Fund Evaluator:
Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 (ALFOX)
Follow This Fund
Best Performing in Small Growth Over the Last Year
| 49.6% | Oberweis Micro-Cap (OBMCX) |
| 49.1% | Emerald Growth Investor (FFGRX) |
| 45.1% | Hood River New Opportunities Investor (HRNIX) |
| 43.9% | FullerThaler Behavioral Sm-Cp Gr Inv (FTXNX) |
| 41.7% | Oberweis Small-Cap Opportunities (OBSOX) |
Fund Details
Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 Overview
Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 (ALFOX) is an actively managed U.S. Equity Small Growth fund. Lord Abbett launched the fund in 2017.
The investment seeks long-term capital appreciation. The fund is a "fund of funds" that invests in affiliated mutual funds (the "underlying funds") managed by Lord Abbett. Under normal conditions, through the underlying funds, it indirectly invests in the equity securities of U.S. and foreign micro-cap, small, and mid-sized companies. The fund uses a "blend" strategy to gain investment exposure to both growth and value stocks, or to stocks with characteristics of both.
About Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 (ALFOX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 7.59 years: Giulio Martini (2015), Matthew DeCicco (2022). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 has 6 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 100.0% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 has 25.6% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 74.4%. There is 25.6% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 has 0.0% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $73 million in total assets, which is below the $431 million average for the Small Growth category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
ALFOX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Small Growth category. Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 has an expense ratio of 1.13%, which is 4% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 has a portfolio turnover rate of 4%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.3 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 78% for the Small Growth category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 returned -5.7%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Small Growth category had an average return of -6.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 0.06% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3 Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 16.3%, 2.7 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of B. The fund has returned 23.9% over the past year (grade of C), 13.1% over the past three years (grade of B) and 5.3% per year over the past five years (grade of B) and 10.2% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).
For more mutual fund grades, analysis and screening tools to help your investment discovery, join AAII for a $2, full-access trial. Learn more here: https://invest.aaii.com/membership.
Otherwise, for more information about Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy F3, including its riskiness, submit your email to unlock the rest of the article.
Gain access to exclusive AAII member-only content.
ALFOX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| ALFOX Return (NAV) | -5.7% | 2.5% | 23.9% | 13.1% | 5.3% | 10.2% |
| ALFOX Grade | B | D | C | B | B | D |
| +/- Category | 1.0% | -1.2% | 1.2% | 0.7% | 2.0% | -0.9% |
| Small Growth Avg | -6.7% | 3.7% | 22.7% | 12.4% | 3.3% | 11.2% |
| ALFOX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.1% | 0.5% | 0.9% | na |
ALFOX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| ALFOX Return (NAV) | 16.3% | 9.1% | 13.6% | 14.3% | -23.2% | 15.3% | 26.5% | 25.2% | -9.2% | 20.9% | 9.2% |
| ALFOX Grade | B | C | C | D | A | B | F | D | F | D | C |
| +/- Category | 2.7% | 1.1% | -1.9% | -2.4% | 4.7% | 4.8% | -15.3% | -4.6% | -5.0% | -3.2% | -1.0% |
| Small Growth Avg | 13.6% | 8.0% | 15.5% | 16.7% | -27.9% | 10.5% | 41.8% | 29.9% | -4.1% | 24.1% | 10.2% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 17.4% |
| Total Risk Index: | 1.42 - High |
| Category Risk Index: | 0.85 - Low |
| Category Risk Grade: | A (14% Rank) |
| Beta: | 1.16 |
| R-Squared: | 75% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Small-Cap Growth |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.0% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Annually |
| Total Assets: | $666 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 74 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Other |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 4% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 7.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Martini Giulio (2015), DeCicco Matthew (2022) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 5/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 6 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 100.0% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 25.6% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 74.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 25.6% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.0% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Lord Abbett |
| Phone Number: | 888-522-2388 |
| Website: | www.lordabbett.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.13% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.18% |
| Share Class: | Lord Abbett Alpha Strategy A |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
