Fund Evaluator:
Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl (LEOIX)
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Best Performing in Relative Value Arbitrage Over the Last Year
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Fund Details
Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl Overview
Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl (LEOIX) is an actively managed Alternative Relative Value Arbitrage fund. Lazard launched the fund in 2014.
The investment seeks capital appreciation. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective over a full market cycle through a hedged strategy investing primarily in convertible fixed income and preferred securities (including those rated below investment grade ("junk")). Although its investment focus is U.S. companies, the Portfolio also may invest in non-U.S. companies, including depositary receipts and shares. The fund is non-diversified.
About Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl (LEOIX)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 11.59 years: Frank Bianco (2014), Sean Reynolds (2014). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Universal TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and HFRX Global Hedge Fund USD index with a weighting of 100%. Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl has 302 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 45.1% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl is part of the Alternative Strategies global asset class and is within the Alternative fund group. Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl has -0.7% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is -2.1%. There is -0.8% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.3% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 39.2% (39.1% domestic bond, 0.2% foreign bond and 47.2% convertible bond). Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl has 16.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $80 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Relative Value Arbitrage 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.
LEOIX 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 Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Relative Value Arbitrage category. Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl has an expense ratio of 1.34%, which is 6% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. 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. Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl has a portfolio turnover rate of 869%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 252% for the Relative Value Arbitrage category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl returned 0.4%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Relative Value Arbitrage category had an average return of 0.3%. 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.
Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl has a trailing yield of 0.64%, which is below the 2.27% category average. The fund normally distributes its income annually and its capital gains semi-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.
Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 5.1%, 0.9 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 9.9% over the past year (grade of A), 9.1% over the past three years (grade of A) and 5.4% per year over the past five years (grade of A) and 5.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of B).
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LEOIX 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 |
|
| LEOIX Return (NAV) | 0.4% | 2.3% | 9.9% | 9.1% | 5.4% | 5.5% |
| LEOIX Grade | B | A | A | A | A | B |
| +/- Category | 0.1% | 0.6% | 2.4% | 2.0% | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| Relative Value Arbitrage Avg | 0.3% | 1.6% | 7.6% | 7.1% | 4.6% | 5.1% |
| LEOIX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 0.3% | 1.0% | 1.8% | 1.8% |
LEOIX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| LEOIX Return (NAV) | 5.1% | 10.8% | 10.8% | 7.0% | -7.4% | 7.0% | 9.9% | 7.4% | -1.4% | 5.3% | 4.5% |
| LEOIX Grade | A | A | A | C | F | A | B | B | F | B | F |
| +/- Category | 0.9% | 2.6% | 3.5% | 0.2% | -3.7% | 2.5% | -1.1% | 0.2% | -2.3% | 1.3% | -1.0% |
| Relative Value Arbitrage Avg | 4.2% | 8.2% | 7.4% | 6.9% | -3.7% | 4.6% | 11.0% | 7.2% | 0.9% | 4.0% | 5.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 2.7% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.22 - Low |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.36 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (106% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.07 |
| R-Squared: | 12% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | Mid-Cap Growth |
| Bond Investment Style: | na |
| Yield: | 0.6% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Annually |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Total Assets: | $82 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 81 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 869% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 11.6 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 11.6 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Bianco Frank (2014), Reynolds Sean (2014) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 302 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 45.1% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | -0.7% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | -2.1% |
| Foreign Stock: | -0.8% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.3% |
| Domestic Bond: | 39.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.2% |
| Convertible Bond: | 47.2% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 16.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Lazard |
| Phone Number: | 800-823-6300 |
| Website: | www.lazardnet.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | December 31, 2014 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $10,000 |
| 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 (%): | 1.34% ( Rating : High ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 1.43% |
| Share Class: | Lazard Enhanced Opportunities Instl |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 50 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
