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Calibrated Dividend Growth Portfolio  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading Calibrated Dividend Growth Portfolio
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock

The Fund’s investment objective is to seek current income and 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, 2020
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 58% of the average value of its portfolio.
Portfolio Turnover, Rate rr_PortfolioTurnoverRate 58.00%
Expenses Restated to Reflect Current [Text] rr_ExpensesRestatedToReflectCurrent This amount has been updated from the fiscal year amount to reflect current fees and expenses.
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

The Fund invests in the equity securities of large and mid-sized companies that the Fund’s portfolio management team believes have potential for long-term total return resulting from their earnings growth and a record of consistent increases in their dividends over time. In particular, the Fund focuses on large and mid-sized companies that have a ten-year history of dividend issuance and growth, which represents a narrow investable universe. The Fund’s portfolio management team uses fundamental research and quantitative analysis to select the Fund’s investments. The Fund may invest in companies of any size, but expects to invest primarily in companies having a market capitalization at the time of purchase of at least $500 million.


The Fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets in securities of foreign companies, including emerging market companies and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”). The Fund defines foreign companies as those whose securities are traded primarily on non-U.S. securities exchanges. Because ADRs represent exposure to foreign companies, the Fund deems them to be foreign investments even though they trade on U.S. exchanges. Foreign securities may be denominated in the U.S. dollar or other currencies. The Fund’s principal investments include the following types of securities and other financial instruments:


 
 

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Equity securities of large and mid-sized companies. The Fund may invest in any security that represents equity ownership in a company. Equity securities in which the Fund may invest 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 and vehicles with similar legal structures, and other instruments with similar characteristics. The Fund considers equity securities to include warrants, rights offerings, convertible securities, and other investments that are convertible or exercisable into the equity securities described above.

 

 
 

 

  

 
 

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Dividend-paying securities issued by companies that pay out a portion of their profits to shareholders instead of reinvesting all their profits in their businesses. Companies which grow their dividends in a consistent manner show an ability to manage and grow their businesses through economic cycles. The portfolio management team believes the equity securities of these companies have the potential for investment return because they are often underpriced or undervalued according to certain financial measurements of intrinsic worth or business prospects.

The Fund may 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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Investment Strategy Risk: If the Fund’s fundamental research and quantitative analysis fail to produce the intended result, the Fund may suffer losses or underperform its benchmark or other funds with the same investment objective or strategies, even in a favorable market. In addition, the Fund’s strategy of focusing on the relatively narrow market segment of dividend-paying companies means the Fund will be more exposed to risks associated with that particular market segment than a fund that invests more widely.

 

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Market Risk: The market values of securities will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, based on overall economic conditions, governmental actions or intervention, political developments 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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Dividend Risk: Securities of dividend-paying companies that meet the Fund’s investment criteria may not be widely available, limiting the Fund’s ability to produce current income and increasing the volatility of the Fund’s returns. At times, the performance of dividend-paying companies may lag the performance of other companies or the broader market as a whole. In addition, the dividend payments of the Fund’s portfolio companies may vary over time, and there is no guarantee that a company will pay a dividend at all.

 

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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 dynamic components of the Fund’s benchmark or 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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Large Company Risk: As compared to smaller successful companies, larger, more established companies may be less able to respond quickly to certain market developments and may have slower rates of growth. Large companies also may fall out of favor relative to smaller companies in certain market cycles, causing the Fund to incur losses or underperform.

 

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Mid-Sized Company Risk: Investments in mid-sized companies may involve greater risks than investments in larger, more established companies. As compared to larger companies, mid-sized 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, securities of mid-sized companies 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. The securities of mid-sized companies may be less well-known and trade less frequently and in more limited volume than the securities of larger, more established companies, which can adversely affect the pricing of these securities and the ability to sell these securities in the future. Mid-sized 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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Growth Investing Risk: The Fund may use a growth investing style, which may be out of favor or may not produce favorable results over short or longer time periods. In addition, growth stocks tend to be more volatile than value stocks. Growth stocks typically trade at higher multiples of current earnings than other stocks. Growth stocks often are more sensitive to market fluctuations than other securities because their market prices are highly sensitive to future earnings expectations. At times when it appears that these expectations may not be met, growth stocks’ prices typically fall.

 

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Foreign and Emerging Market Company Risk: Investments in foreign 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. 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 generally 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. Companies with economic ties to emerging markets may be susceptible to the same risks as companies organized in emerging markets.

 

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Foreign Currency Risk: Investments in securities that are denominated in foreign currencies are subject to the risk that those currencies will decline in value relative to the U.S. dollar, or, in the case of hedged positions, that the U.S. dollar will decline in value relative to the currency being hedged. Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time.


 

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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.


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.


Effective September 27, 2012, the Fund implemented its present dividend-oriented equity strategy. Performance for earlier periods reflects the Fund’s prior strategy of investing in a mix of equity and fixed income securities.
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 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 3rd Q ’09 +12.42%

  

Worst Quarter 3rd Q ’11 -13.59%
Highest Quarterly Return, Label rr_HighestQuarterlyReturnLabel Best Quarter
Highest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2009
Highest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartHighestQuarterlyReturn 12.42%
Lowest Quarterly Return, Label rr_LowestQuarterlyReturnLabel Worst Quarter
Lowest Quarterly Return, Date rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturnDate Sep. 30, 2011
Lowest Quarterly Return rr_BarChartLowestQuarterlyReturn (13.59%)
Performance Table Heading rr_PerformanceTableHeading Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2018)
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.
Calibrated Dividend Growth Portfolio | S&P 500® Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.38%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 8.49%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 13.12%
Calibrated Dividend Growth Portfolio | Class VC  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Management Fees rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.55%
Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.47%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 1.02%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets (0.03%) [1]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.99% [1],[2]
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 $ 101
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 322
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear05 560
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear10 $ 1,245
Annual Return 2009 rr_AnnualReturn2009 23.41%
Annual Return 2010 rr_AnnualReturn2010 14.77%
Annual Return 2011 rr_AnnualReturn2011 0.19%
Annual Return 2012 rr_AnnualReturn2012 12.46%
Annual Return 2013 rr_AnnualReturn2013 27.93%
Annual Return 2014 rr_AnnualReturn2014 11.54%
Annual Return 2015 rr_AnnualReturn2015 (2.13%)
Annual Return 2016 rr_AnnualReturn2016 15.10%
Annual Return 2017 rr_AnnualReturn2017 19.12%
Annual Return 2018 rr_AnnualReturn2018 (4.67%)
1 Year rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear01 (4.67%)
5 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear05 7.37%
10 Years rr_AverageAnnualReturnYear10 11.28%
[1] For the period from May 1, 2019 through April 30, 2020, 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, excluding acquired fund fees and expenses, interest-related expenses, taxes, expenses related to litigation and potential litigation, and extraordinary expenses, to an annual rate of 0.99%. This agreement may be terminated by the Fund's Board of Directors.
[2] This amount has been updated from the fiscal year amount to reflect current fees and expenses.