Lazard Funds Summary Prospectus April 30, 2014
Before you invest, you may want to review the Portfolio’s Prospectus, which contains more information about the Portfolio and its risks. The Portfolio’s Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”), both dated April 30, 2014 (as revised or supplemented), are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. You can find the Portfolio’s Prospectus, SAI and other information about the Portfolio online at www.LazardNet.com/lam/us/lazardfunds.shtml. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) 823-6300 or by sending an e-mail request to ContactUs@LazardNet.com.
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Institutional |
Open |
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Lazard Fundamental Long/Short Portfolio |
LLSIX |
LLSOX |
Investment Objective
The Portfolio seeks capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses
This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Portfolio, a series of The Lazard Funds, Inc. (the “Fund”).
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Institutional |
Open |
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Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) |
1.00% |
1.00% |
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Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a |
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Management Fees |
1.40% |
1.40% |
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Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees |
None |
.25% |
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Other Expenses* |
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Dividend and Interest Expenses on Securities Sold Short |
1.16% |
1.16% |
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Remainder of Other Expenses |
.24% |
.29% |
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Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses |
2.80% |
3.10% |
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* |
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“Other Expenses” are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year. |
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Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds.
The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same, giving effect to the fee waiver and expense reimbursement arrangement described above. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
3 Years |
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Institutional Shares |
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$ |
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283 |
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$ |
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868 |
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Open Shares |
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$ |
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313 |
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$ |
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957 |
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Portfolio Turnover The Portfolio 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 and may result in higher taxes when Portfolio shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected
in annual portfolio operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Portfolio’s performance. Because the Portfolio had not commenced investment operations prior to the date of this Prospectus, no portfolio turnover information is presented. Principal Investment Strategies The Portfolio utilizes a long/short investment strategy through investments in equity securities, principally common stocks, and derivative instruments that provide exposure to such equity securities. The Investment Manager’s approach in managing the Portfolio is based on its bottom-up relative-value
philosophy. Generally, the Investment Manager seeks to take long positions by investing in equity securities of companies with strong and/or improving financial productivity that have attractive valuations, and seeks to complement these long positions with short positions in respect of companies viewed by the
Investment Manager to possess deteriorating fundamentals, unattractive valuations or other qualities warranting a short position, or those that represent a sector or market hedge. The Portfolio will generally have short positions through selling securities “short” and through investments in derivative instruments,
principally swap agreements on individual securities, and may use short positions to seek to increase returns or to reduce risk. It is expected that the total gross exposure of the Portfolio will typically range from 0% to 200% of the Portfolio’s net asset value (“NAV”) and that the net exposure will typically range
from -25% (net short position) to 100% of its NAV. As an example, if the Portfolio’s long investment exposure is 100% of its NAV and its short exposure is 75% of its NAV, the Portfolio would have a net long exposure of 25% of NAV. Although the Portfolio’s investment focus is US companies, the Portfolio also may invest in non-US companies, including depositary receipts and shares. The Portfolio may invest in companies across the capitalization spectrum. The Portfolio also may invest in cash and cash equivalents. At certain times, based
on the currently existing market environment, the Investment Manager may not believe it is able to find sufficient opportunities to invest in equity securities and/or take short positions in equity securities and may determine to tactically shift the Portfolio to invest substantially in money market instruments,
such as short-term US Treasury securities and certificates of deposit. A short sale involves the sale of a security that the Portfolio does not own in the expectation of purchasing the same security (or a security exchangeable therefor) at a later date and at a lower price and profiting from the price decline. Similarly, when taking short positions with respect to securities through
investments in derivative instruments, the Investment Manager is expecting the value of such securities to fall during the period of the Portfolio’s investment exposure. However, the Portfolio will incur a loss on a short position in respect of a security if the price of the security increases during the period of the
Portfolio’s investment exposure. When taking a short position, the Portfolio’s potential loss is limited only by the maximum attainable price of the security less the price at which the Portfolio’s position in the security was established. In addition, the Portfolio may, but is not required to, invest in exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), enter into equity and currency swap agreements, and forward currency contracts; and write put and call options on securities (including ETFs), indexes and currencies, for hedging purposes or to seek to increase
returns. The Portfolio is classified as “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), which means that it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers, when compared to a diversified fund. Principal Investment Risks The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money. Short Position Risk. Short positions in equity securities may involve substantial risks. If a short position appreciates in value during the period of the Portfolio’s investment, there will be a loss to the Portfolio that could be substantial. Short positions involve more risk than long positions because the maximum
sustainable loss on a security purchased is limited to the amount paid for the security plus the transaction costs. However, there is no 2Summary Prospectus
maximum attainable price in connection with a short position. As such, theoretically, short positions in securities have unlimited risk. Swap Agreements and Other Derivatives Risk. Swap agreements and other derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes, may reduce returns or increase volatility, perhaps substantially. Over-the-counter swap agreements, forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on
securities (including options on ETFs), indexes and currencies and other over-the-counter derivatives transactions are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. These derivatives transactions, as well as the exchange-traded options in which the Portfolio may invest, are subject to many
of the risks of, and can be highly sensitive to changes in the value of, the related security, index, commodity, interest rate, currency or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio’s performance. Use of derivatives transactions, even when entered into
for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions. Counterparty Credit Risk. The Portfolio’s investment strategy is dependent on counterparties to its securities borrowing transactions in connection with short sales of securities and counterparties to derivatives transactions. Transactions with such counterparties are subject to the risk of default by a counterparty,
which could result in a loss of Portfolio assets used as collateral or the loss of monies owed to the Portfolio by a counterparty. Leverage Risk. The use of leverage, which the Portfolio’s strategy entails, may magnify the Portfolio’s gains or losses. Market Risk. Market risks, including political, regulatory, market and economic developments, and developments that impact specific economic sectors, industries or segments of the market, can affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments. In addition, turbulence in financial markets and reduced liquidity in
equity, credit and/or fixed income markets may negatively affect many issuers, which could adversely affect the Portfolio. Market Direction Risk. Since the Portfolio will typically hold both long and short positions, an investment in the Portfolio will involve market risks associated with different types of investment decisions than those made for a typical “long only” fund. The Portfolio’s results will suffer both when there is a
general market advance and the Portfolio holds significant “short” positions, or when there is a general market decline and the Portfolio holds significant “long” positions. In recent years, the markets have shown considerable volatility from day to day and even in intra-day trading. Issuer Risk. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer, such as management performance, financial leverage and reduced demand for the issuer’s goods or services, as well as the historical and prospective earnings of the issuer and the value of its assets or
factors unrelated to the issuer’s value, such as investor perception. Value Investing Risk. The Portfolio invests in stocks believed by the Investment Manager to be undervalued, but that may not realize their perceived value for extended periods of time or may never realize their perceived value. The stocks in which the Portfolio invests may respond differently to market and
other developments than other types of stocks. Large Cap Companies Risk. The securities of large cap companies may underperform other segments of the market because such companies may be less responsive to competitive challenges and opportunities and may be unable to attain high growth rates during periods of economic expansion. Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk. Small and mid cap companies carry additional risks because their earnings tend to be less predictable, their share prices more volatile and their securities less liquid than larger, more established companies. The shares of small and mid cap companies tend to trade less
frequently than those of larger companies, which can have an adverse effect on the pricing of these securities and on the ability to sell these securities when the Investment Manager deems it appropriate. Non-US Securities Risk. The Portfolio’s performance will be influenced by political, social and economic factors affecting the non-US countries and companies in which the Portfolio invests. Non-US securities carry special risks, such as less developed or less efficient trading markets, Summary Prospectus3
political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity. Emerging market countries can generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable, than those of developed countries. Foreign Currency Risk. Investments denominated in currencies other than US dollars may experience a decline in value, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. The Investment Manager does not intend to actively hedge the Portfolio’s foreign currency exposure. Non-Diversification Risk. The Portfolio’s NAV may be more vulnerable to changes in the market value of a single issuer or group of issuers and may be relatively more susceptible to adverse effects from any single corporate, industry, economic, market, political or regulatory occurrence than if the Portfolio’s
investments consisted of securities issued by a larger number of issuers. ETF Risk. Shares of ETFs may trade at prices that vary from their NAVs, sometimes significantly. The shares of ETFs may trade at prices at, below or above their most recent NAV. In addition, the performance of an ETF pursuing a passive index-based strategy may diverge from the performance of the index.
The Portfolio’s investments in ETFs are subject to the risks of such ETF’s investments, as well as to the general risks of investing in ETFs. Portfolio shares will bear not only the Portfolio’s management fees and operating expenses, but also their proportional share of the management fees and operating
expenses of the ETFs in which the Portfolio invests. The Portfolio may be limited by the 1940 Act in the amount of its assets that may be invested in ETFs and unless an ETF has received an exemptive order from the Securities and Exchange Commission on which the Portfolio may rely or an exemption is
available. High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Portfolio’s investment strategy may involve high portfolio turnover (such as 100% or more). A portfolio turnover rate of 100%, for example, is equivalent to the Portfolio buying and selling all of its securities once during the course of the year. A high portfolio turnover rate
could result in high transaction costs and an increase in taxable capital gains distributions to the Portfolio’s shareholders, which will reduce returns to shareholders. Performance Bar Chart and Table Because the Portfolio had not commenced investment operations prior to the date of this Prospectus, no performance returns are presented. Annual performance returns provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Portfolio by showing changes in performance from year to year. Comparison of Portfolio
performance to an appropriate index indicates how the Portfolio’s average annual returns compare with those of a broad measure of market performance. After the Portfolio commences investment operations, performance information will be available at www.LazardNet.com or by calling (800) 823-6300. The
Portfolio’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Portfolio will perform in the future. 4Summary Prospectus
Management Investment Manager Lazard Asset Management LLC Portfolio Manager/Analysts Dmitri Batsev, portfolio manager/analyst on the Investment Manager’s Fundamental Long/Short team, has been with the Portfolio since April 2014. Martin Flood, portfolio manager/analyst on various of the Investment Manager’s US Equity teams and the Global Equity Select and Fundamental Long/Short teams, has been with the Portfolio since April 2014. Jerry Liu, portfolio manager/analyst on the Investment Manager’s US Mid Cap Equity and Fundamental Long/Short teams, has been with the Portfolio since April 2014. Andrew D. Lacey, portfolio manager/analyst on various of the Investment Manager’s US Equity and Global Equity teams and the Fundamental Long/Short team, has been with the Portfolio since April 2014. Purchase and Sale of Portfolio Shares The initial investment minimums are: Institutional Shares
$
100,000 Open Shares*
$
2,500
* The subsequent investment minimum is $50. Portfolio shares are redeemable through the Fund’s transfer agent, Boston Financial Data Services, Inc., on any business day by telephone, mail or overnight delivery. Clients of financial intermediaries may be subject to the intermediaries’ procedures. Tax Information All dividends and short-term capital gains distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, and long-term capital gains are generally taxable as such, whether you receive the distribution in cash or reinvest it in additional shares. Financial Intermediary Compensation Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries If you purchase shares of the Portfolio through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Portfolio and/or the Investment Manager and its affiliates may pay the intermediary for the sale of Portfolio shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by
influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Portfolio over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information. 00084114 Lazard Asset Management LLC • 30 Rockefeller Plaza • New York, NY 10112 • www.lazardnet.com
Unless the investor is a client of a securities dealer or other institution which has made an aggregate minimum initial purchase for its clients of at least $2,500 for Open Shares.