Dec. 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lazard US Sustainable Equity Portfolio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lazard US Sustainable Equity 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, hold and sell shares of the Portfolio, a series of The Lazard Funds, Inc. (the “Fund”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example below. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 expense limitation agreement in year one only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 28% of the average value of its portfolio. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investment Strategies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Portfolio invests primarily in equity securities, principally common stocks, of US companies selected using the Investment Manager’s process employed in implementing the Portfolio’s investment strategy, described below. The market capitalization of companies in which the Portfolio invests may vary with market conditions, but typically the Portfolio invests in companies with market capitalizations over $1 billion. The Investment Manager’s process first identifies companies within the investable universe, which are companies that the Investment Manager believes are capable of (1) generating and maintaining high financial productivity (i.e., the return a company generates) for periods in excess of market expectations, or (2) capable of improving financial productivity to a greater extent or more expeditiously than the market expects (i.e., are undervalued) and which exhibit good expectations for future cash flows and profitability. Next, the Investment Manager reduces the investable universe using fundamental analysis and research on the companies identified. In further narrowing the investable universe to select companies for investment by the Portfolio, the Investment Manager considers both (a) the financial sustainability of the company as a business—a company whose financial productivity is likely to be supported or enhanced in the future as a result of the move toward a more sustainable world (such as by considering the nature of the products and/or services that the company provides, from the perspective of environmental and social factors that impact financial productivity)—and (b) how the company counters potential risks arising as a result of environmental and social concerns that may be material to the particular companies or the industries or sectors in which they operate (collectively, “Sustainable Companies”). The Investment Manager uses its proprietary sustainability analysis methodology to assess each company considered for investment, to the extent relevant to the company or its industry or sector, against the specific sustainability factors listed below (and other factors that may be considered relevant to the company or its industry), divided into the three categories of Human Capital, Natural Capital and Corporate Governance. Human Capital: the extent to which the company · follows best practices in managing its workforce in a responsible manner, such as health and safety considerations and diversity and inclusion policies; · acts responsibly in terms of the impact its business operations, products and services have on the broader community; · aims to ensure its suppliers act responsibly; and · endeavors to treat its customers fairly and responsibly, for example by having appropriate product safety and data privacy and security standards. Natural Capital: the extent to which the company, and its supply chains, · are reliant on using resources which generate significant environmental impact; and · actively seek to reduce the impact they have on the environment. Corporate Governance: the extent to which the company’s board composition and policies, executive management composition and compensation, and the exercise of shareholder rights and voting powers are in line with current best practices. Companies considered by the Investment Manager to be significantly involved in the manufacture of products or the provision of services that are broadly recognized as unsustainable by society (e.g., the production of tobacco, the generation, extraction and/or refining of certain fossil fuels or the production of unconventional weapons) generally will not fall within the investable universe for the Portfolio. However, it is possible that the Investment Manager may determine, after a combined consideration of its assessment of such a company’s financial productivity potential as described above and the results of the Investment Manager’s sustainability analysis methodology, that such a company is an appropriate investment for the Portfolio. The Portfolio may, however, invest in companies that provide equipment and services to the energy and mining sectors. Under normal circumstances, the Portfolio invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities of US Sustainable Companies. The Portfolio may invest up to 20% of its assets in securities of non-US companies, including those in emerging markets. Although the Portfolio is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, it may invest in a smaller number of issuers than other, more diversified, investment portfolios. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal Investment Risks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Performance Bar Chart and Table | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in Lazard US Sustainable Equity Portfolio by showing the Portfolio’s year-by-year performance and its average annual performance compared to that of a broad measure 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.lazardassetmanagement.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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year-by-Year Total Returns for Institutional Shares As of 12/31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average Annual Total Returns (for the periods ended December 31, 2024) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||