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Under normal market conditions,
the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in real assets investments, including instruments providing exposure to such investments
(such as derivative instruments).
“Real assets”
are considered by the Portfolio to be:
(i) assets that have physical
properties, such as:
· natural
resources, such as energy and materials (e.g.,
metals and mining, paper and forestry and chemicals)
· real
estate, such as real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and real estate operating companies (“Real Estate Investments”)
· equipment
and industrials, such as tools, hardware, machinery and other industrial components
· infrastructure,
such as utilities, transport, communications, pipelines, seaports, airports and toll roads
· commodities,
such as physical commodities with tangible properties such as gas, oil, metals, livestock or agricultural products; and
(ii) companies that typically
derive at least 50% of their revenues or profits from, or have at least 50% of their assets committed to, real assets.
Allocation of the Portfolio’s
assets by the Investment Manager among these real assets categories will vary, and over time exposures to new categories may be added
or exposures to existing categories may be eliminated.
The
Portfolio may invest in equity securities of US and non-US companies, including emerging markets companies, as well as commodity-linked
and other derivative instruments. In addition, the Portfolio may invest in fixed income securities of any maturity or credit quality,
typically government securities, in connection with the Portfolio’s derivatives exposures (i.e.,
as a type of margin or collateral). The Portfolio also may invest in exchange-traded open-end management investment companies (“ETFs”),
generally those that pursue a passive index-based strategy. The Portfolio may invest in companies of any market capitalization.
The
Portfolio may gain exposure to the commodity markets by investing up to 25% of the Portfolio’s total assets in a wholly-owned subsidiary
formed under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the “Subsidiary”), which invests mainly in commodity-linked derivative instruments
(including, but not limited to, futures contracts, options and total return swaps) and fixed income securities, typically government securities,
in connection with the Subsidiary’s derivatives exposures (i.e.,
as a type of margin or collateral).
The Investment Manager’s
process for selecting investments for the Portfolio may include a variety of approaches, such a fundamental, bottom-up analysis, qualitative
evaluations and quantitative models or a combination of these or other approaches. The process used will usually vary for different types
of real assets categories, or category subsets.
In addition, the Portfolio
may, but is not required to (1) enter into futures contracts; forward currency contracts; equity, total return, interest rate, credit
default and currency swap agreements; (2) write put and call options on securities (including shares of ETFs), indexes and currencies;
and (3) invest in structured notes, in each case for hedging purposes or to seek to increase returns, including as a substitute for a
direct investment in securities.
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Risk Table - Lazard Real Assets Portfolio
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Risk [Text Block] |
| Risk Lose Money [Member] |
The value of your investment
in the Portfolio will fluctuate, which means you could lose money.
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| Allocation Risk |
Allocation
Risk: The
Portfolio’s ability to achieve its investment objective depends in part on the Investment Manager’s skill in determining the
Portfolio’s allocation among real assets categories. The Investment Manager’s evaluations and assumptions underlying its allocation
decisions may differ from actual market conditions.
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| Market Risk |
Market
Risk: The
Portfolio may incur losses due to declines in one or more markets in which it invests. These declines may be the result of, among other
things, political, regulatory, market, economic or social developments affecting the relevant market(s). To the extent that such developments
impact specific industries, market sectors, countries or geographic regions, the Portfolio’s investments in such industries, market
sectors, countries and/or geographic regions can be expected to be particularly affected, especially if such investments are a significant
portion of its investment portfolio. 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. Global economies and financial markets
are increasingly interconnected, and conditions and events in one country, region or financial market may adversely impact issuers worldwide.
As a result, local, regional or global events such as war or military conflict, acts of terrorism, the spread of infectious illness or
other public health issues, social unrest, supply chain disruptions, government defaults, government shutdowns, the imposition of sanctions
and other similar measures, recessions or other events could have a significant negative impact on global economic and market conditions.
For example, a public health or other emergency and aggressive responses taken by many governments or voluntarily imposed by private parties,
including closing borders, restricting travel and imposing prolonged quarantines or similar restrictions, as well as the closure of, or
operational changes to, many retail and other businesses, may have severe negative impacts on markets worldwide. Additionally, general
market conditions may affect the value of a Portfolio’s securities, including changes in interest rates, currency rates or monetary
policies.
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| Issuer Risk |
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.
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| Natural Resources Risk |
Natural
Resources Risk:
Investments related to natural resources may be affected by numerous factors, including events occurring in nature, inflationary pressures
and domestic and international politics. For example, events occurring in nature (such as earthquakes or fires in prime natural resource
areas) and political events (such as coups or military confrontations) can affect the overall supply of a natural resource and the value
of companies involved in such natural resource. Political risks and other risks to which non-US companies are subject also may affect
US companies if they have significant operations or investments in non-US countries. In addition, interest rates, prices of raw materials
and other commodities, international economic developments, energy conservation, tax and other government regulations (both US and non-US)
may affect the supply of and demand for natural resources, which can affect the profitability and value of securities issued by companies
in the natural resources category. Securities of companies within specific natural resources sub-categories can perform differently than
the overall market. This may be due to changes in such things as the regulatory or competitive environment or to changes in investor perceptions.
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| Real Estate Investments Risk |
Real
Estate Investments Risk:
The Portfolio’s investments in Real Estate Investments, including REITs, could lose money due to the performance of real estate-related
securities even if securities markets generally are experiencing positive results. The performance of Real Estate Investments may be determined
to a great extent by the current status of the real estate industry in general, or by other factors that may affect the real estate industry,
even if other industries would not be so affected. Consequently, Real Estate Investments could lead to investment results that may be
significantly different from investments in other real assets categories or investments in the broader securities markets. The risks related
to investments in Real Estate Investments include, but are not limited to: adverse changes in general economic and local market conditions;
adverse developments in employment;
changes in supply or demand
for similar or competing properties; unfavorable changes in applicable taxes, governmental regulations and interest rates; operating or
development expenses; and lack of available financing.
Due to certain special
considerations that apply to REITs, investments in REITs may carry additional risks not necessarily present in investments in other securities.
REIT securities (including those trading on national exchanges) typically have trading volumes that are less than those of securities
of other types of companies, which may affect the Portfolio’s ability to trade or liquidate those securities. An investment in a
REIT may be adversely affected if the REIT fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including failing to qualify as a REIT
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Failure to qualify with any of these requirements could jeopardize a company’s
status as a REIT. The Portfolio generally will have no control over the operations and policies of a REIT, including qualification as
a REIT.
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| Infrastructure Companies Risk |
Infrastructure
Companies Risk:
Securities and instruments of infrastructure companies, which consist of utilities, pipelines, toll roads, airports, railroads, ports,
telecommunications and other infrastructure companies, are more susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory occurrences affecting their
industries. Infrastructure companies may be subject to a variety of factors that may adversely affect their business or operations, including
high interest costs in connection with capital construction programs, high leverage, costs associated with environmental and other regulations,
the effects of economic slowdown, surplus capacity, increased competition from other providers of services, uncertainties concerning the
availability of fuel at reasonable prices, the effects of energy conservation policies and other factors. Infrastructure companies also
may be affected by or subject to, among other factors, regulation by various government authorities, including rate regulation, and service
interruption due to environmental, operational or other mishaps.
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| Commodities-Related Investments Risk |
Commodities-Related
Investments Risk:
Exposure to the commodities markets may subject the Portfolio to greater volatility than other types of investments. The values of commodities
and commodity-linked derivative instruments are affected by events that may have less impact on the values of equity and fixed income
securities. Investments linked to the prices of commodities are considered speculative. Because the value of a commodity-linked derivative
instrument, such as a futures contract on a physical commodity, typically is based upon the price movements of the underlying reference
asset, index or rate, the value of these instruments will rise or fall in response to changes in the underlying reference asset, index
or rate. Prices of commodities and commodity-linked investments may fluctuate significantly over short periods for a variety of factors,
including: changes in supply and demand relationships; weather; agricultural or livestock markets; agricultural or livestock disease or
pestilence; trade relationships; fiscal, monetary and exchange control programs; and embargoes, tariffs, terrorism and international economic,
political, military and regulatory developments.
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| Fixed-Income and Debt Securities Risk |
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. The Portfolio may be subject to heightened interest rate risk because the Federal Reserve has raised, and may
continue to raise, interest rates.
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.
Some debt securities may
give the issuer the option to call, or redeem, the securities before their maturity, and, during a time of declining interest rates, the
Portfolio may have to reinvest the proceeds of called or redeemed securities in an investment offering a lower yield (and the Portfolio
may not fully benefit from any increase in the value of its portfolio holdings as a result of declining interest rates).
Structured notes are privately
negotiated debt instruments where the principal and/or interest is determined by reference to a specified asset, market or rate, or the
differential performance of two assets or markets. Structured notes can have risks of both debt securities and derivatives transactions.
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| Government Securities Risk |
Government
Securities Risk:
Not all obligations of the US government, its agencies and instrumentalities are backed by the full faith and credit of the US Treasury.
Some obligations are backed only by the credit of the issuing agency or instrumentality, and in some cases there may be some risk of default
by the issuer. Any guarantee by the US government or its agencies or instrumentalities of a security held by the Portfolio does not apply
to the market value of such security or to shares of the Portfolio itself. A security backed by the US Treasury or the full faith and
credit of the United States is guaranteed only as to the timely payment of interest and principal when held to maturity.
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| Non-US Securities Risk |
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. Non-US securities
may be subject to economic sanctions or other similar governmental actions or developments, which could, among other things, effectively
restrict or eliminate the Portfolio’s ability to purchase or sell certain foreign securities. To the extent the Portfolio holds
securities subject to such actions, the securities may become difficult to value and/or less liquid (or illiquid). In some cases, the
securities may become worthless.
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| Emerging Market Risk |
Emerging
Market Risk:
Emerging market countries generally have economic structures that are less diverse and mature, and political systems that are less stable,
than those of developed countries. 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. The securities markets of emerging market countries have historically been extremely volatile and less liquid than more developed
markets. These market conditions may continue or worsen. Investments in these countries may be subject to political, economic, legal,
market and currency risks. Significant devaluation of emerging market currencies against the US dollar may occur subsequent to acquisition
of investments denominated in emerging market currencies.
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| Foreign Currency Risk |
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 Portfolio’s investments denominated in such currencies (particularly currencies of emerging markets
countries), as well as any investments in currencies themselves, could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, repatriation
of funds or conversion of currencies. Irrespective of any foreign currency exposure hedging, the Portfolio may experience a decline in
the value of its portfolio securities, in US dollar terms, due solely to fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
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| Quantitative Model Risk |
Quantitative
Model Risk:
A quantitative model, such as the risk and other models used by the Investment Manager requires adherence to a systematic, disciplined
process. The Investment Manager’s ability to monitor and, if necessary, adjust its quantitative model could be adversely affected
by various factors including incorrect or outdated market and other data inputs. Factors that affect a security’s value can change
over time, and these changes may not be reflected in the quantitative model. In addition, factors used in quantitative analysis and the
weight placed on those factors may not be predictive of a security’s value.
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| Small and Mid Cap Companies Risk |
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.
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| Liquidity Risk |
Liquidity
Risk: The
lack of a readily available market may limit the ability of the Portfolio to sell certain securities and other investments at the time
and price it would like. The size of certain securities offerings of emerging markets issuers may be relatively smaller in size than offerings
in more developed markets and, in some cases, the Portfolio, by itself or together with other Portfolios or other accounts managed by
the Investment Manager, may hold a position in a security that is large relative to the typical trading volume for that security; these
factors can make it difficult for the Portfolio to dispose of the position at the desired time or price.
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| Derivatives and Hedging Risk |
Derivatives
and Hedging Risk:
Derivatives and other similar 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. Swap
agreements; forward currency contracts; over-the-counter options on securities (including options on shares of ETFs), indexes and currencies;
structured notes; and other over-the-counter derivatives transactions are subject to the risks of the creditworthiness of and default
by the counterparty and consequently may lose all or a portion of their value due solely to the creditworthiness of or default by the
counterparty. Over-the-counter derivatives frequently may be illiquid and difficult to value. 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 futures
and 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 reference asset, index or rate. 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 if entered into for hedging purposes, may cause the Portfolio to experience
losses greater than if the Portfolio had not engaged in such transactions. When the Portfolio enters into derivatives transactions, it
may be required to post margin and make settlement payments while the positions are open, and the Portfolio may have to sell a security
at a disadvantageous time or price to meet such obligations. Derivatives transactions are also subject to operational and legal risk.
The same risks, as applicable, apply to derivatives transactions by the Subsidiary.
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| ETF Risk |
ETF
Risk: Shares
of ETFs may trade at prices that vary from their net asset values, sometimes significantly. The shares of ETFs may trade at prices at,
below or above their net asset value. 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 the ETFs’ investments, as well
as to the general risks of investing in ETFs. The Portfolio will bear not only the Portfolio’s management fees and operating expenses,
but also the Portfolio’s proportional share of the management fees and operating expenses of the ETFs in which the Portfolio invests.
Although Section 12 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) limits the
amount of the Portfolio’s
assets that may be invested in one or more ETFs, Rule 12d1-4 under the 1940 Act allows the Portfolio to acquire the securities of another
investment company, including ETFs, in excess of the limitations imposed by Section 12 of the 1940 Act, subject to certain limitations
and conditions.
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| Subsidiary and Tax Status Risk |
Subsidiary
and Tax Status Risk: The
Portfolio invests in the Subsidiary, which is not registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act. A regulatory change in the US
or the Cayman Islands, under which the Portfolio and the Subsidiary, respectively, are organized, that impacts the Subsidiary or how the
Portfolio invests in the Subsidiary, such as a change in tax law, could adversely affect the Portfolio. By investing in the Subsidiary,
the Portfolio is exposed to the risks associated with the Subsidiary’s investments, which generally include the risks of investing
in commodity-related derivative instruments (described elsewhere in this Prospectus). Income and gains from commodities or certain commodity-linked
derivative instruments directly held by the Portfolio do not constitute “qualifying income” to the Portfolio for purposes
of qualification as a “regulated investment company” for federal income tax purposes. Without such qualification, the Portfolio
could fail to qualify as a RIC and be subject to tax. The Portfolio intends to gain exposure indirectly to commodity markets by investing
in its Subsidiary, which invests primarily in these commodity-linked derivative instruments. The tax treatment of the Portfolio’s
investments in the Subsidiary may be adversely affected by future legislation, Treasury regulations, court decisions and/or guidance issued
by the Internal Revenue Service that could affect whether income derived from such investment is “qualifying income” under
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or otherwise affect the character, timing and/or amount of the Portfolio’s taxable
income or any gains and distributions made by the Portfolio.
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| Securities Selection Risk |
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.
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