Lord Abbett and Wilshire Associates Launch Innovative Pro Active Income Solutions for the Independent Market

JERSEY CITY, N.J., June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC ("Lord Abbett"), an independent, privately held investment management firm, and Wilshire Associates Incorporated ("Wilshire®"), a leading global, independent investment consulting and services firm, today jointly announced the launch of Pro Active Income Solutions, an innovative asset-allocation approach designed to deliver targeted income for the independent advisory market.  These new, proactive income solutions offer independent advisor clients access to Wilshire's dynamic asset-allocation capabilities and Lord Abbett's comprehensive suite of fixed-income mutual funds to provide exposure to timely opportunities in the fixed-income market.

"This is an exciting opportunity to expand our longstanding institutionally based relationship with Wilshire and to create customized investment solutions for the independent advisor," said Daria Foster, Lord Abbett Managing Partner.  "This new relationship allows us to combine the expertise of both firms while providing this strategically important market with a competitive asset-allocation solution."

"Lord Abbett's successful growth in fixed-income assets, along with the expansion of both the firm's taxable and tax-free offerings, is perfectly suited for our active asset-allocation approach," said Jamie Ohl, president of Wilshire Funds Management, a business unit of Wilshire. "We feel this is a tremendous opportunity to leverage Wilshire's institutional risk management and investment consulting thought leadership to create innovative investment solutions designed for the retail investor."

Pro Active Income Solutions combines the institutional expertise of Wilshire with Lord Abbett's intensive credit research and thoughtful security selection to create two, competitively priced fixed-income offerings: the Active Income Opportunities Portfolio (targeting the 10-year Treasury yield plus 150 bps) and the Active Tax Free Income Opportunities Portfolio (targeting the 10-year muni yield plus 150 bps).  The portfolios are constructed to compete in the Lipper Multi Sector Income and the Lipper General Muni Debt categories, respectively.  These actively managed fixed-income portfolios are designed to skillfully capture timely opportunities to produce attractive income while maintaining rigorous risk controls.

Pro Active Solutions were formally introduced at INSITE™ 2011, Pershing's Financial Solutions Conference in Florida, on June 8, 2011, and will be available on Citi's award-winning OpenWealth® Platform.  

"OpenWealth provides a robust, easy to use, household-based reporting platform for the independent advisor," said Andrew Clipper, Managing Director of Citi Investor Services.  "The addition of these income portfolios will only contribute to its value for this important market segment."

About Lord Abbett

Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC is an independent, privately held firm with a singular focus on the management of money. As one of the oldest money management firms in the United States, Lord Abbett has consistently provided generations of clients and their financial advisors with a quality investment experience since 1929. Lord Abbett manages approximately $113.7 billion in assets (as of March 31, 2011) across a full range of mutual funds, institutional and separately managed accounts, including $3.3 billion for which Lord Abbett provides investment models to managed account sponsors.

About Wilshire Associates Incorporated

Wilshire Associates Incorporated ("Wilshire®"), a leading global, independent investment consulting and services firm, provides consulting services, investment analytics and customized investment solutions to plan sponsors, investment managers, and financial intermediaries. The firm was founded in 1972, revolutionizing the industry by developing the application of investment analytics and research to investment management for the institutional marketplace. Based in Santa Monica, California, Wilshire provides services to clients in more than 20 countries representing approximately 600 organizations. Wilshire Funds Management, the global investment management business unit of Wilshire, leverages Wilshire's institutional expertise to help financial institutions design and implement individual investor solutions. 

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.

Pro Active Income Solutions are a suite of mutual fund advisory account products designed and actively managed by Wilshire Funds Management to invest across a range of Lord Abbett fixed-income mutual funds.  Lord Abbett is not responsible for the selection or oversight of Wilshire Funds Management.  Lord Abbett receives no compensation with respect to the advisory services provided by Wilshire Funds Management except to the extent that Lord Abbett or its affiliates receives fees in its role as investment adviser, administrator or distributor to the Lord Abbett funds invested through Wilshire's provision of advisory services in the Pro Active Income Solutions portfolios.

Wilshire Funds Management uses an active tactical asset-allocation strategy to manage the Pro Active Income Solutions portfolios.  Wilshire Funds Management uses mathematical and statistical investment processes to allocate assets and construct portfolios in ways that seek to outperform their specific benchmarks.  There is no guarantee that any of the Pro Active Income Solutions portfolios will meet or exceed their investment objectives or performance benchmarks.

Note about Risk

Asset allocation - Each Pro Active Income Solutions portfolio is designed to invest in mutual funds that may engage in a variety of investment strategies involving certain risks.  The portfolios may be subject to the particular risks of the mutual funds in proportion to which each portfolio invests in them.  

Performance of the selected mutual fund may be lower than the performance of the asset class that the mutual fund was selected to represent.

Investments in fixed-income securities are subject to the general risks and considerations associated with investing in debt securities. The value of your investment will change as interest rates fluctuate and in response to market movements. When interest rates fall, the prices of debt securities tend to rise, and when interest rates rise, the prices of debt securities are likely to decline. Longer-term debt securities are usually more sensitive to interest-rate changes; the longer the maturity of a security, the greater the effect a change in interest rates is likely to have on its price. High-yield securities, sometimes called junk bonds, carry increased risks of price volatility, illiquidity, and the possibility of default in timely payment of interest and expenses. Tax-free income - There is a risk that a bond issued as tax exempt may be reclassified by the IRS as taxable, creating taxable rather than tax-free income. In addition, portfolios that invest in tax-free fixed-income securities may be subject to other types of risk such as call, credit, liquidity, interest-rate, and general market risks. A portion of the income derived from a portfolio may be subject to the alternative minimum tax.  Any capital gains realized may be subject to taxation. Investors should consult with their tax advisor for more information regarding taxation. These factors can affect a portfolio's performance.

SOURCE Lord Abbett; Wilshire Associates Incorporated