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Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio
Lazard US Equity Concentrated 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, a series of The Lazard Funds, Inc. (the “Fund”). Investors transacting in Institutional or R6 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 US Equity Concentrated Portfolio
Institutional Shares
Open Shares
R6 Shares
Management Fees 0.70% 0.70% 0.70%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees none 0.25% none
Other Expenses 0.07% 0.08% 14.68%
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (Underlying Funds) 0.01% 0.01% 0.01%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses 0.78% 1.04% 15.39%
Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement [1]     14.61%
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement [2] 0.78% 1.04% 0.78% [1]
[1] To the extent the Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses of the R6 Shares of the Portfolio exceed the Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses of the Portfolio's Institutional Shares (in each case, not including management fees, custodial fees or other expenses related to the management of the Portfolio's assets), Lazard Asset Management LLC (the "Investment Manager") has contractually agreed, until May 1, 2018, to bear the expenses of the R6 Shares in the amount of such excess. This agreement will terminate automatically in the event of termination of the Management Agreement between the Investment Manager and the Fund, on behalf of the Portfolio.
[2] Excluding Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, the Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement are .77%, 1.03% and .77% 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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

Expense Example - Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio - USD ($)
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Institutional Shares 80 249 433 966
Open Shares 106 331 574 1,271
R6 Shares 80 249 433 966
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 84% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of US companies of any market capitalization. The Portfolio has a concentrated portfolio of investments, typically investing in 15 to 35 companies with market capitalizations generally greater than $350 million. The Portfolio seeks to outperform broad-based securities market indices, such as the S&P 500® Index, the Russell 1000® Index and the Russell 3000® Index. The Investment Manager’s philosophy employed for the Portfolio is based on value creation through its process of bottom-up stock selection, and the Investment Manager implements a disciplined portfolio construction process. The Investment Manager’s fundamental research seeks to identify investments typically featuring robust organic cash flow, balance sheet strength and operational flexibility.


Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of US companies. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities of non-US companies.


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.


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.


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.


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.


Large Cap Companies Risk. Investments in large cap companies may underperform other segments of the market when such other segments are in favor or 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.


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. In addition, 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. 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.


Non-Diversification Risk. The Portfolio’s net asset value (“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.


Securities Selection Risk. Securities and other investments selected by the Investment Manager for the Portfolio may not perform to expectations. This could result in the Portfolio’s underperformance compared to other funds with similar investment objectives or strategies.


Concentration Risk. A Portfolio’s ability to concentrate its investments in as few as 15 companies may be limited by applicable requirements of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), for qualification as a regulated investment company.

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 US Equity Concentrated Portfolio by showing the Portfolio’s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance (prior to the change in investment strategy described above) 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 over the past 10 calendar years. 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  19.10%
 
Worst Quarter:
12/31/08  -21.54%

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.


The Russell 1000 Value/S&P 500 Linked Index shown in the table is an unmanaged index created by the Investment Manager, which links the performance of the Russell 1000 Value Index for all periods through May 30, 2012 (when the Portfolio’s investment strategy changed) and the S&P 500 Index for all periods thereafter.

Average Annual Returns - Lazard US Equity Concentrated Portfolio
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Life of Portfolio
Inception Date
Institutional Shares 7.37% 15.64% 6.33% 9.79% Sep. 30, 2005
Open Shares 7.06% 15.25% 6.01% 7.46% Sep. 30, 2005
R6 Shares       0.17% Nov. 15, 2016
After Taxes on Distributions | Institutional Shares 5.90% 13.49% 5.07% 6.44%  
After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares | Institutional Shares 4.88% 11.86% 4.65% 5.87%  
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Institutional and Open) 11.96% 14.66% 6.95% 7.74%  
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (R6) 11.96% 14.66% 6.95% 2.96%  
Russell 1000 Value/S&P 500 Linked Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (Institutional and Open) 11.96% 14.24% 5.47% 6.85%  
Russell 1000 Value/S&P 500 Linked Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) (R6) 11.96% 14.24% 5.47%