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Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio
Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio
Investment Objective

The Portfolio seeks long-term 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. Investors transacting in Institutional shares through a financial intermediary acting as a broker in an agency capacity may be required to pay a commission directly to the broker.

Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio
Institutional Shares
Open Shares
R6 Shares
Management Fees 1.00% 1.00% 1.00%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees none 0.25% none
Dividend Expenses on Securities Sold Short [1] [2]
Borrowing Expenses on Securities Sold Short [3] [2]
Remainder of Other Expenses 0.19% 2.06% 0.19% [2]
Total Other Expenses 0.19% 2.06% 0.19% [2]
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (Underlying Funds) 0.69% 0.69% 0.69% [2]
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses 1.88% 4.00% 1.88%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement [4] 0.17% 1.99% 0.17%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement [5] 1.71% 2.01% 1.71%
[1] When there is a cash dividend declared on a security the Portfolio has borrowed to sell short, the Portfolio pays the lender an amount equal to the dividend and this payment is recorded as an expense.
[2] Based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year, using amounts for Institutional Shares from the last fiscal year.
[3] Net borrowing expenses on securities sold short, in which the Portfolio may receive income or be charged a fee on the borrowed securities.
[4] Reflects a contractual agreement by the Investment Manager to waive its fee and, if necessary, reimburse the Portfolio until May 1 2018, to the extent Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses exceed 1.02%, 1.32% and 1.02% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares, Open Shares and R6 Shares, respectively, exclusive of taxes, brokerage, interest on borrowings, dividend and interest expenses on securities sold short, fees and expenses of "Acquired Funds" and extraordinary expenses. This agreement can only be amended by agreement of the Fund, upon approval by the Board, and the Investment Manager to lower the net amount shown and will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.
[5] Excluding Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, the Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement are 1.02%, 1.32% and 1.02% of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares, Open Shares and R6 Shares, respectively.
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 hold or 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 in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Shares 174 574 1,000 2,187
Open Shares 204 1,036 1,885 4,083
R6 Shares 174 574 1,000 2,187
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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Portfolio’s portfolio turnover rate was 238% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Portfolio utilizes an asset allocation strategy to invest in a global portfolio of uncorrelated assets that can include exposure, through underlying vehicles, to stocks, bonds, commodities and other investments.


The Portfolio invests primarily in exchange-traded open-end management investment companies and similar products, which generally pursue a passive index-based strategy (commonly known as ETFs), as well as actively managed closed-end management investment companies (“closed-end funds”) and exchange-traded notes (“ETNs” and collectively with ETFs and closed-end funds, “Underlying Funds”). ETFs and ETNs in which the Portfolio may invest include both ETFs and ETNs designed to correlate directly with an index and ETFs and ETNs designed to correlate inversely with an index and may include actively-managed ETFs. The Portfolio, through Underlying Funds in which it invests, may invest in non-US companies (including those in emerging markets), and the Portfolio also may invest directly in equity and debt securities in addition to its investments in Underlying Funds. The Portfolio’s investment portfolio is concentrated in a relatively small number of holdings (generally 10 to 30). Investors can invest directly in Underlying Funds and do not need to invest in Underlying Funds through mutual funds or separately managed accounts.


The Portfolio may, but is not required to (1) enter into equity, total return and currency swap agreements; futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including with respect to index and commodities); and forward currency contracts; and (2) write put and covered call options on securities (including ETFs and ETNs), indexes and currencies, in each case for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns, including as a substitute for purchasing an Underlying Fund.


The Portfolio may, but is not required to, effect short sales of securities. 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.


Although the Portfolio is classified as “diversified” under the 1940 Act, it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified, investment portfolios.

Principal Investment Risks

The value of your investment in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.


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.


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.


Underlying Funds Risk. Shares of ETFs and closed-end funds in which the Portfolio invests may trade at prices that vary from their NAVs, sometimes significantly. The shares of ETFs and closed-end funds may trade at prices at, below or above their most recent NAV. Shares of closed-end funds, in particular, frequently trade at persistent discounts to their NAV. In addition, the performance of an ETF pursuing a passive index-based strategy may diverge from the performance of the index. ETNs may not trade in the secondary market, but typically are redeemable by the issuer. The Portfolio’s investments in Underlying Funds are subject to the risks of Underlying Funds’ investments, as well as to the general risks of investing in Underlying Funds. 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 and closed-end funds in which the Portfolio invests. While ETNs do not have management fees, they are subject to certain investor fees. ETNs are debt securities that, like ETFs, typically are listed on exchanges and their terms generally provide for a return that tracks specified market indexes. However, unlike ETFs and closed-end funds, ETNs are not registered investment companies and thus are not regulated under the 1940 Act. In addition, as debt securities, ETNs are subject to the additional risk of the creditworthiness of the issuer. ETNs typically do not make periodic interest payments.


The Portfolio may be limited by the 1940 Act in the amount of its assets that may be invested in ETFs and closed-end funds unless an ETF or a closed-end fund has received an exemptive order from the SEC on which the Portfolio may rely or an exemption is available.


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, political instability, a lack of company information, differing auditing and legal standards, and, potentially, less liquidity.


Emerging Market Risk. 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. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile. The economies of countries with emerging markets may be based predominantly on only a few industries, may be highly vulnerable to changes in local or global trade conditions, and may suffer from extreme debt burdens or volatile inflation rates. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.


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. Currency investments could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation of funds or conversion of emerging market currencies.


Fixed Income and Debt Securities Risk. The market value of a debt security may decline due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or adverse investor sentiment generally. The debt securities market can be susceptible to increases in volatility and decreases in liquidity. Liquidity can decline unpredictably in response to overall economic conditions or credit tightening.


Prices of bonds and other debt securities tend to move inversely with changes in interest rates. Interest rate risk is usually greater for fixed-income securities with longer maturities or durations. A rise in interest rates (or the expectation of a rise in interest rates) may result in periods of volatility, decreased liquidity and increased redemptions, and, as a result, the Portfolio may have to liquidate portfolio securities at disadvantageous prices. Risks associated with rising interest rates are heightened given that interest rates in the US and other countries are at or near historic lows.


The Portfolio’s investments in lower-rated, higher-yielding securities (“junk bonds”) are subject to greater credit risk than its higher rated investments. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer will not make interest or principal payments, or will not make payments on a timely basis. Non-investment grade securities tend to be more volatile, less liquid and are considered speculative. If there is a decline, or perceived decline, in the credit quality of a debt security (or any guarantor of payment on such security), the security’s value could fall, potentially lowering the Portfolio’s share price. The prices of non-investment grade securities, unlike investment grade debt securities, may fluctuate unpredictably and not necessarily inversely with changes in interest rates. The market for these securities may be less liquid and therefore these securities may be harder to value or sell at an acceptable price, especially during times of market volatility or decline.


Focused Investing 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.


Short Position Risk. Short positions 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, the Portfolio’s potential loss on a short position is unlimited because, theoretically, there is no limit to the potential price increase of a security.


Derivatives and Hedging Risk. Derivatives transactions, including those entered into for hedging purposes (i.e., seeking to protect Portfolio investments), may increase volatility, reduce returns, limit gains or magnify losses, perhaps substantially, particularly since most derivatives have a leverage component that provides investment exposure in excess of the amount invested. Over-the-counter swap agreements, forward currency contracts, over-the-counter options on securities (including options on ETFs and ETNs), indexes and currencies and other over-the-counter derivatives transactions are subject to the risk of default by the counterparty and can be illiquid. Changes in liquidity may result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for derivatives. 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 index, commodity, interest rate, currency, security or other reference asset. As such, a small investment could have a potentially large impact on the Portfolio’s performance. In fact, many derivatives may be subject to greater risks than those associated with investing directly in the underlying or other reference asset. Derivatives transactions incur costs, either explicitly or implicitly, which reduce returns, and costs of engaging in such transactions may outweigh any gains or any losses averted from hedging activities. Successful use of derivatives, whether for hedging or for other investment purposes, is subject to the Investment Manager’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the relevant reference asset or market and, for hedging activities, correlation of the derivative instruments used with the investments seeking to be hedged. 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.


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 Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31

The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio by showing the Portfolio’s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of broad measures of market performance. The bar chart shows how the performance of the Portfolio’s Institutional Shares has varied from year to year. Updated performance information is 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.

Bar Chart

 

 

 

 

Best Quarter:
6/30/09  14.66%
 
Worst Quarter:
9/30/11  -10.44%

Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2016)

After-tax returns are shown only for Institutional Shares. After-tax returns of the Portfolio’s other share classes will vary. After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. The after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. Returns shown below for the Portfolio’s R6 Shares (which were not operational as of December 31, 2016) reflect the performance of the Portfolio’s Institutional Shares. R6 Shares would have had substantially similar returns as Institutional Shares because the share classes are invested in the same portfolio of securities, and the returns would differ only to the extent that the classes do not have the same expenses.


The Global Asset Allocation Blended Index is rebalanced quarterly and is a blended index constructed by the Investment Manager that is comprised of 60% MSCI World Index and 40% Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Index.

Average Annual Returns - Lazard Capital Allocator Opportunistic Strategies Portfolio
1 Year
5 Years
Life of Portfolio
Inception Date
Institutional Shares 5.36% 5.32% 3.30% Mar. 26, 2008
Open Shares 5.08% 4.91% 2.98% Mar. 31, 2008
R6 Shares 5.36% 5.32% 3.30%  
After Taxes on Distributions | Institutional Shares 4.84% 3.86% 2.20%  
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Institutional Shares 3.18% 3.65% 2.24%  
MSCI World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Institutional) 7.51% 10.41% 4.42%  
MSCI World Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Open) 7.51% 10.41% 4.48%  
Global Asset Allocation Blended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Institutional) 5.61% 7.21% 4.71%  
Global Asset Allocation Blended Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Open) 5.61% 7.21% 4.74%