Lord Abbett Research Fund N-CSRS Certified semi-annual shareholder report (management investment company)

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-CSR

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act File Number: 811-06650

Lord abbett research fund, inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in charter)

90 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

John T. Fitzgerald, Esq., Vice President & Assistant Secretary

90 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (888) 522-2388

Date of fiscal year end: 11/30

Date of reporting period: 5/31/2020

Item 1: Report(s) to Shareholders.

LORD ABBETT
SEMIANNUAL REPORT

Lord Abbett

Dividend Growth Fund*

Growth Opportunities Fund

Small Cap Value Fund

For the six-month period ended May 31, 2020

* formerly Calibrated Dividend Growth Fund

Important Information on Paperless Delivery

Beginning in January 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of each Fund’s shareholder reports like this one will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from the Fund or from your financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer, investment advisor or bank. Instead, the reports will be made available on Lord Abbett’s website and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.

If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. Shareholders who hold accounts directly with a Fund may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications from the Fund electronically by signing into your Lord Abbett online account at lordabbett.com and selecting “Log In.” For further information, you may also contact the Funds at (800) 821-5129. Shareholders who hold accounts through a financial intermediary should contact them directly.

You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge by contacting a Fund at (800) 821-5129. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all funds held with Lord Abbett. If your fund shares are held through a financial intermediary please contact them directly. Your election applies to all funds held with that intermediary.

Table of Contents

1	A Letter to Shareholders
2	Information About Your Fund’s Expenses and Holdings Presented by Sector
	Schedules of Investments:
9	Dividend Growth Fund
13	Growth Opportunities Fund
17	Small Cap Value Fund
20	Statements of Assets and Liabilities
22	Statements of Operations
24	Statements of Changes in Net Assets
26	Financial Highlights
38	Notes to Financial Statements
53	Supplemental Information to Shareholders

Lord Abbett Research Fund
Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund,
Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities Fund, and
Lord Abbett Small Cap Value Fund
Semiannual Report

For the six-month period ended May 31, 2020

  From left to right: James L.L. Tullis, Independent Chairman of the Lord Abbett Funds and Douglas B. Sieg, Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Lord Abbett Funds. Dear Shareholders: We are pleased to provide you with this semiannual report of the Funds for the six-month period ended May 31, 2020. For additional information about the Funds, please visit our website at www.lordabbett.com, where you can access the quarterly commentaries by the Funds’ portfolio managers. General information about Lord Abbett mutual funds, as well as in-depth discussions of market trends and investment strategies, is also provided in Lord Abbett Insights, a quarterly newsletter available on our website. Thank you for investing in Lord Abbett mutual funds. We value the trust that you place in us and look forward to serving your investment needs in the years to come.   Best regards,   Douglas B. Sieg Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer  

1

Expense Example

As a shareholder of a Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments (these charges vary among the share classes); and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution and service (12b-1) fees (these charges vary among the share classes); and other Fund expenses. This Example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in each Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period (December 1, 2019 through May 31, 2020).

Actual Expenses

For each class of each Fund, the first line of the table on the following page provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading titled “Expenses Paid During Period 12/1/19 – 5/31/20” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

For each class of each Fund, the second line of the table on the following page provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed rate of return of 5% per year before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in each Fund and other funds. To do so, compare this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of the other funds.

2

Dividend Growth Fund

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

	Beginning Account Value		Ending Account Value		Expenses Paid During Period†
					12/1/19 –
	12/1/19		5/31/20		5/31/20
Class A
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	967.10	$	4.72
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.20	$	4.85
Class C
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	963.20	$	8.44
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,016.40	$	8.67
Class F
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	967.90	$	3.49
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.45	$	3.59
Class F3
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	969.00	$	3.10
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.85	$	3.18
Class I
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	968.10	$	3.49
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.45	$	3.59
Class P
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	965.60	$	5.70
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.20	$	5.86
Class R2
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	965.30	$	6.49
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.40	$	6.66
Class R3
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	965.60	$	5.95
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.95	$	6.11
Class R4
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	967.10	$	4.72
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.20	$	4.85
Class R5
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	967.50	$	3.49
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.45	$	3.59
Class R6
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	968.30	$	3.10
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,021.85	$	3.18

^† For each class of the Fund, net expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio for such class (0.96% for Class A, 1.72% for Class C, 0.71% for Class F, 0.63% for Class F3, 0.71% for Class I, 1.16% for Class P, 1.32% for Class R2, 1.21% for Class R3, 0.96% for Class R4, 0.71% for Class R5 and 0.63% for Class R6) multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/366 (to reflect one-half year period).

3

Portfolio Holdings Presented by Sector

May 31, 2020

Sector*	%**
Communication Services		6.24	%
Consumer Discretionary		10.57	%
Consumer Staples		8.13	%
Energy		3.04	%
Financials		13.44	%
Health Care		17.22	%
Industrials		12.79	%
Information Technology		20.65	%
Materials		2.44	%
Utilities		4.99	%
Repurchase Agreement		0.49	%
Total		100.00	%

*	A sector may comprise several industries.
**	Represents percent of total investments.

4

Growth Opportunities Fund

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

	Beginning Account Value		Ending Account Value		Expenses Paid During Period†
					12/1/19 –
	12/1/19		5/31/20		5/31/20
Class A*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,046.00	$	5.88
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.25	$	5.81
Class C*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,041.80	$	9.75
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,015.45	$	9.62
Class F*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,046.70	$	5.12
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.00	$	5.05
Class F3*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,047.50	$	4.25
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.85	$	4.19
Class I*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,047.00	$	4.66
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.45	$	4.60
Class P*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,044.80	$	6.95
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.20	$	6.86
Class R2*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,043.90	$	7.72
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,017.45	$	7.62
Class R3*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,044.60	$	7.21
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,017.95	$	7.11
Class R4*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,046.00	$	5.88
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.25	$	5.81
Class R5*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,047.40	$	4.61
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.50	$	4.55
Class R6*
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	1,047.80	$	4.25
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.85	$	4.19

†

For each class of the Fund, net expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio for such class (1.15% for Class A, 1.91% for C, 1.00% for Class F, 0.83% for Class F3, 0.91% for Class I, 1.36% for Class P, 1.51% for Class R2, 1.41% for Class R3, 1.15% for Class R4, 0.90% for Class R5 and 0.83% for Class R6) multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/366 (to reflect one-half year period).

*

The annualized expenses have been updated to 1.06% for Class A, 1.81% for Class C, 0.91% for Class F, 0.75% for Class F3, 0.81% for Class I, 1.26% for Class P, 1.41% for Class R2, 1.31% for Class R3, 1.06% for Class R4, 0.81% for Class R5 and 0.75% for Class R6. Had these updated expense ratios been in place throughout the most recent fiscal half-year, expenses paid during the period would have been:

5

	Actual			Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)
Class A		$	5.42	$	5.35
Class C		$	9.24	$	9.12
Class F		$	4.66	$	4.60
Class F3		$	3.84	$	3.79
Class I		$	4.15	$	4.09
Class P		$	6.44	$	6.36
Class R2		$	7.20	$	7.11
Class R3		$	6.70	$	6.61
Class R4		$	5.42	$	5.35
Class R5		$	4.15	$	4.09
Class R6		$	3.84	$	3.80

Portfolio Holdings Presented by Sector

May 31, 2020

Sector*	%**
Communication Services		2.39	%
Consumer Discretionary		14.87	%
Consumer Staples		3.40	%
Energy		0.54	%
Financials		7.01	%
Health Care		18.99	%
Industrials		14.37	%
Information Technology		31.28	%
Materials		4.00	%
Real Estate		2.58	%
Repurchase Agreement		0.57	%
Total		100.00	%

*	A sector may comprise several industries.
**	Represents percent of total investments.

6

Small Cap Value Fund

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads). Therefore, the second line of the table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

	Beginning Account Value		Ending Account Value		Expenses Paid During Period†
					12/1/19 –
	12/1/19		5/31/20		5/31/20
Class A
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	771.30	$	5.45
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.85	$	6.21
Class C
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	768.30	$	8.80
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,015.05	$	10.02
Class F
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	771.40	$	4.78
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,019.60	$	5.45
Class F3
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	772.10	$	3.85
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.65	$	4.39
Class I
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	772.00	$	4.34
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.10	$	4.95
Class P
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	769.90	$	6.33
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,017.85	$	7.21
Class R2
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	769.40	$	7.03
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,017.05	$	8.02
Class R3
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	769.80	$	6.55
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,017.60	$	7.47
Class R4
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	770.70	$	5.44
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,018.85	$	6.21
Class R5
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	771.80	$	4.34
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.10	$	4.95
Class R6
Actual	$	1,000.00	$	772.50	$	3.86
Hypothetical (5% Return Before Expenses)	$	1,000.00	$	1,020.65	$	4.39

^† For each class of the Fund, net expenses are equal to the annualized expense ratio for such class (1.23% for Class A, 1.99% for C, 1.08% for Class F, 0.87% for Class F3, 0.98% for Class I, 1.43% for Class P, 1.59% for Class R2, 1.48% for Class R3, 1.23% for Class R4, 0.98% for Class R5 and 0.87% for Class R6) multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/366 (to reflect one-half year period).

7

Portfolio Holdings Presented by Sector

May 31, 2020

Sector*	%**
Communication Services		1.68	%
Consumer Discretionary		9.82	%
Consumer Staples		3.03	%
Energy		3.73	%
Financials		27.05	%
Health Care		6.47	%
Industrials		17.06	%
Information Technology		7.89	%
Materials		6.87	%
Real Estate		7.90	%
Utilities		6.18	%
Repurchase Agreement		1.27	%
Money Market Funds(a)		1.05	%
Total		100.00	%

*	A sector may comprise several industries.
**	Represents percent of total investments.
(a)	Securities were purchased with the cash collateral from loaned securities.

8

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

DIVIDEND GROWTH FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
COMMON STOCKS 99.37%
Aerospace & Defense 3.44%
L3Harris Technologies, Inc.		114,500	$	22,837
Northrop Grumman Corp.		76,600		25,676
Raytheon Technologies Corp.		505,241		32,598
Total				81,111
Banks 2.04%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.		495,100		48,178
Beverages 1.65%
Coca-Cola Co. (The)		832,679		38,869
Biotechnology 1.99%
AbbVie, Inc.		507,507		47,031
Capital Markets 9.00%
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.		281,900		39,486
BlackRock, Inc.		121,400		64,177
MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.		33,300		16,936
Moody’s Corp.		141,600		37,865
S&P Global, Inc.		165,700		53,856
Total				212,320
Chemicals 2.44%
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.		137,000		33,106
Linde plc (United Kingdom)(a)		120,400		24,362
Total				57,468
Commercial Services & Supplies 1.36%
Waste Management, Inc.		299,600		31,982
Distributors 0.44%
Pool Corp.		38,900		10,465
Diversified Telecommunication Services 2.08%
Verizon Communications, Inc.		856,600		49,152
Electric: Utilities 1.97%
NextEra Energy, Inc.		181,800		46,461

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Electrical Equipment 0.86%
Hubbell, Inc.		166,300	$	20,358
Entertainment 1.59%
Walt Disney Co. (The)		319,300		37,454
Food & Staples Retailing 4.38%
Costco Wholesale Corp.		124,700		38,466
Sysco Corp.		414,800		22,881
Walmart, Inc.		337,570		41,879
Total				103,226
Health Care Equipment & Supplies 8.85%
Abbott Laboratories		679,600		64,507
Danaher Corp.		337,500		56,231
Medtronic plc (Ireland)(a)		470,103		46,343
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.		192,500		41,588
Total				208,669
Health Care Providers & Services 2.73%
AmerisourceBergen Corp.		262,100		24,988
UnitedHealth Group, Inc.		129,000		39,326
Total				64,314
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 2.84%
McDonald’s Corp.		359,726		67,024
Household Products 0.66%
Procter & Gamble Co. (The)		133,400		15,464
Information Technology Services 6.17%
Accenture plc Class A (Ireland)(a)		279,200		56,292
Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.		135,500		24,507
Visa, Inc. Class A		331,700		64,761
Total				145,560
Insurance 2.38%
Chubb Ltd. (Switzerland)(a)		275,300		33,570
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.		134,500		22,577
Total				56,147

See Notes to Financial Statements. 9

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued)

DIVIDEND GROWTH FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Machinery 3.28%
Dover Corp.		244,900	$	23,816
Illinois Tool Works, Inc.		162,900		28,094
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.		203,400		25,517
Total				77,427
Media 2.56%
Comcast Corp. Class A		1,524,800		60,382
Multi-Line Retail 0.67%
Target Corp.		129,900		15,891
Multi-Utilities 3.01%
CMS Energy Corp.		634,000		37,139
WEC Energy Group, Inc.		369,800		33,922
Total				71,061
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels 3.04%
Chevron Corp.		449,462		41,216
ONEOK, Inc.		386,622		14,185
Total SA ADR		434,100		16,313
Total				71,714
Personal Products 1.44%
Estee Lauder Cos., Inc. (The) Class A		171,900		33,945
Pharmaceuticals 3.63%
Johnson & Johnson		419,123		62,345
Merck & Co., Inc.		287,500		23,207
Total				85,552
Road & Rail 3.84%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.		265,900		31,820
Union Pacific Corp.		345,400		58,670
Total				90,490

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 7.39%
Analog Devices, Inc.		351,700	$	39,725
Microchip Technology, Inc.		382,467		36,724
QUALCOMM, Inc.		497,626		40,248
Texas Instruments, Inc.		484,400		57,518
Total				174,215
Software 5.01%
Microsoft Corp.		645,500		118,288
Specialty Retail 4.43%
Home Depot, Inc. (The)		43,800		10,883
Lowe’s Cos., Inc.		384,675		50,142
TJX Cos., Inc. (The)		824,500		43,501
Total				104,526
Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals 2.04%
Apple, Inc.		151,700		48,232
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods 2.16%
NIKE, Inc. Class B		516,800		50,946
Total Common Stocks (cost $2,052,389,746)				2,343,922

10 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued)

DIVIDEND GROWTH FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Principal Amount (000)		Fair Value (000)
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT 0.49%
Repurchase Agreement
Repurchase Agreement dated 5/29/2020, 0.00% due 6/1/2020 with Fixed Income Clearing Corp. collateralized by $11,095,000 of U.S. Treasury Note at 2.125% due 12/31/2022; value: $11,740,452; proceeds: $11,506,289 (cost $11,506,289)		$11,506	$	11,506
Total Investments in Securities 99.86% (cost $2,063,896,035)				2,355,428
Cash and Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities(b) 0.14%				3,420
Net Assets 100.00%			$	2,358,848

ADR	American Depositary Receipt.
(a)	Foreign security traded in U.S. dollars.
(b)	Cash and Other Assets in Excess of Liabilities include net unrealized appreciation on futures contracts as follows:

Open Futures Contracts at May 31, 2020:

Type	Expiration	Contracts	Position	Notional Amount	Notional Value	Unrealized Appreciation
E- Mini S&P 500 Index	June 2020	69	Long	$9,837,756	$10,494,900	$657,144

See Notes to Financial Statements. 11

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(concluded)

DIVIDEND GROWTH FUND May 31, 2020

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of May 31, 2020 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at fair value⁽¹⁾:

Investment Type(2)	Level 1 (000)		Level 2 (000)		Level 3 (000)		Total (000)
Common Stocks	$	2,343,922	$	–	$	–	$	2,343,922
Short-Term Investment
Repurchase Agreement		–		11,506		–		11,506
Total	$	2,343,922	$	11,506	$	–	$	2,355,428
Other Financial Instruments
Futures Contracts
Assets	$	657	$	–	$	–	$	657
Liabilities		–		–		–		–
Total	$	657	$	–	$	–	$	657

(1)	Refer to Note 2(i) for a description of fair value measurements and the three-tier hierarchy of inputs.
(2)	See Schedule of Investments for fair values in each industry and identification of foreign issuers and/or geography.

12 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
COMMON STOCKS 99.53%
Aerospace & Defense 2.49%
CAE, Inc. (Canada)(a)		320,875	$	4,823
L3Harris Technologies, Inc.		38,267		7,632
TransDigm Group, Inc.		8,607		3,657
Total				16,112
Banks 0.81%
First Republic Bank		48,585		5,255
Beverages 1.22%
Brown-Forman Corp. Class B		119,961		7,909
Biotechnology 5.46%
Acceleron Pharma, Inc.*		8,970		886
Argenx SE ADR*		13,946		3,058
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.*		54,490		5,806
Blueprint Medicines Corp.*		19,063		1,242
Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc.*		60,006		1,926
Natera, Inc.*		133,162		5,839
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.*		52,171		6,509
Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc.*		30,847		4,697
Seattle Genetics, Inc.*		34,375		5,404
Total				35,367
Building Products 0.68%
Allegion plc (Ireland)(a)		44,436		4,430
Capital Markets 3.22%
MarketAxess Holdings, Inc.		20,738		10,547
Moody’s Corp.		13,440		3,594
MSCI, Inc.		20,473		6,733
Total				20,874
Chemicals 0.48%
FMC Corp.		31,311		3,081
Commercial Services & Supplies 0.50%
Healthcare Services Group, Inc.		136,183		3,258

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Construction Materials 1.46%
Vulcan Materials Co.		87,073	$	9,432
Consumer Finance 0.48%
SLM Corp.		411,761		3,121
Containers & Packaging 2.07%
Avery Dennison Corp.		39,696		4,393
Ball Corp.		126,352		9,004
Total				13,397
Diversified Consumer Services 0.86%
Service Corp. International		141,081		5,563
Electrical Equipment 2.61%
AMETEK, Inc.		111,040		10,184
Hubbell, Inc.		54,961		6,728
Total				16,912
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components 1.69%
Keysight Technologies, Inc.*		59,727		6,458
Trimble, Inc.*		115,452		4,517
Total				10,975
Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts 2.59%
SBA Communications Corp.		53,301		16,743
Health Care Equipment & Supplies 6.32%
ABIOMED, Inc.*		17,835		3,993
Align Technology, Inc.*		46,184		11,344
DexCom, Inc.*		21,297		8,057
Edwards Lifesciences Corp.*		2,899		651
Insulet Corp.*		20,993		3,959
Teleflex, Inc.		26,378		9,571
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.		15,459		3,340
Total				40,915
Health Care Providers & Services 2.68%
Centene Corp.*		199,439		13,213
Guardant Health, Inc.*		46,217		4,177
Total				17,390

See Notes to Financial Statements. 13

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued)

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 2.40%
Aramark		130,481	$	3,378
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.*		8,640		8,674
Vail Resorts, Inc.		17,451		3,461
Total				15,513
Household Products 1.53%
Church & Dwight Co., Inc.		132,293		9,931
Industrial Conglomerates 1.15%
Roper Technologies, Inc.		18,958		7,466
Information Technology Services 13.00%
Euronet Worldwide, Inc.*		22,358		2,118
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.		145,796		20,241
FleetCor Technologies, Inc.*		40,894		9,969
Genpact Ltd.		220,019		7,910
Global Payments, Inc.		114,768		20,600
Square, Inc. Class A*		21,645		1,755
Twilio, Inc. Class A*		62,232		12,297
Wix.com Ltd. (Israel)*(a)		41,876		9,310
Total				84,200
Insurance 2.50%
Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.		64,532		2,423
Goosehead Insurance, Inc. Class A*		123,878		7,426
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.		37,959		6,372
Total				16,221
Interactive Media & Services 2.39%
IAC/InterActiveCorp.*		43,251		11,694
Snap, Inc. Class A*		200,211		3,792
Total				15,486
Leisure Products 0.51%
Peloton Interactive, Inc. Class A*		77,778		3,281

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Life Sciences Tools & Services 2.98%
10X Genomics, Inc. Class A*		29,953	$	2,335
Agilent Technologies, Inc.		38,218		3,368
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Class A*		12,008		5,900
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.*		42,851		7,699
Total				19,302
Machinery 1.73%
Fortive Corp.		74,630		4,551
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.		52,903		6,637
Total				11,188
Multi-Line Retail 4.00%
Dollar General Corp.		90,438		17,320
Dollar Tree, Inc.*		87,557		8,569
Total				25,889
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels 0.54%
Parsley Energy, Inc. Class A		385,878		3,527
Personal Products 0.65%
Shiseido Co., Ltd.(b)	JPY	69,488		4,233
Pharmaceuticals 1.56%
Zoetis, Inc.		72,717		10,136
Professional Services 1.78%
CoStar Group, Inc.*		17,553		11,529
Road & Rail 3.44%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.		63,330		7,579
Kansas City Southern		23,714		3,569
Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc.		42,087		7,201
Saia, Inc.*		36,146		3,920
Total				22,269

14 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued)

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 5.73%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.*		190,418	$	10,244
Analog Devices, Inc.		76,597		8,652
Lam Research Corp.		36,825		10,078
Xilinx, Inc.		88,293		8,119
Total				37,093
Software 10.89%
Anaplan, Inc.*		71,520		3,284
Coupa Software, Inc.*		14,764		3,359
DocuSign, Inc.*		2,637		369
New Relic, Inc.*		41,073		2,717
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.*		27,500		6,470
RingCentral, Inc. Class A*		69,726		19,122
ServiceNow, Inc.*		25,956		10,069
Slack Technologies, Inc. Class A*		90,811		3,183
Splunk, Inc.*		80,662		14,990
Zendesk, Inc.*		81,356		6,976
Total				70,539
Specialty Retail 5.94%
Burlington Stores, Inc.*		59,021		12,375
O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.*		37,515		15,653
Tractor Supply Co.		85,368		10,416
Total				38,444
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods 1.19%
Canada Goose Holdings, Inc. (Canada)*(a)		42,141		822
Carter’s, Inc.		41,050		3,527
Lululemon Athletica, Inc. (Canada)*(a)		11,250		3,376
Total				7,725
Total Common Stocks (cost $417,162,577)				644,706

Investments	Principal Amount (000)		Fair Value (000)
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENT 0.57%
Repurchase Agreement
Repurchase Agreement dated 5/29/2020, 0.00% due 6/1/2020 with Fixed Income Clearing Corp. collateralized by $3,570,000 of U.S. Treasury Note at 2.125% due 12/31/2022; value: $3,777,685; proceeds: $3,701,701 (cost $3,701,701)		$3,702	$	3,702
Total Investments in Securities 100.10% (cost $420,864,278)				648,408
Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets (0.10)%				(635	)
Net Assets 100.00%			$	647,773

ADR	American Depositary Receipt.
JPY	Japanese Yen.
*	Non-income producing security.
(a)	Foreign security traded in U.S. dollars.
(b)	Investment in non-U.S. dollar denominated securities.

See Notes to Financial Statements. 15

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(concluded)

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND May 31, 2020

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of May 31, 2020 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at fair value⁽¹⁾:

Investment Type(2)	Level 1 (000)		Level 2 (000)			Level 3 (000)			Total (000)
Common Stocks	$	644,706		$	–		$	–	$	644,706
Short-Term Investment
Repurchase Agreement		–			3,702			–		3,702
Total	$	644,706		$	3,702		$	–	$	648,408

(1)	Refer to Note 2(i) for a description of fair value measurements and the three-tier hierarchy of inputs.
(2)	See Schedule of Investments for fair values in each industry and identification of foreign issuers and/or geography.

16 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

SMALL CAP VALUE FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
COMMON STOCKS 99.16%
Aerospace & Defense 0.78%
Triumph Group, Inc.*		575,054	$	4,307
Auto Components 1.54%
Dorman Products, Inc.*		121,395		8,488
Automobiles 2.19%
Thor Industries, Inc.		139,427		12,019
Banks 15.06%
Bancorp, Inc. (The)*		1,416,917		12,469
Bank of Hawaii Corp.		128,300		8,253
BankUnited, Inc.		313,900		5,801
Camden National Corp.		252,590		8,472
East West Bancorp, Inc.		148,044		5,174
Opus Bank		519,526		10,126
Prosperity Bancshares, Inc.		116,400		7,611
Sterling Bancorp		603,500		7,423
TCF Financial Corp.		350,659		10,141
Valley National Bancorp		920,157		7,343
Total				82,813
Building Products 1.74%
Masonite International Corp.*		144,003		9,559
Capital Markets 7.98%
Brightsphere Investment Group, Inc.*		997,433		8,328
Golub Capital BDC, Inc.(a)		722,655		8,773
Houlihan Lokey, Inc.		95,060		5,749
Moelis & Co. Class A		234,700		7,893
TPG Specialty Lending, Inc.		348,080		6,405
Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. Class A		402,500		6,726
Total				43,874

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Chemicals 6.97%
AdvanSix, Inc.*		389,430	$	4,611
Axalta Coating Systems Ltd.*		395,130		9,131
Chase Corp.		81,766		8,148
PolyOne Corp.		299,784		7,429
Valvoline, Inc.		491,900		9,026
Total				38,345
Construction & Engineering 1.79%
Arcosa, Inc.		120,353		4,594
EMCOR Group, Inc.		82,201		5,224
Total				9,818
Electric: Utilities 3.10%
IDACORP, Inc.		95,964		8,946
Portland General Electric Co.		171,700		8,089
Total				17,035
Electrical Equipment 0.95%
Acuity Brands, Inc.		60,893		5,246
Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components 2.91%
Avnet, Inc.		255,700		6,965
Littelfuse, Inc.		55,600		9,035
Total				16,000
Energy Equipment & Services 1.64%
Cactus, Inc. Class A		219,300		4,184
Core Laboratories NV (Netherlands)(b)		237,718		4,807
Total				8,991
Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts 6.80%
First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.		251,100		9,512
Highwoods Properties, Inc.		207,500		7,941
Outfront Media, Inc.		247,490		3,475
STAG Industrial, Inc.		364,800		9,813
Weingarten Realty Investors		371,500		6,642
Total				37,383

See Notes to Financial Statements. 17

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(continued)

SMALL CAP VALUE FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Food & Staples Retailing 1.29%
Sprouts Farmers
Market, Inc.*		283,172	$	7,116
Health Care Equipment & Supplies 3.00%
Natus Medical, Inc.*		266,297		5,699
NuVasive, Inc.*		178,401		10,811
Total				16,510
Health Care Providers & Services 1.43%
AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.*		177,700		7,883
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure 1.27%
Dunkin’ Brands Group, Inc.		109,166		6,972
Household Products 1.79%
Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.		207,541		9,821
Information Technology Services 3.34%
CACI International, Inc. Class A*		35,000		8,777
MAXIMUS, Inc.		133,200		9,593
Total				18,370
Insurance 3.67%
Argo Group International Holdings Ltd.		124,700		3,827
Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.		181,800		6,825
Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (The)		49,600		4,977
ProSight Global, Inc.*		510,656		4,525
Total				20,154
Leisure Products 1.91%
Malibu Boats, Inc. Class A*		222,351		10,479
Life Sciences Tools & Services 2.13%
Syneos Health, Inc.*		192,100		11,716

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Machinery 6.90%
Alamo Group, Inc.		96,790	$	10,000
Columbus McKinnon Corp.		335,700		10,209
Crane Co.		134,490		7,494
Hillenbrand, Inc.		397,429		10,230
Total				37,933
Media 1.71%
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Class A		68,900		5,740
Scholastic Corp.		124,700		3,666
Total				9,406
Multi-Utilities 3.17%
Avista Corp.		154,448		6,050
Black Hills Corp.		84,343		5,205
NorthWestern Corp.		102,900		6,186
Total				17,441
Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels 2.15%
MEG Energy Corp.*(c)	CAD	1,296,900		3,014
Par Pacific Holdings, Inc.*		469,318		4,360
WPX Energy, Inc.*		780,845		4,427
Total				11,801
Professional Services 0.84%
ICF International, Inc.		70,396		4,617
Real Estate Management & Development 1.22%
Marcus & Millichap, Inc.*		243,609		6,716
Road & Rail 3.29%
Landstar System, Inc.		85,128		9,897
Saia, Inc.*		75,675		8,206
Total				18,103
Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment 1.76%
Entegris, Inc.		67,007		4,012
Ichor Holdings Ltd.*		249,661		5,680
Total				9,692

18 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)(concluded)

SMALL CAP VALUE FUND May 31, 2020

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Specialty Retail 1.78%
Williams-Sonoma, Inc.		117,928	$	9,813
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods 1.28%
Skechers U.S.A., Inc. Class A*		224,071		7,018
Thrifts & Mortgage Finance 0.75%
Essent Group Ltd.		125,200		4,138
Trading Companies & Distributors 1.03%
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.		97,470		5,648
Total Common Stocks (cost $615,430,463)				545,225
	Principal Amount (000)
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS 2.35%
Repurchase Agreement 1.29%
Repurchase Agreement dated 5/29/2020, 0.00% due 6/1/2020 with Fixed Income Clearing Corp. collateralized by $6,815,000 of U.S. Treasury Note at 2.125% due 12/31/2022; value: $7,211,463; proceeds: $7,068,367 (cost $7,068,367)		$7,068		7,068

Investments	Shares		Fair Value (000)
Money Market Funds 1.06%
CitiBank N.A.(d)		585	$	585
Fidelity Government Portfolio(d)		5,263		5,263
Total Money Market Funds (cost $5,847,500)				5,848
Total Short-Term Investments (cost $12,915,867)				12,916
Total Investments in Securities 101.51% (cost $628,346,330)				558,141
Liabilities in Excess of Cash, Foreign Cash and Other Assets (1.51)%				(8,285	)
Net Assets 100.00%			$	549,856

CAD	Canadian Dollar.
*	Non-income producing security.
(a)	All or a portion of these securities are temporarily on loan to unaffiliated broker/dealers.
(b)	Foreign security traded in U.S. dollars.
(c)	Investment in non-U.S. dollar denominated securities.
(d)	Security was purchased with the cash collateral from loaned securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used as of May 31, 2020 in valuing the Fund’s investments carried at fair value⁽¹⁾:

Investment Type(2)	Level 1 (000)		Level 2 (000)		Level 3 (000)		Total (000)
Common Stocks	$	545,225	$	–	$	–	$	545,225
Short-Term Investments
Repurchase Agreement		–		7,068		–		7,068
Money Market Fund		5,848		–		–		5,848
Total	$	551,073	$	7,068	$	–	$	558,141

(1)	Refer to Note 2(i) for a description of fair value measurements and the three-tier hierarchy of inputs.
(2)	See Schedule of Investments for fair values in each industry and identification of foreign issuers and/or geography.

See Notes to Financial Statements. 19

Statements of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited)

May 31, 2020

	Dividend Growth Fund		Growth Opportunities Fund		Small Cap Value Fund
ASSETS:
Investments in securities, at cost	$	2,063,896,035	$	420,864,278	$	628,346,330
Investments in securities, at fair value (including $0, $0 and $5,679,092, respectively, of securities loaned)	$	2,355,427,903	$	648,408,137	$	558,141,043
Deposits with brokers for futures collateral		828,000		–		–
Receivables:
Investment securities sold		5,000,574		4,293,887		–
Dividends		4,192,192		344,943		853,327
Capital shares sold		2,939,634		326,790		204,045
Securities lending income receivable		–		–		10,935
From advisor (See Note 3)		20,007		69,720		–
Variation margin for futures contracts		13,382		–		–
Prepaid expenses and other assets		116,264		70,095		73,439
Total assets		2,368,537,956		653,513,572		559,282,789
LIABILITIES:
Payables:
Investment securities purchased		5,111,463		4,686,225		1,972,077
Payable for collateral due to broker for securities lending		–		–		5,847,500
Capital shares reacquired		2,092,225		206,268		525,276
Management fee		1,032,611		387,544		325,605
12b-1 distribution plan		480,406		113,099		67,601
Directors’ fees		287,851		93,405		276,388
Fund administration		75,998		20,669		17,366
Accrued expenses		609,197		232,942		395,463
Total liabilities		9,689,751		5,740,152		9,427,276
Commitments and contingent liabilities
NET ASSETS	$	2,358,848,205	$	647,773,420	$	549,855,513
COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS:
Paid-in capital	$	2,075,946,772	$	386,823,046	$	649,738,762
Total distributable earnings (loss)		282,901,433		260,950,374		(99,883,249	)
Net Assets	$	2,358,848,205	$	647,773,420	$	549,855,513

20 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Statements of Assets and Liabilities (unaudited)(concluded)

May 31, 2020

	Dividend Growth Fund		Growth Opportunities Fund		Small Cap Value Fund
Net assets by class:
Class A Shares	$	1,645,551,211	$	394,899,179	$	179,867,101
Class C Shares	$	193,828,965	$	26,038,728	$	5,352,732
Class F Shares	$	248,738,692	$	29,779,839	$	6,275,583
Class F3 Shares	$	202,877,978	$	12,128,408	$	22,613,343
Class I Shares	$	34,138,096	$	155,961,856	$	308,312,173
Class P Shares	$	901,902	$	2,786,795	$	14,453,117
Class R2 Shares	$	799,416	$	760,766	$	344,040
Class R3 Shares	$	13,644,980	$	14,901,566	$	4,138,864
Class R4 Shares	$	5,128,177	$	1,615,315	$	987,006
Class R5 Shares	$	307,994	$	77,527	$	36,004
Class R6 Shares	$	12,930,794	$	8,823,441	$	7,475,550
Outstanding shares by class:
Class A Shares (538.125,198 and 378 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		109,282,656		15,982,046		15,964,069
Class C Shares (40, 40 and 30 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		13,067,703		1,499,960		1,290,297
Class F Shares (144.375, 66 and 63 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		16,480,113		1,149,944		550,856
Class F3 Shares (88.125, 66 and 63 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		13,263,464		420,819		1,568,775
Class I Shares (144.375, 66 and 315 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		2,242,543		5,447,123		21,549,649
Class P Shares (20, 20 and 50 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		59,513		116,535		1,385,566
Class R2 Shares (30, 30 and 30 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		52,498		32,794		33,569
Class R3 Shares (30, 43.5 and 82.75 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		911,358		626,617		394,558
Class R4 Shares (30, 43.5 and 82.75 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		340,957		65,367		87,402
Class R5 Shares (30, 43.5 and 82.75 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		20,243		2,705		2,514
Class R6 Shares (30, 43.5 and 82.75 million shares of common stock authorized, $.001 par value)		845,567		306,203		518,755
Net asset value, offering and redemption price per share (Net assets divided by outstanding shares):
Class A Shares-Net asset value		$15.06		$24.71		$11.27
Class A Shares-Maximum offering price (Net asset value plus sales charge of 5.75%)		$15.98		$26.22		$11.96
Class C Shares-Net asset value		$14.83		$17.36		$  4.15
Class F Shares-Net asset value		$15.09		$25.90		$11.39
Class F3 Shares-Net asset value		$15.30		$28.82		$14.41
Class I Shares-Net asset value		$15.22		$28.63		$14.31
Class P Shares-Net asset value		$15.15		$23.91		$10.43
Class R2 Shares-Net asset value		$15.23		$23.20		$10.25
Class R3 Shares-Net asset value		$14.97		$23.78		$10.49
Class R4 Shares-Net asset value		$15.04		$24.71		$11.29
Class R5 Shares-Net asset value		$15.21		$28.66		$14.32
Class R6 Shares-Net asset value		$15.29		$28.82		$14.41

See Notes to Financial Statements. 21

Statements of Operations (unaudited)

For the Six Months Ended May 31, 2020

	Dividend Growth Fund			Growth Opportunities Fund			Small Cap Value Fund
Investment income:
Dividends (net of foreign withholding taxes of $47,995, $10,158 and $8,394, respectively)	$	27,087,075		$	3,240,615		$	7,266,929
Securities lending net income		–			5,945			14,580
Interest		35,260			18,441			14,244
Total investment income		27,122,335			3,265,001			7,295,753
Expenses:
Management fee		6,424,321			2,588,884			2,358,783
12b-1 distribution plan-Class A		2,040,735			461,650			264,816
12b-1 distribution plan-Class C		1,000,932			126,623			33,556
12b-1 distribution plan-Class F		137,038			12,830			3,909
12b-1 distribution plan-Class P		2,164			6,355			37,494
12b-1 distribution plan-Class R2		2,804			2,313			1,540
12b-1 distribution plan-Class R3		36,366			35,838			11,531
12b-1 distribution plan-Class R4		6,471			1,635			1,455
Shareholder servicing		981,275			285,231			337,426
Fund administration		475,630			138,074			125,802
Registration		122,512			75,277			74,274
Reports to shareholders		96,343			23,326			25,489
Professional		35,523			27,853			28,002
Directors’ fees		32,822			10,815			9,908
Custody		14,123			4,071			9,137
Other		77,295			66,888			45,322
Gross expenses		11,486,354			3,867,663			3,368,444
Expense reductions (See Note 9)		(20,806	)		(4,248	)		(4,437	)
Fees waived and expenses reimbursed (See Note 3)		(137,038	)		(141,579	)		–
Net expenses		11,328,510			3,721,836			3,364,007
Net investment income (loss)		15,793,825			(456,835	)		3,931,746
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss):
Net realized gain (loss) on investments		(4,086,747	)		36,540,595			(33,174,682	)
Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts		(2,539,695	)		–			–
Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency related transactions		–			(1,033	)		(743	)
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments		(108,395,136	)		(7,575,171	)		(140,306,713	)
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on futures contracts		429,656			–			–
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		(114,591,922	)		28,964,391			(173,482,138	)
Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting From Operations	$	(98,798,097	)	$	28,507,556		$	(169,550,392	)

22 See Notes to Financial Statements.

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23

Statements of Changes in Net Assets

	Dividend Growth Fund
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS	For the Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)			For the Year Ended November 30, 2019
Operations:
Net investment income (loss)	$	15,793,825		$	38,169,186
Net realized gain (loss) on investments, futures contracts and foreign currency related transactions		(6,626,442	)		113,629,427
Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on investments and futures contracts		(107,965,480	)		151,139,650
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations		(98,798,097	)		302,938,263
Distributions to shareholders:
Class A		(85,798,727	)		(130,513,086	)
Class C		(10,070,672	)		(16,917,446	)
Class F		(15,033,671	)		(19,671,929	)
Class F3		(10,360,263	)		(15,450,282	)
Class I		(2,134,548	)		(3,380,561	)
Class P		(54,613	)		(116,117	)
Class R2		(48,934	)		(94,801	)
Class R3		(783,022	)		(1,318,084	)
Class R4		(272,351	)		(354,368	)
Class R5		(13,770	)		(19,224	)
Class R6		(665,363	)		(939,273	)
Total distributions to shareholders		(125,235,934	)		(188,775,171	)
Capital share transactions (Net of share conversions) (See Note 15):
Net proceeds from sales of shares		281,637,451			401,687,035
Reinvestment of distributions		117,471,262			178,925,882
Cost of shares reacquired		(346,931,587	)		(530,484,394	)
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from capital share transactions		52,177,126			50,128,523
Net increase (decrease) in net assets		(171,856,905	)		164,291,615
NET ASSETS:
Beginning of period	$	2,530,705,110		$	2,366,413,495
End of period	$	2,358,848,205		$	2,530,705,110

24 See Notes to Financial Statements.

Growth Opportunities Fund						Small Cap Value Fund
For the Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)			For the Year Ended November 30, 2019			For the Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)			For the Year Ended November 30, 2019
$	(456,835	)	$	(2,441,579	)	$	3,931,746		$	3,108,443
	36,539,562			53,980,437			(33,175,425	)		126,367,497
	(7,575,171	)		120,331,650			(140,306,713	)		(115,718,266	)
	28,507,556			171,870,508			(169,550,392	)		13,757,674
	(20,723,284	)		(17,630,577	)		(43,991,110	)		(47,826,419	)
	(2,005,599	)		(1,847,374	)		(3,175,001	)		(2,989,801	)
	(1,220,792	)		(1,005,180	)		(1,745,862	)		(3,017,435	)
	(373,366	)		(313,063	)		(4,068,923	)		(4,096,535	)
	(17,636,627	)		(17,104,054	)		(57,227,526	)		(58,302,292	)
	(183,757	)		(149,527	)		(3,489,331	)		(4,024,562	)
	(41,760	)		(48,322	)		(108,411	)		(104,944	)
	(883,104	)		(934,613	)		(990,977	)		(954,955	)
	(54,769	)		(45,753	)		(233,999	)		(274,383	)
	(4,172	)		(3,310	)		(7,775	)		(1,680	)
	(336,618	)		(426,423	)		(1,115,467	)		(2,546,155	)
	(43,463,848	)		(39,508,196	)		(116,154,382	)		(124,139,161	)
	65,441,463			113,552,901			66,805,315			75,346,316
	42,343,046			38,593,114			110,741,612			116,454,976
	(291,807,489	)		(230,110,952	)		(108,885,249	)		(230,129,392	)
	(184,022,980	)		(77,964,937	)		68,661,678			(38,328,100	)
	(198,979,272	)		54,397,375			(217,043,096	)		(148,709,587	)
$	846,752,692		$	792,355,317		$	766,898,609		$	915,608,196
$	647,773,420		$	846,752,692		$	549,855,513		$	766,898,609

See Notes to Financial Statements. 25

Financial Highlights

DIVIDEND GROWTH FUND

			Per Share Operating Performance:
			Investment Operations:								Distributions to shareholders from:
	Net asset value, beginning  of period		Net  invest-  ment  income(a)		Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			Total from invest- ment opera- tions			Net investment income			Net realized gain			Total distri- butions
Class A
5/31/2020(c)		$16.38		$0.09		$(0.60	)		$(0.51	)		$(0.11	)		$(0.70	)		$(0.81	)
11/30/2019		15.75		0.25		1.64			1.89			(0.23	)		(1.03	)		(1.26	)
11/30/2018		16.26		0.24		0.48			0.72			(0.24	)		(0.99	)		(1.23	)
11/30/2017		14.82		0.25		2.43			2.68			(0.27	)		(0.97	)		(1.24	)
11/30/2016		14.42		0.27		1.38			1.65			(0.25	)		(1.00	)		(1.25	)
11/30/2015		16.97		0.26		(0.46	)		(0.20	)		(0.26	)		(2.09	)		(2.35	)
Class C
5/31/2020(c)		16.14		0.04		(0.60	)		(0.56	)		(0.05	)		(0.70	)		(0.75	)
11/30/2019		15.54		0.13		1.62			1.75			(0.12	)		(1.03	)		(1.15	)
11/30/2018		16.06		0.12		0.47			0.59			(0.12	)		(0.99	)		(1.11	)
11/30/2017		14.64		0.14		2.41			2.55			(0.16	)		(0.97	)		(1.13	)
11/30/2016		14.27		0.17		1.35			1.52			(0.15	)		(1.00	)		(1.15	)
11/30/2015		16.81		0.15		(0.45	)		(0.30	)		(0.15	)		(2.09	)		(2.24	)
Class F
5/31/2020(c)		16.41		0.10		(0.60	)		(0.50	)		(0.12	)		(0.70	)		(0.82	)
11/30/2019		15.77		0.29		1.63			1.92			(0.25	)		(1.03	)		(1.28	)
11/30/2018		16.26		0.28		0.49			0.77			(0.27	)		(0.99	)		(1.26	)
11/30/2017		14.80		0.28		2.44			2.72			(0.29	)		(0.97	)		(1.26	)
11/30/2016		14.41		0.31		1.35			1.66			(0.27	)		(1.00	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2015		16.96		0.29		(0.47	)		(0.18	)		(0.28	)		(2.09	)		(2.37	)
Class F3
5/31/2020(c)		16.62		0.11		(0.60	)		(0.49	)		(0.13	)		(0.70	)		(0.83	)
11/30/2019		15.96		0.30		1.66			1.96			(0.27	)		(1.03	)		(1.30	)
11/30/2018		16.45		0.30		0.48			0.78			(0.28	)		(0.99	)		(1.27	)
4/4/2017 to 11/30/2017(f)		14.66		0.24		1.70			1.94			(0.15	)		–			(0.15	)
Class I
5/31/2020(c)		16.55		0.10		(0.60	)		(0.50	)		(0.13	)		(0.70	)		(0.83	)
11/30/2019		15.91		0.29		1.65			1.94			(0.27	)		(1.03	)		(1.30	)
11/30/2018		16.41		0.29		0.48			0.77			(0.28	)		(0.99	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2017		14.93		0.33		2.42			2.75			(0.30	)		(0.97	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2016		14.52		0.31		1.38			1.69			(0.28	)		(1.00	)		(1.28	)
11/30/2015		17.07		0.30		(0.46	)		(0.16	)		(0.30	)		(2.09	)		(2.39	)
Class P
5/31/2020(c)		16.48		0.07		(0.60	)		(0.53	)		(0.10	)		(0.70	)		(0.80	)
11/30/2019		15.83		0.22		1.65			1.87			(0.19	)		(1.03	)		(1.22	)
11/30/2018		16.34		0.21		0.48			0.69			(0.21	)		(0.99	)		(1.20	)
11/30/2017		14.88		0.22		2.44			2.66			(0.23	)		(0.97	)		(1.20	)
11/30/2016		14.47		0.24		1.39			1.63			(0.22	)		(1.00	)		(1.22	)
11/30/2015		17.02		0.24		(0.47	)		(0.23	)		(0.23	)		(2.09	)		(2.32	)

26 See Notes to Financial Statements.

					Ratios to Average Net Assets:									Supplemental Data:
Net asset value, end of period		Total return(b) (%)			Total expenses after waivers and/or reimbursements (%)			Total expenses (%)			Net invest- ment income (%)			Net assets, end of period (000)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)
$	15.06		(3.29	)(d)		0.96	(e)		0.96	(e)		1.35	(e)	$	1,645,551		43	(d)
	16.38		13.59			0.95			0.95			1.62			1,731,882		51
	15.75		4.72			0.94			0.97			1.57			1,627,633		51
	16.26		19.35			0.92			1.04			1.70			1,671,580		58
	14.82		12.60			0.85			1.06			1.92			1,604,257		70
	14.42		(1.34	)		0.85			1.07			1.80			1,498,459		58
			��
	14.83		(3.68	)(d)		1.72	(e)		1.72	(e)		0.58	(e)		193,829		43	(d)
	16.14		12.72			1.70			1.70			0.87			216,647		51
	15.54		3.90			1.70			1.73			0.81			230,385		51
	16.06		18.57			1.66			1.79			0.96			295,025		58
	14.64		11.71			1.60			1.81			1.19			291,842		70
	14.27		(2.03	)		1.60			1.82			1.06			245,055		58
	15.09		(3.21	)(d)		0.71	(e)		0.81	(e)		1.59	(e)		248,739		43	(d)
	16.41		13.81			0.70			0.80			1.87			296,993		51
	15.77		5.00			0.70			0.82			1.82			241,282		51
	16.26		19.71			0.70			0.89			1.92			245,916		58
	14.80		12.72			0.70			0.91			2.18			266,399		70
	14.41		(1.20	)		0.70			0.92			1.95			99,737		58
	15.30		(3.10	)(d)		0.63	(e)		0.63	(e)		1.68	(e)		202,878		43	(d)
	16.62		13.90			0.63			0.63			1.95			205,183		51
	15.96		5.07			0.62			0.65			1.91			188,484		51
	16.45		13.31	(d)		0.59	(e)		0.70	(e)		2.34	(e)		176,087		58
	15.22		(3.19	)(d)		0.71	(e)		0.71	(e)		1.59	(e)		34,138		43	(d)
	16.55		13.87			0.70			0.70			1.87			42,809		51
	15.91		4.93			0.69			0.72			1.82			42,698		51
	16.41		19.77			0.66			0.79			2.17			43,186		58
	14.93		12.86			0.60			0.81			2.18			18,315		70
	14.52		(1.09	)		0.60			0.82			2.05			15,507		58
	15.15		(3.44	)(d)		1.16	(e)		1.16	(e)		1.13	(e)		902		43	(d)
	16.48		13.36			1.15			1.15			1.42			1,137		51
	15.83		4.48			1.15			1.17			1.36			1,663		51
	16.34		19.16			1.12			1.24			1.50			1,794		58
	14.88		12.40			1.05			1.26			1.71			1,782		70
	14.47		(1.56	)		1.05			1.27			1.60			1,834		58

See Notes to Financial Statements. 27

Financial Highlights (concluded)

DIVIDEND GROWTH FUND

			Per Share Operating Performance:
			Investment Operations:								Distributions to shareholders from:
	Net asset value, beginning  of period		Net invest-  ment income(a)		Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			Total from invest- ment opera- tions			Net investment income			Net realized gain			Total distri- butions
Class R2
5/31/2020(c)		$16.55		$0.06		$(0.60	)		$(0.54	)		$(0.08	)		$(0.70	)		$(0.78	)
11/30/2019		15.90		0.19		1.67			1.86			(0.18	)		(1.03	)		(1.21	)
11/30/2018		16.40		0.19		0.49			0.68			(0.19	)		(0.99	)		(1.18	)
11/30/2017		14.93		0.20		2.46			2.66			(0.22	)		(0.97	)		(1.19	)
11/30/2016		14.52		0.22		1.38			1.60			(0.19	)		(1.00	)		(1.19	)
11/30/2015		17.05		0.21		(0.46	)		(0.25	)		(0.19	)		(2.09	)		(2.28	)
Class R3
5/31/2020(c)		16.29		0.07		(0.60	)		(0.53	)		(0.09	)		(0.70	)		(0.79	)
11/30/2019		15.67		0.21		1.63			1.84			(0.19	)		(1.03	)		(1.22	)
11/30/2018		16.19		0.20		0.47			0.67			(0.20	)		(0.99	)		(1.19	)
11/30/2017		14.75		0.22		2.42			2.64			(0.23	)		(0.97	)		(1.20	)
11/30/2016		14.36		0.24		1.36			1.60			(0.21	)		(1.00	)		(1.21	)
11/30/2015		16.91		0.23		(0.46	)		(0.23	)		(0.23	)		(2.09	)		(2.32	)
Class R4
5/31/2020(c)		16.36		0.08		(0.59	)		(0.51	)		(0.11	)		(0.70	)		(0.81	)
11/30/2019		15.74		0.25		1.63			1.88			(0.23	)		(1.03	)		(1.26	)
11/30/2018		16.25		0.25		0.48			0.73			(0.25	)		(0.99	)		(1.24	)
11/30/2017		14.81		0.26		2.42			2.68			(0.27	)		(0.97	)		(1.24	)
11/30/2016		14.42		0.31		1.34			1.65			(0.26	)		(1.00	)		(1.26	)
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(g)		14.37		0.11		0.01			0.12			(0.07	)		–			(0.07	)
Class R5
5/31/2020(c)		16.55		0.10		(0.61	)		(0.51	)		(0.13	)		(0.70	)		(0.83	)
11/30/2019		15.90		0.29		1.66			1.95			(0.27	)		(1.03	)		(1.30	)
11/30/2018		16.40		0.29		0.48			0.77			(0.28	)		(0.99	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2017		14.93		0.28		2.46			2.74			(0.30	)		(0.97	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2016		14.52		0.34		1.35			1.69			(0.28	)		(1.00	)		(1.28	)
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(g)		14.46		0.13		0.01			0.14			(0.08	)		–			(0.08	)
Class R6
5/31/2020(c)		16.62		0.11		(0.61	)		(0.50	)		(0.13	)		(0.70	)		(0.83	)
11/30/2019		15.96		0.30		1.66			1.96			(0.27	)		(1.03	)		(1.30	)
11/30/2018		16.44		0.30		0.49			0.79			(0.28	)		(0.99	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2017		14.95		0.31		2.45			2.76			(0.30	)		(0.97	)		(1.27	)
11/30/2016		14.52		0.43		1.28			1.71			(0.28	)		(1.00	)		(1.28	)
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(g)		14.46		0.13		0.01			0.14			(0.08	)		–			(0.08	)

(a)	Calculated using average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)	Total return for Classes A and C does not consider the effects of sales loads and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions. Total return for all other classes assumes the reinvestment of all distributions.
(c)	Unaudited.
(d)	Not annualized.
(e)	Annualized.
(f)	Commenced on April 4, 2017.
(g)	Commenced on June 30, 2015.

28 See Notes to Financial Statements.

					Ratios to Average Net Assets:									Supplemental Data:
Net asset value,  end of period		Total return(b) (%)			Total expenses after waivers and/or reimbursements (%)			Total expenses (%)			Net invest- ment income (%)			Net assets,  end of period (000)		Portfolio  turnover rate (%)
$	15.23		(3.47	)(d)		1.32	(e)		1.32	(e)		0.98	(e)	$	799		43	(d)
	16.55		13.16			1.30			1.30			1.26			1,045		51
	15.90		4.38			1.30			1.32			1.22			1,267		51
	16.40		19.01			1.27			1.39			1.37			1,335		58
	14.93		12.16			1.20			1.41			1.57			1,010		70
	14.52		(1.69	)		1.20			1.42			1.44			1,108		58
	14.97		(3.44	)(d)		1.21	(e)		1.21	(e)		1.09	(e)		13,645		43	(d)
	16.29		13.31			1.20			1.20			1.37			16,221		51
	15.67		4.48			1.19			1.22			1.31			17,079		51
	16.19		19.10			1.14			1.27			1.47			21,399		58
	14.75		12.32			1.09			1.30			1.69			23,998		70
	14.36		(1.57	)		1.08			1.30			1.57			22,189		58
	15.04		(3.29	)(d)		0.96	(e)		0.96	(e)		1.34	(e)		5,128		43	(d)
	16.36		13.54			0.95			0.95			1.62			5,504		51
	15.74		4.75			0.94			0.97			1.61			4,331		51
	16.25		19.42			0.93			1.04			1.71			2,171		58
	14.81		12.60			0.84			1.06			2.14			316		70
	14.42		0.85	(d)		0.85	(e)		1.07	(e)		1.85	(e)		10		58
	15.21		(3.25	)(d)		0.71	(e)		0.71	(e)		1.62	(e)		308		43	(d)
	16.55		13.87			0.70			0.70			1.89			272		51
	15.90		5.00			0.69			0.72			1.84			248		51
	16.40		19.71			0.66			0.79			1.88			201		58
	14.93		12.86			0.59			0.81			2.38			314		70
	14.52		0.98	(d)		0.60	(e)		0.82	(e)		2.11	(e)		10		58
	15.29		(3.17	)(d)		0.63	(e)		0.63	(e)		1.68	(e)		12,931		43	(d)
	16.62		13.97			0.63			0.63			1.95			13,012		51
	15.96		5.06			0.62			0.65			1.89			11,344		51
	16.44		19.84			0.62			0.73			2.05			13,163		58
	14.95		13.03			0.49			0.70			2.99			235		70
	14.52		0.98	(d)		0.49	(e)		0.70	(e)		2.22	(e)		10		58

See Notes to Financial Statements. 29

Financial Highlights

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND

			Per Share Operating Performance:
			Investment Operations:								Distributions to shareholders from:
	Net asset value,  beginning  of period		Net investment income (loss)(a)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		Total from investment operations			Net realized gain			Net asset  value, end of period
Class A
5/31/2020(c)		$24.97		$(0.02	)		$1.11		$  1.09			$(1.35	)		$24.71
11/30/2019		21.46		(0.09	)		4.74		4.65			(1.14	)		24.97
11/30/2018		22.21		(0.11	)		1.20		1.09			(1.84	)		21.46
11/30/2017		18.91		(0.09	)		3.97		3.88			(0.58	)		22.21
11/30/2016		21.48		(0.07	)		0.04		(0.03	)		(2.54	)		18.91
11/30/2015		23.75		(0.10	)		1.09		0.99			(3.26	)		21.48
Class C
5/31/2020(c)		18.01		(0.07	)		0.77		0.70			(1.35	)		17.36
11/30/2019		15.93		(0.19	)		3.41		3.22			(1.14	)		18.01
11/30/2018		17.08		(0.20	)		0.89		0.69			(1.84	)		15.93
11/30/2017		14.78		(0.18	)		3.06		2.88			(0.58	)		17.08
11/30/2016		17.48		(0.16	)		–		(0.16	)		(2.54	)		14.78
11/30/2015		20.06		(0.21	)		0.89		0.68			(3.26	)		17.48
Class F
5/31/2020(c)		26.09		(0.01	)		1.17		1.16			(1.35	)		25.90
11/30/2019		22.33		(0.06	)		4.96		4.90			(1.14	)		26.09
11/30/2018		23.00		(0.08	)		1.25		1.17			(1.84	)		22.33
11/30/2017		19.54		(0.06	)		4.10		4.04			(0.58	)		23.00
11/30/2016		22.08		(0.04	)		0.04		–			(2.54	)		19.54
11/30/2015		24.29		(0.07	)		1.12		1.05			(3.26	)		22.08
Class F3
5/31/2020(c)		28.86		0.01			1.30		1.31			(1.35	)		28.82
11/30/2019		24.53		(0.02	)		5.49		5.47			(1.14	)		28.86
11/30/2018		25.05		(0.04	)		1.36		1.32			(1.84	)		24.53
4/4/2017 to 11/30/2017(f)		21.60		–			3.45		3.45			–			25.05
Class I
5/31/2020(c)		28.69		0.02			1.27		1.29			(1.35	)		28.63
11/30/2019		24.41		(0.04	)		5.46		5.42			(1.14	)		28.69
11/30/2018		24.95		(0.05	)		1.35		1.30			(1.84	)		24.41
11/30/2017		21.12		(0.06	)		4.47		4.41			(0.58	)		24.95
11/30/2016		23.63		(0.03	)		0.06		0.03			(2.54	)		21.12
11/30/2015		25.75		(0.05	)		1.19		1.14			(3.26	)		23.63
Class P
5/31/2020(c)		24.24		(0.04	)		1.06		1.02			(1.35	)		23.91
11/30/2019		20.90		(0.13	)		4.61		4.48			(1.14	)		24.24
11/30/2018		21.72		(0.15	)		1.17		1.02			(1.84	)		20.90
11/30/2017		18.54		(0.12	)		3.88		3.76			(0.58	)		21.72
11/30/2016		21.15		(0.11	)		0.04		(0.07	)		(2.54	)		18.54
11/30/2015		23.48		(0.14	)		1.07		0.93			(3.26	)		21.15
Class R2
5/31/2020(c)		23.57		(0.05	)		1.03		0.98			(1.35	)		23.20
11/30/2019		20.39		(0.16	)		4.48		4.32			(1.14	)		23.57
11/30/2018		21.26		(0.18	)		1.15		0.97			(1.84	)		20.39
11/30/2017		18.19		(0.15	)		3.80		3.65			(0.58	)		21.26
11/30/2016		20.83		(0.13	)		0.03		(0.10	)		(2.54	)		18.19
11/30/2015		23.20		(0.17	)		1.06		0.89			(3.26	)		20.83

30 See Notes to Financial Statements.

			Ratios to Average Net Assets:									Supplemental Data:
Total return(b) (%)			Total expenses after waivers and/or reimbursements (%)			Total expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss)  (%)			Net assets, end of period (000)		Portfolio turnover rate  (%)
	4.60	(d)		1.15	(e)		1.20	(e)		(0.24	)(e)		$394,899		13	(d)
	23.48			–			1.16			(0.39	)		385,588		27
	5.41			–			1.18			(0.51	)		333,638		55
	21.17			–			1.26			(0.43	)		348,028		73
	0.37			–			1.29			(0.39	)		356,816		117
	4.78			–			1.28			(0.46	)		409,626		97
	4.18	(d)		1.91	(e)		1.96	(e)		(1.00	)(e)		26,039		13	(d)
	22.58			–			1.91			(1.14	)		26,860		27
	4.61			–			1.93			(1.27	)		26,130		55
	20.28			–			2.00			(1.17	)		42,858		73
	(0.39	)		–			2.03			(1.14	)		50,084		117
	4.00			–			2.02			(1.20	)		61,670		97
	4.67	(d)		1.00	(e)		1.05	(e)		(0.12	)(e)		29,780		13	(d)
	23.69			–			1.01			(0.24	)		23,271		27
	5.53			–			1.03			(0.36	)		20,840		55
	21.36			–			1.11			(0.29	)		21,021		73
	0.52			–			1.14			(0.23	)		22,020		117
	4.95			–			1.13			(0.31	)		21,956		97
	4.75	(d)		0.83	(e)		0.87	(e)		0.05	(e)		12,128		13	(d)
	23.90			–			0.86			(0.08	)		7,986		27
	5.73			–			0.85			(0.18	)		6,804		55
	15.97	(d)		–			0.87	(e)		0.01	(e)		6,105		73
	4.70	(d)		0.91	(e)		0.94	(e)		0.15	(e)		155,962		13	(d)
	23.81			–			0.91			(0.15	)		374,814		27
	5.67			–			0.91			(0.20	)		373,708		55
	21.47			–			1.03			(0.30	)		5,258		73
	0.62			–			1.04			(0.14	)		94,899		117
	5.07			–			1.03			(0.19	)		101,063		97
	4.48	(d)		1.36	(e)		1.40	(e)		(0.43	)(e)		2,787		13	(d)
	23.23			–			1.36			(0.58	)		3,286		27
	5.19			–			1.38			(0.71	)		2,789		55
	20.94			–			1.46			(0.62	)		2,642		73
	0.17			–			1.49			(0.59	)		2,517		117
	4.56			–			1.48			(0.66	)		3,998		97
	4.39	(d)		1.51	(e)		1.56	(e)		(0.63	)(e)		761		13	(d)
	23.13			–			1.51			(0.75	)		748		27
	5.00			–			1.53			(0.87	)		865		55
	20.73			–			1.60			(0.78	)		1,415		73
	0.01			–			1.64			(0.74	)		1,012		117
	4.42			–			1.63			(0.80	)		941		97

See Notes to Financial Statements. 31

Financial Highlights (concluded)

GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND

			Per Share Operating Performance:
			Investment Operations:									Distributions to shareholders from:
	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net investment income (loss)(a)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			Total from investment operations			Net realized gain			Net asset value, end of period
Class R3
5/31/2020(c)		$24.11		$(0.04	)		$ 1.06			$ 1.02			$(1.35	)		$23.78
11/30/2019		20.81		(0.14	)		4.58			4.44			(1.14	)		24.11
11/30/2018		21.64		(0.16	)		1.17			1.01			(1.84	)		20.81
11/30/2017		18.49		(0.13	)		3.86			3.73			(0.58	)		21.64
11/30/2016		21.11		(0.11	)		0.03			(0.08	)		(2.54	)		18.49
11/30/2015		23.44		(0.15	)		1.08			0.93			(3.26	)		21.11
Class R4
5/31/2020(c)		24.97		(0.03	)		1.12			1.09			(1.35	)		24.71
11/30/2019		21.46		(0.09	)		4.74			4.65			(1.14	)		24.97
11/30/2018		22.21		(0.11	)		1.20			1.09			(1.84	)		21.46
11/30/2017		18.91		(0.08	)		3.96			3.88			(0.58	)		22.21
11/30/2016		21.48		(0.02	)		(0.01	)		(0.03	)		(2.54	)		18.91
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(g)		22.27		(0.04	)		(0.75	)		(0.79	)		–			21.48
Class R5
5/31/2020(c)		28.71		–			1.30			1.30			(1.35	)		28.66
11/30/2019		24.43		(0.04	)		5.46			5.42			(1.14	)		28.71
11/30/2018		24.97		(0.06	)		1.36			1.30			(1.84	)		24.43
11/30/2017		21.13		(0.04	)		4.46			4.42			(0.58	)		24.97
11/30/2016		23.64		(0.02	)		0.05			0.03			(2.54	)		21.13
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(g)		24.48		(0.02	)		(0.82	)		(0.84	)		–			23.64
Class R6
5/31/2020(c)		28.86		0.01			1.30			1.31			(1.35	)		28.82
11/30/2019		24.53		(0.03	)		5.50			5.47			(1.14	)		28.86
11/30/2018		25.05		(0.07	)		1.39			1.32			(1.84	)		24.53
11/30/2017		21.18		–			4.45			4.45			(0.58	)		25.05
11/30/2016		23.65		0.01			0.06			0.07			(2.54	)		21.18
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(g)		24.48		(0.01	)		(0.82	)		(0.83	)		–			23.65

(a)	Calculated using average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)	Total return for Classes A and C does not consider the effects of sales loads and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions. Total return for all other classes assumes the reinvestment of all distributions.
(c)	Unaudited.
(d)	Not annualized.
(e)	Annualized.
(f)	Commenced on April 4, 2017.
(g)	Commenced on June 30, 2015.
(h)	Amount is less than 0.01%.

32 See Notes to Financial Statements.

			Ratios to Average Net Assets:									Supplemental Data:
Total return(b) (%)			Total expenses after waivers and/or reimbursements (%)			Total expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets, end of period (000)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)
	4.46	(d)		1.41	(e)		1.45	(e)		(0.48	)(e)		$14,902		13	(d)
	23.18			–			1.41			(0.64	)		15,908		27
	5.15			–			1.43			(0.76	)		17,397		55
	20.83			–			1.49			(0.67	)		20,300		73
	0.12			–			1.53			(0.63	)		24,927		117
	4.56			–			1.52			(0.71	)		28,251		97
	4.60	(d)		1.15	(e)		1.21	(e)		(0.30	)(e)		1,615		13	(d)
	23.48			–			1.16			(0.40	)		1,022		27
	5.41			–			1.18			(0.51	)		896		55
	21.17			–			1.23			(0.40	)		1,036		73
	0.37			–			1.27			(0.12	)		107		117
	(3.55	)(d)		–			1.25	(e)		(0.49	)(e)		10		97
	4.74	(d)		0.90	(e)		0.95	(e)		–	(e)(h)		78		13	(d)
	23.79			–			0.91			(0.14	)		89		27
	5.67			–			0.93			(0.26	)		71		55
	21.51			–			0.99			(0.17	)		67		73
	0.63			–			1.00			(0.11	)		10		117
	(3.43	)(d)		–			1.00	(e)		(0.24	)(e)		10		97
	4.78	(d)		0.83	(e)		0.87	(e)		0.06	(e)		8,823		13	(d)
	23.86			–			0.86			(0.11	)		7,181		27
	5.73			–			0.86			(0.30	)		9,218		55
	21.60			–			0.87			(0.01	)		66,144		73
	0.81			–			0.86			0.04			52		117
	(3.39	)(d)		–			0.86	(e)		(0.10	)(e)		10		97

See Notes to Financial Statements. 33

Financial Highlights

SMALL CAP VALUE FUND

			Per Share Operating Performance:
			Investment Operations:									Distributions to shareholders from:
	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net invest- ment income (loss)(a)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			Total from invest- ment opera- tions			Net investment income			Net realized gain			Total distri- butions
Class A
5/31/2020(c)		$17.48		$ 0.06			$(3.33	)		$(3.27	)		$(0.05	)		$(2.89	)		$(2.94	)
11/30/2019		20.46		0.04			0.04			0.08			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		23.63		(0.07	)		(0.17	)		(0.24	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		24.64		(0.01	)		2.11			2.10			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		27.17		(0.02	)		2.55			2.53			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		33.61		(0.04	)		1.33			1.29			–			(7.73	)		(7.73	)
Class C
5/31/2020(c)		8.23		0.01			(1.19	)		(1.18	)		(0.01	)		(2.89	)		(2.90	)
11/30/2019		11.50		(0.04	)		(0.17	)		(0.21	)		–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		14.67		(0.13	)		(0.11	)		(0.24	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		16.55		(0.11	)		1.34			1.23			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		20.13		(0.13	)		1.61			1.48			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		27.04		(0.18	)		1.00			0.82			–	(f)		(7.73	)		(7.73	)
Class F
5/31/2020(c)		17.66		0.07			(3.37	)		(3.30	)		(0.08	)		(2.89	)		(2.97	)
11/30/2019		20.61		0.06			0.05			0.11			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		23.75		(0.04	)		(0.17	)		(0.21	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		24.72		0.02			2.12			2.14			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		27.20		0.01			2.57			2.58			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		33.66		–	(f)		1.33			1.33			(0.06	)		(7.73	)		(7.79	)
Class F3
5/31/2020(c)		21.58		0.10			(4.28	)		(4.18	)		(0.10	)		(2.89	)		(2.99	)
11/30/2019		24.39		0.12			0.13			0.25			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		27.54		–	(f)		(0.19	)		(0.19	)		(0.03	)		(2.93	)		(2.96	)
4/4/2017 to 11/30/2017(h)		25.41		0.05			2.08			2.13			–			–			–
Class I
5/31/2020(c)		21.45		0.09			(4.24	)		(4.15	)		(0.10	)		(2.89	)		(2.99	)
11/30/2019		24.28		0.10			0.13			0.23			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		27.44		(0.02	)		(0.19	)		(0.21	)		(0.02	)		(2.93	)		(2.95	)
11/30/2017		28.06		0.05			2.44			2.49			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		30.13		0.03			2.96			2.99			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		36.46		0.03			1.47			1.50			(0.10	)		(7.73	)		(7.83	)
Class P
5/31/2020(c)		16.38		0.05			(3.09	)		(3.04	)		(0.02	)		(2.89	)		(2.91	)
11/30/2019		19.42		0.01			0.01			0.02			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		22.61		(0.11	)		(0.15	)		(0.26	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		23.75		(0.05	)		2.02			1.97			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		26.43		(0.07	)		2.45			2.38			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		32.95		(0.10	)		1.31			1.21			–			(7.73	)		(7.73	)

34 See Notes to Financial Statements.

					Ratios to Average Net Assets:						Supplemental Data:
Net asset value, end of period		Total return(b) (%)			Total expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets, end of period (000)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)
	$11.27		(22.87	)(d)		1.23	(e)		1.12	(e)		$179,867		32	(d)
	17.48		2.56			1.20			0.25			267,864		95
	20.46		(0.97	)		1.18			(0.33	)		327,333		42
	23.63		9.43			1.18			(0.05	)		385,542		56
	24.64		13.14			1.21			(0.11	)		416,989		44
	27.17		4.76			1.21			(0.15	)		456,843		44
	4.15		(23.17	)(d)		1.99	(e)		0.39	(e)		5,353		32	(d)
	8.23		1.81			1.95			(0.50	)		9,231		95
	11.50		(1.70	)		1.93			(1.08	)		11,331		42
	14.67		8.64			1.93			(0.76	)		25,985		56
	16.55		12.32			1.96			(0.86	)		33,269		44
	20.13		3.97			1.96			(0.91	)		35,312		44
	11.39		(22.86	)(d)		1.08	(e)		1.28	(e)		6,276		32	(d)
	17.66		2.70			1.05			0.35			10,522		95
	20.61		(0.81	)		1.03			(0.18	)		21,981		42
	23.75		9.58			1.03			0.09			23,759		56
	24.72		13.35			1.06			0.04			35,213		44
	27.20		4.90			1.06			(0.01	)		24,246		44
	14.41		(22.79	)(d)		0.87	(e)		1.47	(e)		22,613		32	(d)
	21.58		2.88			0.86			0.59			29,679		95
	24.39		(0.62	)		0.84			–	(g)		33,319		42
	27.54		8.38	(d)		0.84	(e)		0.30	(e)		32,548		56
	14.31		(22.80	)(d)		0.98	(e)		1.38	(e)		308,312		32	(d)
	21.45		2.85			0.95			0.50			411,532		95
	24.28		(0.72	)		0.92			(0.08	)		466,928		42
	27.44		9.70			0.93			0.19			621,900		56
	28.06		13.43			0.96			0.14			679,954		44
	30.13		5.01			0.96			0.09			736,890		44
	10.43		(23.01	)(d)		1.43	(e)		0.91	(e)		14,453		32	(d)
	16.38		2.41			1.40			0.05			20,819		95
	19.42		(1.17	)		1.38			(0.54	)		25,895		42
	22.61		9.21			1.38			(0.26	)		35,174		56
	23.75		12.90			1.42			(0.31	)		46,606		44
	26.43		4.57			1.42			(0.36	)		58,957		44

See Notes to Financial Statements. 35

Financial Highlights (concluded)

SMALL CAP VALUE FUND

			Per Share Operating Performance:
			Investment Operations:									Distributions to shareholders from:
	Net asset value, beginning of period		Net invest- ment income (loss)(a)			Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)			Total from invest- ment opera- tions			Net investment income			Net realized gain			Total distri- butions
Class R2
5/31/2020(c)		$16.14		$  0.04			$(3.04	)		$(3.00	)		$        –			$(2.89	)		$(2.89	)
11/30/2019		19.21		(0.01	)		–	(f)		(0.01	)		–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		22.43		(0.14	)		(0.15	)		(0.29	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		23.62		(0.09	)		2.01			1.92			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		26.33		(0.09	)		2.44			2.35			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		32.90		(0.14	)		1.30			1.16			–			(7.73	)		(7.73	)
Class R3
5/31/2020(c)		16.46		0.05			(3.11	)		(3.06	)		(0.02	)		(2.89	)		(2.91	)
11/30/2019		19.50		–			0.02			0.02			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		22.70		(0.11	)		(0.16	)		(0.27	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		23.84		(0.06	)		2.03			1.97			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		26.51		(0.07	)		2.46			2.39			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
11/30/2015		33.04		(0.10	)		1.30			1.20			–			(7.73	)		(7.73	)
Class R4
5/31/2020(c)		17.49		0.06			(3.35	)		(3.29	)		(0.02	)		(2.89	)		(2.91	)
11/30/2019		20.47		0.05			0.03			0.08			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		23.64		(0.07	)		(0.17	)		(0.24	)		–			(2.93	)		(2.93	)
11/30/2017		24.65		(0.02	)		2.12			2.10			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		27.17		(0.05	)		2.59			2.54			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(i)		27.41		(0.03	)		(0.21	)		(0.24	)		–			–			–
Class R5
5/31/2020(c)		21.47		0.09			(4.25	)		(4.16	)		(0.10	)		(2.89	)		(2.99	)
11/30/2019		24.31		0.13			0.09			0.22			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		27.47		(0.03	)		(0.17	)		(0.20	)		(0.03	)		(2.93	)		(2.96	)
11/30/2017		28.08		0.03			2.47			2.50			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		30.14		0.04			2.96			3.00			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(i)		30.37		–	(f)		(0.23	)		(0.23	)		–			–			–
Class R6
5/31/2020(c)		21.57		0.10			(4.27	)		(4.17	)		(0.10	)		(2.89	)		(2.99	)
11/30/2019		24.38		0.11			0.14			0.25			–			(3.06	)		(3.06	)
11/30/2018		27.53		–	(f)		(0.19	)		(0.19	)		(0.03	)		(2.93	)		(2.96	)
11/30/2017		28.12		0.07			2.45			2.52			–			(3.11	)		(3.11	)
11/30/2016		30.15		0.07			2.96			3.03			–			(5.06	)		(5.06	)
6/30/2015 to 11/30/2015(i)		30.37		0.01			(0.23	)		(0.22	)		–			–			–

(a)	Calculated using average shares outstanding during the period.
(b)	Total return for Classes A and C does not consider the effects of sales loads and assumes the reinvestment of all distributions. Total return for all other classes assumes the reinvestment of all distributions.
(c)	Unaudited.
(d)	Not annualized.
(e)	Annualized.
(f)	Amount less than $0.01.
(g)	Amount is less than 0.01%.
(h)	Commenced on April 4, 2017.
(i)	Commenced on June 30, 2015.

36 See Notes to Financial Statements.

					Ratios to Average Net Assets:						Supplemental Data:
Net asset value, end of period		Total return(b) (%)			Total expenses (%)			Net investment income (loss) (%)			Net assets, end of period (000)		Portfolio turnover rate (%)
	$10.25		(23.06	)(c)		1.59	(e)		0.78	(e)		$    344		32	(d)
	16.14		2.25			1.55			(0.09	)		603		95
	19.21		(1.33	)		1.53			(0.68	)		656		42
	22.43		9.03			1.53			(0.41	)		682		56
	23.62		12.81			1.57			(0.42	)		381		44
	26.33		4.38			1.56			(0.55	)		288		44
	10.49		(23.02	)(c)		1.48	(e)		0.88	(e)		4,139		32	(d)
	16.46		2.33			1.45			0.01			5,713		95
	19.50		(1.16	)		1.43			(0.54	)		6,080		42
	22.70		9.17			1.42			(0.29	)		7,728		56
	23.84		12.89			1.44			(0.33	)		7,238		44
	26.51		4.52			1.44			(0.39	)		6,395		44
	11.29		(22.93	)(c)		1.23	(e)		1.09	(e)		987		32	(d)
	17.49		2.55			1.20			0.28			2,750		95
	20.47		(0.96	)		1.18			(0.33	)		1,851		42
	23.64		9.43			1.18			(0.08	)		3,448		56
	24.65		13.19			1.19			(0.20	)		1,234		44
	27.17		(0.88	)(c)		1.16	(e)		(0.23	)(e)		10		44
	14.32		(22.82	)(c)		0.98	(e)		1.39	(e)		36		32	(d)
	21.47		2.85			0.93			0.64			55		95
	24.31		(0.74	)		0.92			(0.10	)		13		42
	27.47		9.73			0.92			0.12			345		56
	28.08		13.46			0.94			0.17			15		44
	30.14		(0.76	)(c)		0.90	(e)		0.02	(e)		10		44
	14.41		(22.75	)(c)		0.87	(e)		1.48	(e)		7,476		32	(d)
	21.57		2.89			0.86			0.54			8,129		95
	24.38		(0.62	)		0.84			–	(g)		20,220		42
	27.53		9.79			0.84			0.28			23,145		56
	28.12		13.58			0.85			0.27			28,895		44
	30.15		(0.72	)(c)		0.83	(e)		0.09	(e)		10		44

See Notes to Financial Statements. 37

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)

1. ORGANIZATION  

Lord Abbett Research Fund, Inc. (the “Company”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”), as a diversified, open-end management investment company and was incorporated under Maryland law on April 6, 1992. The Company consists of the following three funds (separately, a “Fund” and collectively, the “Funds”) and their respective classes: Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund (“Dividend Growth Fund” formerly, “Calibrated Dividend Growth Fund”), Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities Fund (“Growth Opportunities Fund”) and Lord Abbett Small-Cap Value Series (“Small Cap Value Fund”).

Dividend Growth Fund’s investment objective is to seek current income and capital appreciation. Growth Opportunities Fund’s investment objective is capital appreciation. Small Cap Value Fund’s investment objective is long-term capital appreciation. Each Fund has eleven active share classes at May 31, 2020: Class A, C, F, F3, I, P, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6, each with different expenses and dividends. A front-end sales charge is normally added to the net asset value (“NAV”) for Class A shares. There is no front-end sales charge in the case of Class C, F, F3, I, P, R2, R3, R4, R5 and R6 shares, although there may be a contingent deferred sales charge (“CDSC”) in certain cases as follows: Class A shares purchased without a sales charge and redeemed before the first day of the month in which the one-year anniversary of the purchase falls (subject to certain exceptions as set forth in each Fund’s prospectus); and Class C shares redeemed before the first anniversary of purchase. Effective June 30, 2020, Class C shares will automatically convert to Class A shares on the 25th day of the month (or, if the 25th day is not a business day, the next business day thereafter) following the eighth anniversary of the month on which the purchase order was accepted, provided that the Fund or financial intermediary through which a shareholder purchased Class C shares has records verifying that the C shares have been held at least eight years. The first conversion of Class C to A Shares under this new policy would take place on July 25, 2020 for all Class C shares that were held for more than eight years as of June 30, 2020. Prior to June 30, 2020, Class C shares converted following the tenth anniversary of the month on which the purchase order was accepted. The Funds’ Class P shares are closed to substantially all new investors, with certain exceptions as set forth in the Funds’ prospectus.

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of increases and decreases in net assets from operations during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Each Fund is considered an investment company under U.S. GAAP and follows the accounting and reporting guidance applicable to investment companies.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES  

(a)

Investment Valuation–Under procedures approved by the Funds’ Board of Directors (the “Board”), Lord, Abbett & Co. LLC (“Lord Abbett”), the Funds’ investment manager, has formed a Pricing Committee to administer the pricing and valuation of portfolio investments and to ensure that prices utilized reasonably reflect fair value. Among other things, these procedures allow the Funds to utilize independent pricing services, quotations from securities and financial instrument dealers and other market sources to determine fair value.

Securities actively traded on any recognized U.S. or non-U.S. exchange or on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC are valued at the last sale price or official closing price on the exchange or

38

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

	system on which they are principally traded. Events occurring after the close of trading on non-U.S. exchanges may result in adjustments to the valuation of foreign securities to reflect their fair value as of the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Each Fund may utilize an independent fair valuation service in adjusting the valuations of foreign securities. Unlisted equity securities are valued at the last quoted sale price or, if no sale price is available, at the mean between the most recently quoted bid and asked prices. Exchange traded options and futures contracts are valued at the last quoted sale price in the market where they are principally traded. If no sale has occurred, the mean between the most recently quoted bid and asked prices is used.
	Securities for which prices are not readily available are valued at fair value as determined by the Pricing Committee. The Pricing Committee considers a number of factors, including observable and unobservable inputs, when arriving at fair value. The Pricing Committee may use related or comparable assets or liabilities, recent transactions, market multiples, book values and other relevant information to determine the fair value of portfolio investments. The Board or a designated committee thereof regularly reviews fair value determinations made by the Pricing Committee and may employ techniques such as reviewing related market activity, reviewing inputs and assumptions, and retrospectively comparing prices of subsequent purchases and sales transactions to fair value determinations made by the Pricing Committee.
	Short-term securities with 60 days or less remaining to maturity are valued using the amortized cost method, which approximates fair value.
(b)	Security Transactions–Security transactions are recorded as of the date that the securities are purchased or sold (trade date). Realized gains and losses on sales of portfolio securities are calculated using the identified-cost method. Realized and unrealized gains (losses) are allocated to each class of shares based upon the relative proportion of net assets at the beginning of the day.
(c)	Investment Income–Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis as earned. Discounts are accreted and premiums are amortized using the effective interest method and are included in Interest on the Statements of Operations. Withholding taxes on foreign dividends have been provided for in accordance with the applicable country’s tax rules and rates. Investment income is allocated to each class of shares based upon the relative proportion of net assets at the beginning of the day.
(d)	Income Taxes–It is the policy of each Fund to meet the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute substantially all taxable income and capital gains to its shareholders. Therefore, no income tax provision is required.
	Each Fund files U.S. federal and various state and local tax returns. No income tax returns are currently under examination. The statute of limitations on each Fund’s filed U.S. federal tax returns remains open for the fiscal years ended November 30, 2016 through November 30, 2019. The statutes of limitations on the Company’s state and local tax returns may remain open for an additional year depending upon the jurisdiction.
(e)	Expenses–Expenses incurred by the Company that do not specifically relate to an individual fund are generally allocated to the Funds within the Company on a pro rata basis by relative net assets. Expenses, excluding class-specific expenses, are allocated to each class of shares based upon the relative proportion of net assets at the beginning of the day. Class A, C, F, P,

39

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

	R2, R3 and R4 shares bear their class-specific share of all expenses and fees relating to the Funds’ 12b-1 Distribution Plan.
(f)	Foreign Transactions–The books and records of each Fund are maintained in U.S. dollars and transactions denominated in foreign currencies are recorded in each Fund’s records at the rate prevailing when earned or recorded. Asset and liability accounts that are denominated in foreign currencies are adjusted daily to reflect current exchange rates and any unrealized gain (loss), if applicable, is included in Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on translation of assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies in each Fund’s Statement of Operations. The resultant exchange gains and losses upon settlement of such transactions, if applicable, are included in Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency related transactions in each Fund’s Statement of Operations. The Funds do not isolate that portion of the results of operations arising as a result of changes in the foreign exchange rates from the changes in market prices of the securities.
	The Funds use foreign currency exchange contracts to facilitate transactions in foreign-denominated securities. Losses from these transactions may arise from changes in the value of the foreign currency or if the counterparties do not perform under the contracts’ terms.
(g)	Futures Contracts–Each Fund may purchase and sell index futures contracts to manage cash, or as a substitute position in lieu of holding the underlying asset on which the instrument is based. At the time of entering into a futures transaction, an investor is required to deposit and maintain a specified amount of cash or eligible securities called “initial margin.” Subsequent payments made or received by a Fund called “variation margin” are made on a daily basis as the market price of the futures contract fluctuates. Each Fund will record an unrealized gain (loss) based on the amount of variation margin. When a contract is closed, a realized gain (loss) is recorded equal to the difference between the opening and closing value of the contract.
(h)	Repurchase Agreements–Each Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with respect to securities. A repurchase agreement is a transaction in which a Fund acquires a security and simultaneously commits to resell that security to the seller (a bank or securities dealer) at an agreed-upon price on an agreed-upon date. Each Fund requires at all times that the repurchase agreement be collateralized by cash, or by securities of the U.S. Government, its agencies, its instrumentalities, or U.S. Government sponsored enterprises having a value equal to, or in excess of, the value of the repurchase agreement (including accrued interest). If the seller of the agreement defaults on its obligation to repurchase the underlying securities at a time when the fair value of these securities has declined, a Fund may incur a loss upon disposition of the securities.
(i)	Fair Value Measurements–Fair value is defined as the price that each Fund would receive upon selling an investment or transferring a liability in an orderly transaction to an independent buyer in the principal or most advantageous market of the investment. A three-tier hierarchy is used to maximize the use of observable market data and minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to establish classification of fair value measurements for disclosure purposes. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk—for example, the risk inherent in a particular valuation technique used to measure fair value (such as a pricing model) and/or the risk inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity.

40

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

Unobservable inputs reflect the reporting entity’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Unobservable inputs are based on the best information available in the circumstances. The three-tier hierarchy classification is determined based on the lowest level of inputs that is significant to the fair value measurement, and is summarized in the three broad Levels listed below:

•	Level 1 –	unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical investments;
•	Level 2 –	other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.); and
•	Level 3 –	significant unobservable inputs (including each Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments).

A summary of inputs used in valuing each Fund’s investments and other financial instruments as of May 31, 2020 and, if applicable, Level 3 rollforwards for the six months then ended is included in each Fund’s Schedule of Investments.

Changes in valuation techniques may result in transfers into or out of an assigned level within the three-tier hierarchy. The inputs or methodology used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

3. MANAGEMENT FEE AND OTHER TRANSACTIONS WITH AFFILIATES  

Management Fee

The Company has a management agreement with Lord Abbett, pursuant to which Lord Abbett provides each Fund with investment management services and executive and other personnel, provides office space and pays for ordinary and necessary office and clerical expenses relating to research and statistical work and supervision of each Fund’s investment portfolio.

The management fee for Dividend Growth Fund is based on the Fund’s average daily net assets at the following annual rates:

First $2 billion	.55	%
Over $2 billion	.49	%

The management fee for Growth Opportunities Fund is based on the Fund’s average daily net assets at the following annual rates:

First $1 billion	.75	%
Next $1 billion	.65	%
Next $1 billion	.60	%
Over $3 billion	.58	%

The management fee for Small Cap Value Fund is based on the Fund’s average daily net assets at the following annual rates:

First $2 billion	.75	%
Over $2 billion	.70	%

For the six months ended May 31, 2020, the effective management fee, net of waivers, was based on each Fund’s average daily net assets at the following annualized rates:

	Net Effective Management Fee
Dividend Growth Fund	.55%
Growth Opportunities Fund	.72%
Small Cap Value Fund	.75%

41

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

In addition, Lord Abbett provides certain administrative services to the Funds pursuant to an Administrative Services Agreement in return for a fee at an annual rate of .04% of each Fund’s average daily net assets.

For the period from April 1, 2020 and continuing through March 31, 2021, Lord Abbett has contractually agreed to waive its fees and reimburse expenses to the extent necessary to limit total net annual operating expenses, excluding 12b-1 fees, to the following annual rates:

	Growth Opportunities Fund
Classes
A, C, F, I, P, R2, R3, R4 and R5	0.81%
F3 and R6	0.75%

12b-1 Distribution Plan

Each Fund has adopted a distribution plan with respect to Class A, C, F, P, R2, R3 and R4 shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Act, which provides for the payment of ongoing distribution and service fees to Lord Abbett Distributor LLC (the “Distributor”), an affiliate of Lord Abbett. The following annual rates have been authorized by the Board pursuant to the plan:

Fees*	Class A	Class C	Class F(1)(2)	Class P	Class R2	Class R3	Class R4
Service	.25%	.25%	-	.25%	.25%	.25%	.25%
Distribution	-	.75%	.10%	.20%	.35%	.25%	–*

*	The Funds may designate a portion of the aggregate fee as attributable to service activities for purposes of calculating Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) sales charge limitations.
(1)	The Class F Share Rule 12b-1 fee may be designated as a service fee in limited circumstances as described in the Funds’ prospectus.
(2)	For the six months ended May 31, 2020, and continuing through March 31, 2021, the Distributor has contractually agreed to waive Dividend Growth Fund’s 0.10% Rule 12b-1 fee for Class F. This agreement may be terminated only by the Funds’ Board of Directors.

Class F3, Class I, Class R5 and Class R6 shares do not have a distribution plan.

Commissions

Distributor received the following commissions on sales of shares of the Funds, after concessions were paid to authorized dealers, for the six months ended May 31, 2020:

	Distributor Commissions		Dealers’ Concessions
Dividend Growth Fund	$	194,704	$	1,046,627
Growth Opportunities Fund		41,088		222,487
Small Cap Value Fund		11,048		59,122

Distributor received the following amount of CDSCs for the six months ended May 31, 2020:

	Class A		Class C
Dividend Growth Fund	$	21,244	$	7,581
Growth Opportunities Fund		3,949		669
Small Cap Value Fund		914		153

Other Related Parties

As of May 31, 2020, the percentages of Growth Opportunities Fund’s and Small Cap Value Fund’s outstanding shares owned by each Fund that invests principally in affiliated mutual funds managed by Lord Abbett (“Fund of Funds”) were as follows:

Underlying Funds
Fund of Funds	Growth Opportunities Fund		Small Cap Value Fund
Alpha Strategy Fund		–		23.54%
Multi-Asset Balanced Opportunities Fund		15.63%		–
Multi-Asset Income Fund		4.75%		–

42

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

One Director and certain of the Fund’s officers have an interest in Lord Abbett.

4. DISTRIBUTIONS AND CAPITAL LOSS CARRYFORWARDS  

Dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid at least quarterly for Dividend Growth Fund and annually for Growth Opportunities Fund and Small Cap Value Fund. Taxable net realized gains from investment transactions, reduced by allowable capital loss carryforwards, if any, are declared and distributed to shareholders at least annually. The capital loss carryforward amount, if any, is available to offset future net capital gains. Dividends and distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. The amounts of dividends and distributions from net investment income and net realized capital gains are determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from U.S. GAAP. These book/tax differences are either considered temporary or permanent in nature. To the extent these differences are permanent in nature, such amounts are reclassified within the components of net assets based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require reclassification. Dividends and distributions, which exceed earnings and profits for tax purposes, are reported as a tax return of capital.

The tax character of distributions paid during the six months ended May 31, 2020 and fiscal year ended November 30, 2019 were as follows:

	Dividend Growth Fund				Growth Opportunities Fund
	Six Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	5/31/2020 (unaudited)		Year Ended 11/30/2019		5/31/2020 (unaudited)		Year Ended 11/30/2019
Distributions paid from:
Ordinary income	$	19,106,507	$	70,041,461	$	–	$	8,156,688
Net long-term capital gains		106,129,427		118,733,710		43,463,848		31,351,508
Total distributions paid	$	125,235,934	$	188,775,171	$	43,463,848	$	39,508,196
	Small Cap Value Fund
	Six Months Ended 5/31/2020 (unaudited)		Year Ended 11/30/2019
Distributions paid from:
Ordinary income	$	2,988,700	$	7,597,559
Net long-term capital gains		113,165,682		116,541,602
Total distributions paid	$	116,154,382	$	124,139,161

As of May 31, 2020, the aggregate unrealized security gains and losses on investments and other financial instruments based on cost for U.S. federal income tax purposes were as follows:

	Dividend Growth Fund			Growth Opportunities Fund			Small Cap Value Fund
Tax cost	$	2,072,678,975		$	422,383,988		$	628,494,050
Gross unrealized gain		343,744,535			242,136,111			54,346,852
Gross unrealized loss		(60,338,463	)		(16,111,962	)		(124,699,859	)
Net unrealized security gain (loss)	$	283,406,072		$	226,024,149		$	(70,353,007	)

The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized gains (losses) is attributable to the tax treatment of wash sales and other financial instruments.

43

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

5. PORTFOLIO SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS  

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended May 31, 2020 were as follows:

	Purchases		Sales
Dividend Growth Fund	$	1,023,924,895	$	1,079,741,463
Growth Opportunities Fund		85,811,805		308,808,633
Small Cap Value Fund		203,152,329		251,412,036

There were no purchases or sales of U.S. Government securities for the six months ended May 31, 2020.

Each Fund is permitted to purchase and sell securities (“cross-trade”) from and to other Lord Abbett funds or client accounts pursuant to procedures approved by the Board in compliance with Rule 17a-7 under the Act (the “Rule”). Each cross-trade is executed at a fair market price in compliance with provisions of the Rule. For the six months ended May 31, 2020, the following Funds engaged in cross-trades:

Fund	Purchases		Sales		Gain/Loss
Dividend Growth Fund	$	–	$	6,976,865	$	79,154
Growth Opportunities Fund		121,377		27,657		(7,273	)
Small Cap Value Fund		–		1,684,615		632,066

6. DISCLOSURES ABOUT DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES  

Dividend Growth Fund entered into E-Mini S&P 500 Index futures contracts for the six months ended May 31, 2020 (as described in note 2(g)) to manage cash. The Fund bears the risk that the underlying index will move unexpectedly, in which case the Fund may realize a loss. There is minimal counterparty credit risk to the Fund since futures are exchange traded and the exchange’s clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures, guarantees futures against default.

As of May 31, 2020, the Fund had futures contracts with unrealized appreciation of $657,144. Amounts of $(2,539,695) and $429,656 are included in the Statement of Operations related to futures contracts under the captions Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts and Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation on futures contracts, respectively. The average number of futures contracts throughout the period was 81.

7. DISCLOSURES ABOUT OFFSETTING ASSETS AND LIABILITIES  

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) requires disclosures intended to help better assess the effect or potential effect of offsetting arrangements on a fund’s financial position. The following tables illustrate gross and net information about recognized assets and liabilities eligible for offset in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities; and disclose such amounts subject to an enforceable master netting agreement or similar agreement, by a counterparty. A master netting agreement is an agreement between a fund and a counterparty which provides for the net settlement of amounts owed under all contracts traded under that agreement, as well as cash collateral, through a single payment by one party to the other in the event of default on or termination of any one contract. The Funds’ accounting policy with respect to balance sheet offsetting is that, absent an event of default by the counterparty or a termination of the agreement, the master netting agreement does not result in an offset of reported amounts of financial assets and liabilities in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities across transactions between the Funds and the applicable counterparty:

44

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

	Dividend Growth Fund
Description	Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets		Gross Amounts Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities		Net Amounts of Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Repurchase Agreement	$	11,506,289	$	–	$	11,506,289
Total	$	11,506,289	$	–	$	11,506,289

	Net Amounts of		Amounts Not Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Counterparty	Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities		Financial Instruments		Cash Collateral Received(a)		Securities Collateral Received(a)			Net Amount(b)
Fixed Income Clearing Corp.	$	11,506,289	$	–	$	–	$	(11,506,289	)	$	–
Total	$	11,506,289	$	–	$	–	$	(11,506,289	)	$	–

	Growth Opportunities Fund
Description	Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets		Gross Amounts Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities		Net Amounts of Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Repurchase Agreement	$	3,701,701	$	–	$	3,701,701
Total	$	3,701,701	$	–	$	3,701,701

	Net Amounts of		Amounts Not Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Counterparty	Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities		Financial Instruments		Cash Collateral Received(a)		Securities Collateral Received(a)			Net Amount(b)
Fixed Income Clearing Corp.	$	3,701,701	$	–	$	–	$	(3,701,701	)	$	–
Total	$	3,701,701	$	–	$	–	$	(3,701,701	)	$	–

	Small Cap Value Fund
Description	Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets		Gross Amounts Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities		Net Amounts of Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Repurchase Agreement	$	7,068,366	$	–	$	7,068,366
Total	$	7,068,366	$	–	$	7,068,366

	Net Amounts of		Amounts Not Offset in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities
Counterparty	Assets Presented in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities		Financial Instruments		Cash Collateral Received(a)		Securities Collateral Received(a)			Net Amount(b)
Fixed Income Clearing Corp.	$	7,068,366	$	–	$	–	$	(7,068,366	)	$	–
Total	$	7,068,366	$	–	$	–	$	(7,068,366	)	$	–

(a)	Collateral disclosed is limited to an amount not to exceed 100% of the net amount of assets presented in the Statements of Assets and Liabilities, for each respective counterparty.
(b)	Net amount represents the amount owed to the Fund by the counterparty as of May 31, 2020.

45

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

8. DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION  

The Company’s officers and the one Director who are associated with Lord Abbett do not receive any compensation from the Company for serving in such capacities. Independent Directors’ fees are allocated among all Lord Abbett-sponsored funds based on the net assets of each fund. There is an equity-based plan available to all Independent Directors under which Independent Directors must defer receipt of a portion of, and may elect to defer receipt of an additional portion of, Directors’ fees. The deferred amounts are treated as though equivalent dollar amounts had been invested in the funds. Such amounts and earnings accrued thereon are included in Directors’ fees on the Statements of Operations and in Directors’ fees payable on the Statements of Assets and Liabilities and are not deductible for U.S. federal income tax purposes until such amounts are paid.

9. EXPENSE REDUCTIONS  

The Company has entered into an arrangement with its transfer agent and custodian, whereby credits realized as a result of uninvested cash balances are used to reduce a portion of each Fund’s expenses.

10. LINE OF CREDIT  

For the period ended May 31, 2020, the Funds and certain other funds managed by Lord Abbett (collectively, the “Participating Funds”) entered into a Syndicated Facility with various lenders for $1.17 billion whereas State Street Bank and Trust Company (“SSB”) participated as a lender and as agent for the lenders. The Participating Funds are subject to graduated borrowing limits of one third of Fund net assets (if Fund net assets are less than $750 million), $250 million, $300 million, $350 million, $500 million, or $1 billion, based on past borrowings and likelihood of future borrowings, among other factors.

For the period ended May 31, 2020, the Participating Funds entered a Bilateral Facility with SSB for $330 million, $250 million committed and $80 million uncommitted. Under the Bilateral Facility, the Participating Funds are subject to graduated borrowing limits of one-third of Fund net assets (if net assets are less than $750 million), $250 million, $300 million, or $330 million, based on past borrowings and likelihood of future borrowings, among other factors.

The Syndicated Facility and the Bilateral Facility are to be used for temporary or emergency purposes as an additional source of liquidity to satisfy redemptions.

For the six months ended May 31, 2020, the Funds did not utilize the Facilities.

11. INTERFUND LENDING PROGRAM  

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC exemptive order”) certain registered open-ended management investment companies managed by Lord Abbett, including each Fund, participate in a joint lending and borrowing program (the Interfund Lending Program”). The SEC exemptive order allows the Funds to borrow money from and lend money to each other for temporary emergency purposes subject to the limitations and conditions.

For the six months ended May 31, 2020, the Funds did not participate as a borrower or lender in the Interfund Lending Program.

46

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

12. CUSTODIAN AND ACCOUNTING AGENT  

SSB is the Company’s custodian and accounting agent. SSB performs custodial, accounting and recordkeeping functions relating to portfolio transactions and calculating each Fund’s NAV.

13. SECURITIES LENDING AGREEMENT  

The Funds have established a securities lending agreement with Citibank, N.A. for the lending of securities to qualified brokers in exchange for securities or cash collateral equal to at least the market value of securities loaned, plus interest, if applicable. Cash collateral is invested in an approved money market fund. In accordance with the Funds’ securities lending agreement, the market value of securities on loan is determined each day at the close of business and any additional collateral required to cover the value of securities on loan is delivered to the Funds on the next business day. As with other extensions of credit, the Funds may experience a delay in the recovery of their securities or incur a loss should the borrower of the securities breach its agreement with the Funds or become insolvent at a time when the collateral is insufficient to cover the cost of repurchasing securities on loan. Such income earned from securities lending is included in Securities Lending Income on the Statement of Operations.

As of May 31, 2020, the market value of securities loaned and collateral received for the Funds was as follows:

Funds	Market Value of Securities Loaned	Collateral Received
Lord Abbett Small Cap Value Fund	$5,679,092	$5,847,500

14. INVESTMENT RISKS  

Each Fund is subject to the general risks and considerations associated with equity investing. The value of the Funds’ investments will fluctuate in response to movements in the equity securities markets in general and to the changing prospects of individual companies and/or sectors in which the Funds invest.

Dividend Growth Fund invests primarily in equity securities of large and mid-sized company stocks that have a history of growing their dividends, but there is no guarantee that a company will pay a dividend. Also, equity securities may experience significant volatility. Such securities may fall sharply in response to adverse events affecting overall markets, a particular industry or sector, or an individual company’s financial condition. If the Fund’s fundamental research and quantitative analysis fail to produce the intended result, the Fund may suffer losses or underperform its benchmark or other funds with the same investment objective or similar strategies, even in a favorable market. Large and mid-sized company stocks each may perform differently than the market as a whole and other types of stocks. This is because different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on market and economic conditions. Mid-sized company stocks may be less able to weather economic shifts or other adverse developments than those of larger, more established companies. Securities of mid-sized companies tend to be more sensitive to changing economic, market, and industry conditions and tend to be less liquid than equity securities of larger companies, especially over the short term. The securities of mid-sized companies may be less well-known and less widely held and trade less frequently and in more limited volume than the securities of large cap company stocks. Mid-sized companies also may fall out of favor relative to larger companies in certain market cycles, causing the Fund to incur losses or underperform.

47

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

Growth Opportunities Fund has particular risks associated with growth stocks. Growth companies may grow faster than other companies, which may result in more volatility in their stock prices. In addition, if the Fund’s assessment of a company’s potential for growth or market conditions is wrong, it could suffer losses or produce poor performance relative to other funds, even in a favorable market. Growth stocks often are more sensitive to market fluctuations than other securities because their market prices are highly sensitive to future earnings expectations. The Fund invests largely in mid-sized company stocks, which may be less able to weather economic shifts or other adverse developments than those of larger, more established companies. Due to the Fund’s investment exposure to American Depositary Receipts and foreign companies and emerging markets, the Fund may experience increased market, liquidity, currency, political, information, and other risks. As compared with companies organized and operated in the U.S., these companies may be more vulnerable to economic, political and social instability and subject to less government supervision, lack of transparency, inadequate regulatory and accounting standards, and foreign taxes. The securities of foreign companies also may be subject to inadequate exchange control regulations, the imposition of economic sanctions or other government restrictions, higher transaction and other costs, and delays in settlement to the extent they are traded on non-U.S. exchanges or markets.

Small Cap Value Fund has particular risks associated with small company value stocks. Small company value stocks may perform differently than the market as a whole and other types of stocks, such as large company stocks or growth stocks. The market may fail to recognize the intrinsic value of particular value stocks for a long time. In addition, small cap company stocks may be more volatile and less liquid than large cap company stocks, especially over the short term. The securities of small companies may be less well-known and less widely held and trade less frequently and in more limited volume than the securities of large cap company stocks. Small companies also may fall out of favor relative to larger companies in certain market cycles, causing the Fund to incur losses or underperform. Also, if the Fund’s assessment of a company’s value or prospects for exceeding earnings expectations or market conditions is wrong, the Fund could suffer losses or produce poor performance relative to other funds, even in a favorable market.

Geopolitical and other events (e.g., wars, events (e.g., wars, terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics or pandemics, such as the COVID-19 outbreak which began in late 2019) may disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets, thereby decreasing the value of each Fund’s investments. Market disruptions can also prevent a Fund from implementing its investment strategies and achieving its investment objective.

These factors, and others, can affect each Fund’s performance.

15. SUMMARY OF CAPITAL TRANSACTIONS  

Transactions in shares of capital stock were as follows:

Dividend Growth Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class A Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		10,109,068		$	144,371,066			13,265,950		$	198,198,665
Converted from Class C*		326,408			4,806,747			1,113,778			17,297,915
Reinvestment of distributions		5,322,824			83,516,958			9,147,008			126,629,997
Shares reacquired		(12,192,640	)		(175,083,596	)		(21,119,867	)		(316,406,189	)
Increase		3,565,660		$	57,611,175			2,406,869		$	25,720,388

48

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

Dividend Growth Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class C Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		1,519,335		$	22,106,405			2,154,758		$	31,384,476
Reinvestment of distributions		594,006			9,260,559			1,155,376			15,642,010
Shares reacquired		(2,134,746	)		(30,347,240	)		(3,582,649	)		(52,607,279	)
Converted to Class A*		(331,474	)		(4,806,747	)		(1,130,097	)		(17,297,915	)
Decrease		(352,879	)	$	(3,787,023	)		(1,402,612	)	$	(22,878,708	)
Class F Shares
Shares sold		4,948,757		$	74,353,982			7,819,311		$	118,138,746
Reinvestment of distributions		698,869			10,968,618			1,142,528			15,851,735
Shares reacquired		(7,263,300	)		(97,457,489	)		(6,169,310	)		(91,736,443	)
Increase (decrease)		(1,615,674	)	$	(12,134,889	)		2,792,529		$	42,254,038
Class F3 Shares
Shares sold		2,054,490		$	31,008,487			2,438,430		$	37,587,629
Reinvestment of distributions		652,333			10,360,258			1,098,016			15,450,243
Shares reacquired		(1,785,333	)		(26,378,653	)		(3,005,386	)		(46,256,348	)
Increase		921,490		$	14,990,092			531,060		$	6,781,524
Class I Shares
Shares sold		382,991		$	5,678,032			652,609		$	10,022,276
Reinvestment of distributions		131,624			2,089,589			236,493			3,310,251
Shares reacquired		(858,113	)		(12,109,595	)		(987,600	)		(14,864,681	)
Decrease		(343,498	)	$	(4,341,974	)		(98,498	)	$	(1,532,154	)
Class P Shares
Shares sold		4,557		$	65,116			19,513		$	309,655
Reinvestment of distributions		3,444			54,613			8,400			116,116
Shares reacquired		(17,454	)		(248,292	)		(63,943	)		(953,522	)
Decrease		(9,453	)	$	(128,563	)		(36,030	)	$	(527,751	)
Class R2 Shares
Shares sold		3,081		$	47,762			8,714		$	131,325
Reinvestment of distributions		2,913			46,516			6,593			91,668
Shares reacquired		(16,611	)		(222,725	)		(31,868	)		(484,204	)
Decrease		(10,617	)	$	(128,447	)		(16,561	)	$	(261,211	)
Class R3 Shares
Shares sold		77,447		$	1,121,635			131,270		$	1,975,761
Reinvestment of distributions		49,996			783,022			96,058			1,318,002
Shares reacquired		(211,812	)		(3,045,380	)		(321,304	)		(4,673,031	)
Decrease		(84,369	)	$	(1,140,723	)		(93,976	)	$	(1,379,268	)
Class R4 Shares
Shares sold		52,667		$	772,858			101,345		$	1,496,275
Reinvestment of distributions		9,492			148,973			12,949			179,880
Shares reacquired		(57,538	)		(786,482	)		(53,131	)		(808,074	)
Increase		4,621		$	135,349			61,163		$	868,081

49

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

Dividend Growth Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class R5 Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		8,026		$	121,828			15,788		$	244,153
Reinvestment of distributions		871			13,770			1,372			19,225
Shares reacquired		(5,100	)		(83,496	)		(16,325	)		(255,566	)
Increase		3,797		$	52,102			835		$	7,812
Class R6 Shares
Shares sold		130,126		$	1,990,280			143,955		$	2,198,074
Reinvestment of distributions		14,354			228,386			22,483			316,755
Shares reacquired		(81,796	)		(1,168,639	)		(94,534	)		(1,439,057	)
Increase		62,684		$	1,050,027			71,904		$	1,075,772
Growth Opportunities Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class A Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		1,513,877		$	33,459,793			1,441,334		$	31,844,210
Converted from Class C*		41,542			958,902			84,683			1,928,758
Reinvestment of distributions		839,801			19,894,886			912,312			16,969,000
Shares reacquired		(1,853,507	)		(41,100,848	)		(2,546,474	)		(56,209,914	)
Increase (decrease)		541,713		$	13,212,733			(108,145	)	$	(5,467,946	)
Class C Shares
Shares sold		195,425		$	3,028,495			311,257		$	4,698,466
Reinvestment of distributions		117,418			1,960,881			132,290			1,787,234
Shares reacquired		(245,242	)		(3,812,677	)		(475,328	)		(7,575,270	)
Converted to Class A*		(59,035	)		(958,902	)		(117,080	)		(1,928,758	)
Increase (decrease)		8,566		$	217,797			(148,861	)	$	(3,018,328	)
Class F Shares
Shares sold		572,601		$	14,066,950			218,306		$	5,138,976
Reinvestment of distributions		48,456			1,202,679			50,756			984,663
Shares reacquired		(363,098	)		(8,202,366	)		(310,292	)		(7,003,254	)
Increase (decrease)		257,959		$	7,067,263			(41,230	)	$	(879,615	)
Class F3 Shares
Shares sold		185,277		$	4,890,954			67,826		$	1,776,429
Reinvestment of distributions		13,528			373,366			14,609			313,063
Shares reacquired		(54,680	)		(1,414,373	)		(83,059	)		(2,125,037	)
Increase (decrease)		144,125		$	3,849,947			(624	)	$	(35,545	)
Class I Shares
Shares sold		168,821		$	4,478,950			2,495,874		$	65,138,657
Reinvestment of distributions		643,132			17,634,691			802,630			17,104,054
Shares reacquired		(8,429,356	)		(231,454,448	)		(5,543,677	)		(143,674,473	)
Decrease		(7,617,403	)	$	(209,340,807	)		(2,245,173	)	$	(61,431,762	)
Class P Shares
Shares sold		17,212		$	401,856			34,169		$	755,915
Reinvestment of distributions		8,007			183,757			8,270			149,527
Shares reacquired		(44,253	)		(1,003,291	)		(40,299	)		(864,756	)
Increase (decrease)		(19,034	)	$	(417,678	)		2,140		$	40,686

50

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(continued)

Growth Opportunities Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class R2 Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		19,252		$	395,480			8,872		$	179,594
Reinvestment of distributions		1,042			23,214			1,851			32,602
Shares reacquired		(19,250	)		(397,176	)		(21,417	)		(454,426	)
Increase (decrease)		1,044		$	21,518			(10,694	)	$	(242,230	)
Class R3 Shares
Shares sold		77,332		$	1,684,484			93,356		$	2,020,611
Reinvestment of distributions		38,682			883,104			51,923			934,613
Shares reacquired		(149,096	)		(3,324,491	)		(321,521	)		(6,910,891	)
Decrease		(33,082	)	$	(756,903	)		(176,242	)	$	(3,955,667	)
Class R4 Shares
Shares sold		28,055		$	680,670			17,504		$	400,483
Reinvestment of distributions		2,311			54,769			2,442			45,424
Shares reacquired		(5,916	)		(141,475	)		(20,766	)		(479,311	)
Increase (decrease)		24,450		$	593,964			(820	)	$	(33,404	)
Class R5 Shares
Shares sold		3,428		$	91,253			70		$	1,755
Reinvestment of distributions		152			4,172			155			3,310
Shares reacquired		(3,964	)		(107,529	)		(35	)		(904	)
Increase (decrease)		(384	)	$	(12,104	)		190		$	4,161
Class R6 Shares
Shares sold		84,107		$	2,262,578			59,784		$	1,597,805
Reinvestment of distributions		4,622			127,527			12,582			269,624
Shares reacquired		(31,403	)		(848,815	)		(199,297	)		(4,812,716	)
Increase (decrease)		57,326		$	1,541,290			(126,931	)	$	(2,945,287	)
Small Cap Value Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class A Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		957,877		$	12,250,138			1,872,830		$	30,449,408
Converted from Class C*		9,436			114,184			20,815			347,602
Reinvestment of distributions		2,656,952			39,907,424			2,835,361			43,352,661
Shares reacquired		(2,981,908	)		(39,415,519	)		(5,403,532	)		(90,867,447	)
Increase (decrease)		642,357		$	12,856,227			(674,526	)	$	(16,717,776	)
Class C Shares
Shares sold		139,711		$	650,088			194,085		$	1,489,452
Reinvestment of distributions		548,260			3,042,843			396,674			2,875,880
Shares reacquired		(493,582	)		(2,516,889	)		(410,144	)		(3,198,475	)
Converted to Class A*		(25,604	)		(114,184	)		(44,009	)		(347,602	)
Increase		168,785		$	1,061,858			136,606		$	819,255
Class F Shares
Shares sold		78,520		$	971,673			254,965		$	4,279,563
Reinvestment of distributions		103,776			1,575,324			117,876			1,818,819
Shares reacquired		(227,233	)		(2,987,204	)		(843,596	)		(14,088,571	)
Decrease		(44,937	)	$	(440,207	)		(470,755	)	$	(7,990,189	)

51

Notes to Financial Statements (unaudited)(concluded)

Small Cap Value Fund	Six Months Ended May 31, 2020 (unaudited)						Year Ended November 30, 2019
Class F3 Shares	Shares			Amount			Shares			Amount
Shares sold		275,786		$	3,966,267			318,431		$	6,545,913
Reinvestment of distributions		212,091			4,067,898			217,669			4,096,535
Shares reacquired		(294,346	)		(4,713,665	)		(527,165	)		(10,950,316	)
Increase (decrease)		193,531		$	3,320,500			8,935		$	(307,868	)
Class I Shares
Shares sold		2,938,962		$	44,098,074			1,207,504		$	24,818,399
Reinvestment of distributions		2,998,650			57,124,282			3,059,039			57,265,207
Shares reacquired		(3,574,852	)		(52,430,904	)		(4,313,649	)		(87,640,851	)
Increase (decrease)		2,362,760		$	48,791,452			(47,106	)	$	(5,557,245	)
Class P Shares
Shares sold		137,802		$	1,462,236			119,222		$	1,867,060
Reinvestment of distributions		250,666			3,489,270			280,453			4,024,498
Shares reacquired		(274,251	)		(3,439,954	)		(462,062	)		(7,275,449	)
Increase (decrease)		114,217		$	1,511,552			(62,387	)	$	(1,383,891	)
Class R2 Shares
Shares sold		6,264		$	79,864			16,534		$	250,082
Reinvestment of distributions		6,806			93,108			5,341			75,630
Shares reacquired		(16,847	)		(164,934	)		(18,679	)		(289,601	)
Increase (decrease)		(3,777	)	$	8,038			3,196		$	36,111
Class R3 Shares
Shares sold		32,364		$	356,050			40,700		$	644,215
Reinvestment of distributions		70,784			990,977			66,178			954,955
Shares reacquired		(55,733	)		(683,958	)		(71,500	)		(1,134,977	)
Increase		47,415		$	663,069			35,378		$	464,193
Class R4 Shares
Shares sold		22,370		$	299,989			85,350		$	1,369,430
Reinvestment of distributions		5,169			77,794			16,872			258,148
Shares reacquired		(97,382	)		(1,590,116	)		(35,377	)		(599,075	)
Increase (decrease)		(69,843	)	$	(1,212,333	)		66,845		$	1,028,503
Class R5 Shares
Shares sold		2,958		$	55,398			1,939		$	40,248
Reinvestment of distributions		408			7,774			90			1,680
Shares reacquired		(3,427	)		(46,793	)		(2	)		(43	)
Increase (decrease)		(61	)	$	16,379			2,027		$	41,885
Class R6 Shares
Shares sold		180,500		$	2,615,538			177,734		$	3,592,546
Reinvestment of distributions		19,026			364,918			92,024			1,730,963
Shares reacquired		(57,568	)		(895,313	)		(722,250	)		(14,084,587	)
Increase (decrease)		141,958		$	2,085,143			(452,492	)	$	(8,761,078	)

* Effective June 30, 2020, automatic conversion of Class C shares occurs on the 25th day of the month (or, if the 25th day was not a business day, the next business day thereafter) following the eighth anniversary of the day on which the purchase order was accepted. Prior to June 30, 2020 conversion occurred following the tenth anniversary of the day on which the purchase was accepted.

52

Approval of Advisory Contract

Research Fund

(Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund (formerly known as “Lord Abbett Calibrated Dividend Growth Fund”), Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities Fund, and Lord Abbett Small-Cap Value Fund)

Approval of Advisory Contract

The Board, including all of the Directors who are not “interested persons” of the Company or of Lord Abbett, as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Independent Directors”), annually considers whether to approve the continuation of the existing management agreement between each Fund and Lord Abbett (the “Agreement”). In connection with its most recent approval, the Board reviewed materials relating specifically to the Agreement, as well as numerous materials received throughout the course of the year, including information about each Fund’s investment performance compared to the performance of one or more appropriate benchmarks. Before making its decision as to each Fund, the Board had the opportunity to ask questions and request further information, taking into account its knowledge of Lord Abbett gained through its meetings and discussions. These meetings and discussions included reviews of Fund performance conducted by members of the Contract Committee, the deliberations of the Contract Committee, and discussions between the Contract Committee and Lord Abbett’s management. The Independent Directors also met with their independent legal counsel in various private sessions at which no representatives of management were present.

The materials received by the Board as to each Fund included, but were not limited to: (1) information provided by Broadridge Financial Solutions (“Broadridge”) regarding the investment performance of the Fund compared to the investment performance of certain funds with similar investment styles as determined by Broadridge, based, in part, on the Fund’s Morningstar category (the “performance peer group”), and the investment performance of one or more appropriate benchmarks; (2) information provided by Broadridge regarding the expense ratios, contractual and actual management fee rates, and other expense components for the Fund and certain funds in the same Morningstar category, with generally the same or similar share classes and operational characteristics, including asset size (the “expense peer group”); (3) certain supplemental investment performance information provided by Lord Abbett; (4) information provided by Lord Abbett on the expense ratios, management fee rates, and other expense components for the Fund; (5) sales and redemption information for the Fund; (6) information regarding Lord Abbett’s financial condition; (7) an analysis of the relative profitability of the Agreement to Lord Abbett; (8) information provided by Lord Abbett regarding the investment management fee schedules for Lord Abbett’s other advisory clients maintaining accounts with a similar investment strategy as the Fund (in the case of Small Cap Value Fund); and (9) information regarding the personnel and other resources devoted by Lord Abbett to managing the Fund.

Investment Management and Related Services Generally. The Board considered the services provided by Lord Abbett to each Fund, including investment research, portfolio management, and trading, and Lord Abbett’s commitment to compliance with all applicable legal requirements. The Board also observed that Lord Abbett was solely engaged in the investment management business and accordingly did not experience the conflicts of interest that may result from being engaged in other lines of business. The Board considered the investment advisory services provided by Lord Abbett to other clients, the fees charged for the services, and the differences in the nature of the services provided to each Fund and other Lord Abbett Funds, on the one hand, and the services provided to other clients, on the other. After reviewing these and related factors, the Board

53

Approval of Advisory Contract (continued)

concluded that each Fund was likely to continue to benefit from the nature, extent and quality of the investment services provided by Lord Abbett under the Agreement.

Investment Performance. The Board reviewed each Fund’s investment performance in relation to that of its performance peer group and one or more appropriate benchmarks as of various periods ended June 30, 2019. As to Dividend Growth Fund, the Board observed that the Fund’s investment performance was above the median of the performance peer group for the one-year period, but below the median of the performance peer group for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods. The Board took into account changes to Dividend Growth Fund’s portfolio management team. As to Growth Opportunities Fund, the Board observed that the Fund’s investment performance was below the median of the performance peer group for the three-, five-, and ten-year periods, but above the median of the performance peer group for the one-year period. As to Small Cap Value Fund, the Board observed that the Fund’s investment performance was below the median of the performance peer group for the one-, three-year, five-, and ten-year periods. With respect to each Fund, the Board took into account actions taken by Lord Abbett to attempt to improve equity fund performance. The Board further considered Lord Abbett’s performance and reputation generally, the performance of other Lord Abbett-managed funds overseen by the Board, and the willingness of Lord Abbett to take steps intended to improve performance when appropriate. After reviewing these and related factors, the Board concluded that each Fund’s Agreement should be continued.

Lord Abbett’s Personnel and Methods. The Board considered the qualifications of the personnel providing investment management services to each Fund, in light of its investment objective and discipline, and other services provided to each Fund by Lord Abbett. Among other things, the Board considered the size, experience, and turnover of Lord Abbett’s staff, Lord Abbett’s investment methodology and philosophy, and Lord Abbett’s approach to recruiting, training, and retaining personnel.

Nature and Quality of Other Services. The Board considered the nature, quality, and extent of compliance, administrative, and other services performed by Lord Abbett and the nature and extent of Lord Abbett’s supervision of third party service providers, including each Fund’s transfer agent and custodian.

Expenses. The Board considered the expense level of each Fund, including the contractual and actual management fee rates, and the expense levels of the Fund’s expense peer group. It also considered how the expense level of each Fund related to those of the expense peer group and the amount and nature of the fees paid by shareholders. As to each of Dividend Growth Fund and Small Cap Value Fund, the Board observed that the net total expense ratio of the Fund was below the median of the expense peer group. As to Growth Opportunities Fund, the Board observed that, although the net total expense ratio of the Fund was above the median of the expense peer group, its was only one basis point higher than the median. After reviewing these and related factors, the Board concluded, within the context of its overall approval of the Agreement, that the management fees paid by, and expense level of, each Fund were reasonable in light of all of the factors it considered and supported the continuation of the Agreement on behalf of each Fund.

Profitability. As to each Fund, the Board considered the level of Lord Abbett’s operating margin in managing the Fund, including a review of Lord Abbett’s methodology for allocating its costs to its management of the Fund. It considered whether each Fund was profitable to Lord Abbett in connection with the Fund’s operation, including the fee that Lord Abbett receives from the Fund

54

Approval of Advisory Contract (concluded)

for providing administrative services to the Fund. The Board considered Lord Abbett’s profit margins excluding Lord Abbett’s marketing and distribution expenses. The Board also considered Lord Abbett’s profit margins, without those exclusions, in comparison with available industry data and how those profit margins could affect Lord Abbett’s ability to recruit and retain personnel. The Board recognized that Lord Abbett’s overall profitability was a factor in enabling it to attract and retain qualified personnel to provide services to each Fund. After reviewing these and related factors, the Board concluded, within the context of its overall approval of the Agreement, that Lord Abbett’s profitability with respect to each Fund was not excessive.

Economies of Scale. As to each Fund, the Board considered the extent to which there had been economies of scale in managing the Fund, whether the Fund’s shareholders had appropriately benefited from such economies of scale, and whether there was potential for realization of any further economies of scale. With respect to Dividend Growth Fund and Small Cap Value Fund, the Board concluded that the contractual breakpoint in the existing management fee schedule adequately addressed any economies of scale in managing the Fund. With respect to Growth Opportunities Fund, the Board concluded that the contractual breakpoints in the existing management fee schedule, in conjunction with the Fund’s proposed expense limitation agreement, adequately addressed any economies of scale in managing the Fund.

Other Benefits to Lord Abbett. As to each Fund, the Board considered the amount and nature of the fees paid by the Fund and the Fund’s shareholders to Lord Abbett and the Distributor for services other than investment advisory services, such as the fee that Lord Abbett receives from each Fund for providing administrative services to the Fund. The Board also considered the revenues and profitability of Lord Abbett’s investment advisory business apart from its mutual fund business, and the intangible benefits enjoyed by Lord Abbett by virtue of its relationship with each Fund. The Board observed that the Distributor receives 12b-1 fees from certain of the Lord Abbett Funds as to shares held in accounts for which there is no other broker of record, may retain a portion of the 12b-1 fees it receives, and receives a portion of the sales charges on sales and redemptions of some classes of shares of the Lord Abbett Funds. In addition, the Board observed that Lord Abbett accrues certain benefits for its business of providing investment advice to clients other than the Lord Abbett Funds, but that business also benefits the Funds. The Board also noted that Lord Abbett, as disclosed in the prospectus of each Fund, has entered into revenue sharing arrangements with certain entities that distribute shares of the Lord Abbett Funds. The Board also took into consideration the investment research that Lord Abbett receives as a result of client brokerage transactions.

Alternative Arrangements. As to each Fund, the Board considered whether, instead of approving continuation of the Agreement, it might be in the best interests of the Fund to implement one or more alternative arrangements, such as continuing to employ Lord Abbett, but on different terms. After considering all of the relevant factors, the Board unanimously found that continuation of the Agreement was in the best interests of each Fund and its shareholders and voted unanimously to approve the continuation of the Agreement on behalf of each Fund. As to each Fund, in considering whether to approve the continuation of the Agreement, the Board did not identify any single factor as paramount or controlling. Individual Directors may have evaluated the information presented differently from one another, giving different weights to various factors. This summary does not discuss in detail all matters considered.

55

Householding

The Company has adopted a policy that allows it to send only one copy of each Fund’s prospectus, proxy material, annual report and semiannual report to certain shareholders residing at the same “household.” This reduces Fund expenses, which benefits you and other shareholders. If you need additional copies or do not want your mailings to be “householded,” please call Lord Abbett at 888-522-2388 or send a written request with your name, the name of your fund or funds and your account number or numbers to Lord Abbett Family of Funds, P.O. Box 219336, Kansas City, MO 64121.

Proxy Voting Policies, Procedures and Records

A description of the policies and procedures that Lord Abbett uses to vote proxies related to each Fund’s portfolio securities, and information on how Lord Abbett voted each Fund’s proxies during the 12-month period ended June 30 are available without charge, upon request, (i) by calling 888-522-2388; (ii) on Lord Abbett’s Website at www.lordabbett.com; and (iii) on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Website at www.sec.gov.

Shareholder Reports and Quarterly Portfolio Disclosure

The Funds are required to file their complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for their first and third fiscal quarters as an attachment to Form N-PORT. Copies of the filings are available without charge, upon request on the SEC’s Website at www.sec.gov and may be available by calling Lord Abbett at 888-522-2388.

56

This report, when not used for the general information of shareholders of the Fund, is to be distributed only if preceded or accompanied by a current fund prospectus.   Lord Abbett mutual fund shares are distributed by
LORD ABBETT DISTRIBUTOR LLC. Lord Abbett Research Fund, Inc.   Lord Abbett Dividend Growth Fund
Lord Abbett Growth Opportunities Fund
Lord Abbett Small-Cap Value Series LARF-3
(07/20)

Item 2:	Code of Ethics.
	Not applicable.
Item 3:	Audit Committee Financial Expert.
	Not applicable.
Item 4:	Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
	Not applicable.
Item 5:	Audit Committee of Listed Registrants.
	Not applicable.
Item 6:	Investments.
	Not applicable.
Item 7:	Disclosure of Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures for Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
	Not applicable.
Item 8:	Portfolio Managers of Closed-End Management Investment Companies.
	Not applicable.
Item 9:	Purchases of Equity Securities by Closed-End Management Investment Company and Affiliated Purchasers.
	Not applicable.
Item 10:	Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.
	Not applicable.
Item 11:	Controls and Procedures.

(a)

Based on their evaluation of the Registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Registrant have concluded that such disclosure controls and procedures are reasonably designed and effective to ensure that material information relating to the Registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to them by others within those entities.

(b)

There were no changes in the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Item 12: Exhibits.

(a)(1)	Code of Ethics. Not applicable.
(a)(2)	Certification of each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Registrant as required by Rule 30a-2 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 is attached hereto as a part of EX-99.CERT.
(b)	Certification of each principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Registrant as required by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is provided as a part of EX-99.906CERT.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

	LORD ABBETT RESEARCH FUND, INC.
By:	/s/Douglas B. Sieg
	Douglas B. Sieg
	President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: July 29, 2020

By:	/s/Bernard J. Grzelak
	Bernard J. Grzelak
	Chief Financial Officer and Vice President

Date: July 29, 2020

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By:	/s/Douglas B. Sieg
	Douglas B. Sieg
	President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: July 29, 2020

By:	/s/Bernard J. Grzelak
	Bernard J. Grzelak
	Chief Financial Officer and Vice President

Date: July 29, 2020