 

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Value companies that the Fund’s portfolio management team believes to be undervalued according to certain financial measurements of intrinsic worth or business prospects and to have the potential for capital appreciation.

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. The Fund may, however, deviate entirely from the investment strategy described above for temporary defensive purposes. The Fund may miss certain investment opportunities if defensive strategies are used and thus may not achieve its investment objective.
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 investments selected by the Fund’s portfolio management team 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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Market Risk: The market values of securities will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions and other factors. Prices of equity securities tend to rise and fall more dramatically than those of debt securities.
 

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Equity Securities Risk: Equity securities, as well as equity-like securities such as convertible debt securities, 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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Industry and Sector Risk: Although the Fund does not employ an industry or sector focus, its exposure to specific industries or sectors will increase from time to time based on the portfolio management team’s perception of investment opportunities. If the Fund overweights a single industry or sector relative to its benchmark index, the Fund will face an increased risk that the value of its portfolio will decrease because of events disproportionately affecting that industry or sector. Furthermore, investments in particular industries or sectors may be more volatile than the broader market as a whole.
 

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Mid-Sized and Small Company Risk: Investments in mid-sized and smaller companies may involve greater risks than investments in larger, more established companies. As compared to larger companies, mid-sized and smaller 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 less established markets. Accordingly, mid-sized and smaller company securities tend to be more sensitive to changing economic, market, and industry conditions and tend to be more volatile and less liquid than equity securities of larger companies, especially over the short term. Mid-sized and smaller companies also may fall out of favor relative to larger companies in certain market cycles, causing the Fund to incur losses or underperform.
 

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Value Investing Risk: The prices of value stocks may lag the stock market for long periods of time if the market fails to recognize the company’s intrinsic worth. Value investing also is subject to the risk that a company judged to be undervalued may actually be appropriately priced or even overpriced.
 

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Foreign and Emerging Market 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, lack of transparency, inadequate regulatory and accounting standards, and foreign taxes. In addition, the securities of foreign companies also may be subject to inadequate exchange control regulations, the imposition of economic sanctions or other government restrictions, higher transaction and other costs, reduced liquidity, and delays in settlement to the extent they are traded on non-U.S. exchanges or markets. Foreign company securities also include ADRs. ADRs may be less liquid than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. Emerging market securities generally are more volatile than other foreign securities, and are subject to greater liquidity, regulatory, and political risks. Investments in emerging markets may be considered speculative and generally are riskier than investments in more developed markets because such markets tend to develop unevenly and may never fully develop. Emerging markets are more likely to experience hyperinflation and currency devaluations. Securities of emerging market companies may have far lower trading volumes and less liquidity than securities of issuers in developed markets. The Fund may invest in securities of companies whose economic fortunes are linked to emerging markets but which principally are traded on a non-emerging market exchange. Such investments do not meet the Fund’s definition of an emerging market security. To the extent the Fund invests in this manner, the percentage of the Fund’s portfolio that is exposed to emerging market risks may be greater than the percentage of the Fund’s assets that the Fund defines as representing emerging market securities.
 

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Real Estate Risk: An investment in a REIT generally is subject to the risks that impact the value of the underlying properties or mortgages of the REIT. These risks include loss to casualty or condemnation, and changes in supply and demand, interest rates, zoning laws, regulatory limitations on rents, property taxes, and operating expenses. Other factors that may adversely affect REITs include poor performance by management of the REIT, changes to the tax laws, or failure by the REIT to qualify for tax-free distribution of income, and changes in local, regional, or general economic conditions.
 

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Liquidity/Redemption Risk: The Fund may lose money when selling securities at inopportune times to fulfill shareholder redemption requests. The risk of loss may increase depending on the size and frequency of redemption requests, whether the redemption requests occur in times of overall market turmoil or declining prices, and whether the securities the Fund intends to sell have decreased in value or are illiquid.

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 4th Q ’11 +16.69%

  

Worst Quarter 3rd Q ’11 -23.37%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Dec. 31, 2011
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 16.69%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (23.37%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2015)
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 securities market indices with investment characteristics similar to those of the Fund.
Value Opportunities Portfolio | Russell 2500™ Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.90%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 10.32%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 11.03%
Inception Date for Performance rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2010
Value Opportunities Portfolio | Russell 2500™ Value Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (5.49%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 9.23%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 9.51%
Inception Date for Performance rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2010
Value Opportunities Portfolio | Class VC  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.75%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 14.46%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 15.21%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (14.11%) [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 1.10% [1]
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 112
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 2,958
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 5,253
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 9,228
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 (4.47%)
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 10.92%
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 38.82%
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 8.92%
Annual Return 2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (2.53%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (2.53%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 9.32%
Life of Class rr_AverageAnnualReturnSinceInception 10.13%
Inception Date for Performance rr_AverageAnnualReturnInceptionDate Apr. 30, 2010
[1] For the period from May 1, 2016 through April 30, 2017, Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC has contractually agreed to waive its fees and reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to limit total annual operating expenses, excluding any acquired fund fees and expenses, to an annual rate of 1.10%. This agreement may be terminated only by the approval of the Fund's Board of Directors.