What changed in this filing

/stocks — the workspaceLOADING

Item 1. Business

2024-02-09 compared with 2023-02-10 · 131 added, 125 removed, 401 unchanged (39% of the section changed)

13 unchanged sentences

EQH ( our parent company ) and its subsidiaries, whose AUM consist primarily of fixed income investments, is our largest client.

Our EQH affiliates represented approximately 16%, 17% and 19% of our AUM as of December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, and we earned approximately 4% of our net revenues from services we provided to them in each of those years.

Our EQH affiliates represented approximately 16%, 16% and 17% of our AUM as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, and we earned approximately 5%, 4% and 4% of our net revenues from services we provided to them in each of 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Assets Under Management (AUM)

9 unchanged sentences

This is our firm's purpose.

Together with our firm's mission and values, which we have described below , our purpose forms the foundation of responsibility at AB.

AB's mission is to help our clients define and achieve their investment goals, explicitly stating what we do each day to unlock opportunity for our clients.

Together with our firm's mission and values, which we have described below , our purpose forms the foundation of corporate responsibility at AB.

AB's mission is to help our clients define and achieve their investment goals, explicitly stating what we do to unlock opportunity for our clients.

As an active manager, our differentiated insights drive our ability to deliver alpha and design innovative investment solutions.

ESG and climate issues are key elements in forming insights and in presenting potential risks and opportunities that can impact the performance of the companies and issuers in which we invest and the portfolios that we build.

Our values provide a framework for the behaviors and actions that deliver on our purpose and mission.

Values align our actions.

Each value emerges from our firm's character, yet also is aspirational, and each value challenges us to become a better, more responsible version of AB:

• We invest in each other, meaning that we have a strong organizational culture in which diversity is celebrated and mentorship is critical to our success.

• We strive for distinctive insight, meaning that we collaboratively identify creative solutions to clients' economic, ESG and climate-related investment challenges through our expertise in a wide range of investment disciplines.

• We speak with courage and conviction, which informs how we engage with our AB colleagues and issuers.

• We act with integrity, which is the bedrock of our relationships and drives us to avoid activities that could create potential conflicts of interest or distract us from our singular focus to provide asset management and research to our clients.

As noted above , we consistently challenge ourselves to become a better version of AB.

Our clients and their needs come first, always.

Our values provide a framework for the behaviors and actions that create our strong culture and enable us to meet our clients' needs.

Each value inspires us to be better:

• We invest in one another, meaning that we have a strong organizational culture in which diversity is celebrated and mentorship is critical to our success.

• We strive for distinctive knowledge, meaning that we collaboratively identify creative solutions to clients' investment challenges through our expertise in a wide range of investment disciplines.

• We speak with courage and conviction, which informs how we engage with our AB colleagues, clients and others.

• We act with integrity — always, which is the bedrock of our relationships and drives us to avoid activities that could create potential conflicts of interest or distract us from our singular focus to provide asset management and research to our clients.

As noted above , we challenge ourselves to become a better version of AB.

We are committed to being a responsible firm and striving to model the behavior that we expect from the companies in which we invest.

This means, in part, giving back to the communities in which we work through our firm-wide philanthropic initiative, AB Gives Back, and reducing our environmental footprint by increasing our use of “green buildings,” such as our new corporate headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee.

This means, in part, giving back to the communities in which we work, and reducing our environmental footprint.

Additionally, by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion, we are afforded different perspectives and ways of thinking, which can lead to better outcomes for our clients ( See Diversity, Equity and Inclusion below in this Item 1 ).

Also, striving to be more responsible gives us a richer perspective for evaluating other companies.

As longtime fundamental investors with a strong research heritage, we consider ESG factors in various processes.

This helps us make fully informed risk/return assessments and draw insightful investment conclusions.

Also, striving to be a good corporate citizen gives us a richer perspective for evaluating other companies.

Our investors — research analysts and portfolio managers — understand the companies and industries they cover in-depth.

This positions them well to determine which ESG issues are material to particular companies, to determine the financial impact of an ESG issue and to incorporate that insight into their cash-flow, earnings and credit models.

And, we continue to invest in technology and innovation to further enable our investment teams to formalize their ESG evaluations and share insights from our engagements with other companies.

Additionally, AB has prioritized our employees' health and welfare throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring that our firm has continued to meet our fiduciary obligations and provide exceptional client service and thoughtful investment advice.

Furthermore, COVID-19 is a prominent theme in engagement:

it not only impacts business models but also highlights corporate ESG practices.

We are advocating that issuers be responsible corporate citizens, and we are working to better understand opportunities and threats, including supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures, fueled by the pandemic.

And, we continue to invest in technology and innovation to further enable our investment teams to formalize their evaluations and share insights from our engagements with other companies.

We provide additional information in this regard in the AB Responsibility Report, which can be found under “Responsibility - Overview” on www.alliancebernstein.com.

3 unchanged sentences

We believe that by using differentiated research insights and a disciplined process to build high active share portfolios, we can achieve strong investment results for our clients over time.

Key to this philosophy is developing and integrating ESG and climate research, as well as our approach to engagement.

Our global research network, intellectual curiosity and collaborative culture allow us to advance clients' investment objectives, whether our clients are seeking responsibility generated idiosyncratic alpha, total return, downside mitigation, or sustainability and impact-focused outcomes.

We are fully invested in delivering better outcomes for our clients.

Key to this philosophy is developing and integrating research on material ESG issues, as well as our approach to engagement, when in the best interest of our clients.

Our global research network, intellectual curiosity and collaborative culture allow us to advance clients' investment objectives, whether our clients are seeking idiosyncratic alpha, total return, downside mitigation, or sustainability and impact-focused outcomes.

Our investment services include expertise in:

1 unchanged sentence

• Actively managed traditional and unconstrained fixed income strategies, including taxable and tax-exempt strategies;

• Actively managed alternative investments, including hedge funds, fund of funds and direct assets (e.g., direct lending, real estate and private equity);

• Portfolios with Purpose, including actively managed, impact-focused and Responsible+ (climate-conscious, ESG leaders, change catalysts) equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies that address our clients' evolving need to invest their capital with purpose while pursuing strong investment returns;

• Actively managed alternative investments, including fundamental and systematically-driven hedge funds, fund of hedge funds and direct assets (e.g., direct lending, real estate debt and private equity);

• Portfolios with Purpose, including Sustainable, Impact and Responsible+ (Climate-Conscious and ESG leaders) equity, fixed income and multi-asset strategies that address our clients' desire to invest their capital with a dedicated ESG focus, while pursuing strong investment returns;

• Multi-asset services and solutions, including dynamic asset allocation, customized target-date funds and target-risk funds;

• Some passive management, including index, ESG index and enhanced index strategies.

• Passively managed equity and fixed income strategies, including index, ESG index and enhanced index strategies.

Our AUM by client domicile and investment service as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:

12 unchanged sentences

No single institutional client other than EQH and its respective subsidiaries accounted for more than approximately 1% of our net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2023.

As of December 31, 2022, EQH and its subsidiaries combined AUM accounted for:

Approximately

of our institutional AUM.

Approximately

of our institutional revenues.

EQH and Subsidiaries as a % of our Institutional AUM EQH and Subsidiaries as a % of our Institutional Revenues

12 unchanged sentences

40,930 35,428 47,409 15.5 (25.3)

Global & Non-US 41,365 55,312 46,699 (25.2) 18.4

Global & Non-U.S.

42,123 41,365 55,312 1.8 (25.2)

Total Equity 83,053 76,793 102,721 8.2 (25.2)

6 unchanged sentences

95,808 88,800 110,312 7.9 (19.5)

Global & Non-US 34,112 46,960 48,570 (27.4) 26.1

Global & Non-U.S.

32,165 34,112 46,960 (5.7) (27.4)

Total Fixed Income 127,973 122,912 157,272 4.1 (21.8)

1 unchanged sentence

13,810 12,873 7,697 7.3 67.2

Global & Non-US 84,703 69,390 56,151 22.1 23.6

Global & Non-U.S.

92,288 84,703 69,390 9.0 22.1

Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 106,098 97,576 77,087 8.7 26.6

150,548 137,101 165,418 9.8 (17.1)

Global & Non-US 160,180 171,662 151,420 (6.7) 13.4

Global & Non-U.S.

166,576 160,180 171,662 4.0 (6.7)

Total $ 317,124 $ 297,281 $ 337,080 6.7 (11.8)

15 unchanged sentences

75,861 80,908 97,522 (6.2) (17.0)

Global & Non-US 144,919 148,646 106,858 (2.5) 39.1

Global & Non-U.S.

126,076 144,919 148,646 (13.0) (2.5)

Total Equity 201,937 225,827 246,168 (10.6) (8.3)

8 unchanged sentences

135,560 128,392 124,004 5.6 3.5

Global & Non-US 78,885 92,061 90,647 (14.3) 1.6

Global & Non-U.S.

67,094 78,885 92,061 (14.9) (14.3)

Total Fixed Income 202,654 207,277 216,065 (2.2) (4.1)

1 unchanged sentence

94,488 114,982 64,646 (17.8) 77.9

Global & Non-US 111,202 59,179 73,354 87.9 (19.3)

Global & Non-U.S.

166,964 111,202 59,179 50.1 87.9

Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 261,452 226,184 123,825 15.6 82.7

1 unchanged sentence

305,909 324,282 286,172 (5.7) 13.3

Global & Non-US 335,004 299,886 270,859 11.7 10.7

Global & Non-U.S.

360,134 335,004 299,886 7.5 11.7

Total 666,043 659,286 586,058 1.0 12.5

39 unchanged sentences

Fund AUM were approximately $66 billion, or 23% of retail AUM, as compared to $54 billion, or 22%, as of December 31, 2022, and $73 billion, or 23%, as of December 31, 2021.

Retail non-U.S.

Fund AUM, as of December 31, 2023, totaled $107 billion, or 37% of retail AUM, as compared to $96 billion, or 39%, as of December 31, 2022, and $130 billion, or 41%, as of December 31, 2021.

12 unchanged sentences

141,721 118,547 152,106 19.5 (22.1)

Global & Non-US 28,133 42,915 34,355 (34.4) 24.9

Global & Non-U.S.

30,563 28,133 42,915 8.6 (34.4)

Total Equity 172,284 146,680 195,021 17.5 (24.8)

6 unchanged sentences

52,683 41,151 46,361 28.0 (11.2)

Global & Non-US 48,764 71,223 79,950 (31.5) (10.9)

Global & Non-U.S.

55,448 48,764 71,223 13.7 (31.5)

Total Fixed Income 108,131 89,915 117,584 20.3 (23.5)

1 unchanged sentence

2,724 2,697 3,595 1.0 (25.0)

Global & Non-US 3,594 3,718 3,321 (3.3) 12.0

Global & Non-U.S.

3,636 3,594 3,718 1.2 (3.3)

Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 6,360 6,291 7,313 1.1 (14.0)

197,128 162,395 202,062 21.4 (19.6)

Global & Non-US 80,491 117,856 117,626 (31.7) 0.2

Global & Non-U.S.

89,647 80,491 117,856 11.4 (31.7)

Total $ 286,775 $ 242,886 $ 319,918 18.1 % (24.1 %)

15 unchanged sentences

556,751 558,319 556,398 (0.3) 0.3

Global & Non-US 201,440 224,953 167,778 (10.5) 34.1

Global & Non-U.S.

186,718 201,440 224,953 (7.3) (10.5)

Total Equity 743,469 759,759 781,351 (2.1) (2.8)

6 unchanged sentences

118,288 119,053 115,248 (0.6) 3.3

Global & Non-US 374,787 500,018 515,302 (25.0) (3.0)

Global & Non-U.S.

355,746 374,787 500,018 (5.1) (25.0)

Total Fixed Income 474,034 493,840 615,266 (4.0) (19.7)

1 unchanged sentence

44,273 55,356 81,872 (20.0) (32.4)

Global & Non-US 13,484 13,117 12,723 2.8 3.1

Global & Non-U.S.

13,499 13,484 13,117 0.1 2.8

Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 57,772 68,840 94,989 (16.1) (27.5)

1 unchanged sentence

719,312 732,728 753,518 (1.8) (2.8)

Global & Non-US 589,711 738,086 695,803 (20.1) 6.1

Global & Non-U.S.

555,963 589,711 738,086 (5.7) (20.1)

Consolidated company-sponsored investment funds 836 770 1,243 8.6 (38.1)

18 unchanged sentences

Our Private Wealth Services represented approximately 17%, 16% and 16% of our AUM as of December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The fees we earned from providing these services represented approximately 25%, 25% and 24% of our net revenues for 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

The fees we earned from providing these services represented approximately 25% of our net revenues for 2023, 2022 and 2021.

Our AUM and revenues are as follows:

9 unchanged sentences

33,639 28,014 35,014 20.1 (20.0)

Global & Non-US 20,267 26,459 22,744 (23.4) 16.3

Global & Non-U.S.

20,563 20,267 26,459 1.5 (23.4)

Total Equity 54,202 48,281 61,473 12.3 (21.5)

6 unchanged sentences

40,166 34,764 36,166 15.5 (3.9)

Global & Non-US 4,582 5,561 5,432 (17.6) 2.4

Global & Non-U.S.

4,797 4,582 5,561 4.7 (17.6)

Total Fixed Income 44,963 39,346 41,727 14.3 (5.7)

1 unchanged sentence

6,923 6,607 6,926 4.8 (4.6)

Global & Non-US 12,021 11,446 7,064 5.0 62.0

Global & Non-U.S.

15,167 12,021 11,446 26.2 5.0

Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 22,090 18,628 18,372 18.6 1.4

80,728 69,385 78,106 16.3 (11.2)

Global & Non-US 36,870 43,466 35,240 (15.2) 23.3

Global & Non-U.S.

40,527 36,870 43,466 9.9 (15.2)

Total $ 121,255 $ 106,255 $ 121,572 14.1 % (12.6 %)

9 unchanged sentences

Equity Passively Managed (1)

8,700 4,780 1,113 82.0 % n/m

14,711 8,700 4,780 69.1 82.0

Total Equity 517,384 529,855 589,235 (2.4) (10.1)

304,456 295,235 325,154 3.1 (9.2)

Global & Non-US 234,620 264,081 225,074 (11.2) 17.3

Global & Non-U.S.

212,928 234,620 264,081 (9.2) (11.2)

Total Equity 517,384 529,855 589,235 (2.4) (10.1)

6 unchanged sentences

164,601 159,411 167,402 3.3 (4.8)

Global & Non-US 34,367 38,027 37,752 (9.6) 0.7

Global & Non-U.S.

30,737 34,367 38,027 (10.6) (9.6)

Total Fixed Income 195,338 193,778 205,429 0.8 (5.7)

1 unchanged sentence

223,518 195,666 249,432 14.2 (21.6)

Global & Non-US 69,245 71,524 76,065 (3.2) (6.0)

Global & Non-U.S.

97,074 69,245 71,524 40.2 (3.2)

Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 320,592 264,911 320,956 21.0 (17.5)

1 unchanged sentence

692,575 650,311 741,987 6.5 (12.4)

Global & Non-US 338,232 373,632 338,891 (9.5) 10.3

Global & Non-U.S.

340,739 338,232 373,632 0.7 (9.5)

Total 1,033,314 988,543 1,115,619 4.5 % (11.4 %)

14 unchanged sentences

In the fourth quarter of 2022, AB and Société Générale (EURONEXT:

SCGLY, “ SocGen ”) , a leading European bank, announced plans to form a joint venture combining their respective cash equities and research businesses.

As a result, the BRS business has been classified as held for sale.

GLE, “ SocGen ”), a leading European bank, announced plans to form a joint venture combining their respective cash equities and research businesses.

As a result, the BRS business has been classified as held for sale on the consolidated statement of financial condition.

For further discussion, s ee Note 24 Acquisitions and Divestitures to AB's consolidated financial statements in Item 8.

20 unchanged sentences

Also, our Board of Directors (the " Board ") and committees of the Board, particularly our Compensation and Workplace Practices Committee, provide oversight into various matters affecting our people, including emerging people management risks and strategies to mitigate our exposure to those risks.

Furthermore, our Board and Board committees evaluate the overall effectiveness of our social responsibility policies, goals and programs and recommend changes to management as necessary.

These collaborative efforts contribute to the overall framework that guides how AB attracts, retains and develops a workforce that supports our values and strategic initiatives.

AllianceBernstein

Talent Acquisition

AB seeks to achieve excellence in business and investment performance by recruiting and hiring a workforce with diversity of thought, backgrounds and experiences.

We believe that diverse and inclusive teams generate better ideas and reach more balanced decisions.

We seek to leverage the unique backgrounds of our employees to meet the needs of a broad range of clients and engage with the communities in which we operate.

We engage several external organizations to assist in attracting and recruiting top talent at all levels, with a particular focus on attracting diverse talent.

We have a sizable group of internal talent acquisition associates focused on recruiting, and we have implemented various people-related initiatives to develop and provide for a balanced workforce.

Additionally, we offer internship programs for students to work in positions across functional areas of the firm, and an important part of our emerging talent and post-graduate recruitment strategy is to convert a high percentage of our interns into full-time employees.

Employee Engagement

We believe a workforce is most productive, effective and highly engaged when they feel connected to our business and culture.

We seek to provide diverse work experiences, professional development opportunities, competitive compensation and benefits, an inclusive and diverse culture and social engagement projects to keep our employees motivated, connected to our firm and engaged throughout their careers.

We strive to create a culture of intellectual curiosity and collaboration, creating an environment where our employees can thrive and do their best work.

We foster growth and advancement through different training avenues to develop skill sets, create opportunities for networking, both internally and externally, and we encourage internal mobility as a part of our employees' career trajectory.

Talent Acquisition and Development

AB seeks to achieve excellence in business, including investment performance, client service, and being defined as an employer of choice.

Across our global offices, we recruit and hire a workforce with diverse perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences.

Our talent acquisition strategy helps us serve both our clients and our workforce, hand in hand, at an optimal level.

We engage external organizations, including search firms and partnerships to assist in attracting and recruiting top talent at all levels.

We also leverage technology tools to source and evaluate candidates against our needs and we continue to prioritize attracting diverse talent throughout our search activities.

Outside of traditional recruiting, we believe investing in emerging talent is key to our future planning.

Both our internship and associate programs serve as robust pipelines for future leadership.

The talent acquisition process is our firm’s first impression to future employees, and we strive to provide all candidates with an excellent experience.

We focus heavily on high candidate engagement, an efficient offer process and sound onboarding to support success.

Investing in the continued development of our talent is ongoing through a blend of formal training, independent learning, mentoring, and progressing assignments of responsibility.

Internal mobility is championed throughout the firm.

We are highly committed to development and believe that top performers expect and deserve this ongoing investment.

Employee Engagement and Culture

We believe a workforce is most engaged when employees feel connected to our culture.

We seek to create a workplace where our people recognize the high importance of the work they do and enjoy the environment where the work gets done.

By creating a culture of excellence and accountability, we see employees thrive and contribute at their highest levels.

It is important that our employees are not only connected to our business but also to the communities in which we operate.

As such, AB offers many opportunities for our employees to volunteer in the communities in which we serve, including our firm-wide philanthropic initiative, AB Gives Back.

Other initiatives in support of these objectives include a five-year refresh award, whereby employees receive two additional weeks off for every five years of service.

In addition, we utilize AB Voice, a periodic survey designed to measure employee satisfaction and engagement, allowing us to identify and address performance gaps.

We offer many opportunities to volunteer, including our firm-wide philanthropic initiative, AB Gives Back.

Coming out of the global pandemic, we continue to prioritize the well-being of our staff through our global wellness programming, employee wellness groups, and our hybrid work schedule.

We believe that the flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week allows our employees to maintain the important benefits of in-person collaboration while providing greater work-life balance.

Measuring engagement is key to understanding the views of the organization.

We utilize AB Voice, a periodic engagement survey designed to measure employee sentiment, to identify and address gaps that could impact productivity and retention.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Our continued commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (" DEI ") across all facets of our firm aligns with broader industry recognition of the workplace as both a working and learning community.

We believe that our company plays a critical role in empowering our people though purpose and fostering an inclusive, collaborative environment and equitable culture that allows for connectivity, belonging and success at every level.

A key element of our ongoing journey has been to adapt as appropriate to evolving DEI industry trends.

In 2022, we formally incorporated the concept of "equity" into our strategy and team name in an effort to more accurately reflect our current and anticipated approach.

Our firm's community engagement efforts have been further integrated under the DEI umbrella.

To support our grantee and community partners, bolster our commitment to our non-profit clients, and add value for our current and future employees, our approach leverages four programs under the "AB Gives Back" brand:

philanthropy, volunteering, board participation and gift matching.

Some highlights include improved student attendance and financial literacy in inner city neighborhoods and over 3,000 employee volunteer hours completed in 2022.

We have enhanced our talent attraction and retention approach to position ourselves as an employer of choice and increase investment in our people.

We have developed a diverse talent strategy with a goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the needs of diverse talent and also equipping managers with the necessary tools to effectively manage an increasingly diverse workforce.

The strategy includes incorporating the concept of inclusive leadership into the firm-wide leadership development curriculum and providing opportunities to build relationships across the firm at all levels.

Finally, our people remain our top priority.

Over the course of the last year, there has been a continued focus on education and deepening engagement across all pillars of our strategy to include Employee Resource Groups (" ERGs "), corporate partnerships, and the overall experience at AB.

ERGs have been a major proponent of these efforts by cultivating spaces for courageous conversations, encouraging professional development and personal wellness, and raising awareness for various underrepresented communities.

The past year has been a robust year for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (" DEI ") as we continued to focus on delivering equitable positive outcomes across the various segments of our business:

colleagues, clients and communities.

These elements included increasing education and support to address emerging topics, retaining and developing key diverse talent segments, improving data capture and reporting capabilities and scaling infrastructure for a more global, distributed DEI and philanthropy model.

As DEI was again catapulted into the spotlight for a myriad of reasons, these elements have allowed for a more intentional, consistent approach and have acted to accelerate the overall success of the strategy.

Furthermore, our Board and Board committees evaluate the overall effectiveness of our social responsibility policies, goals and programs and recommend changes to management as necessary.

Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in social issues being brought to the forefront of national and global conversations including in the workplace.

In an effort to appropriately respond to such issues, we formed the Social Response Committee (the " SRC ").

The SRC has developed an approach to value-driven action that is rooted in broad evaluation of the various issues integrated with AB’s purpose and values to maintain consistency in decision making.

The SRC’s remit is to surface, review and direct AB’s public or internal response to social issues that impact our business and our people.

Data is at the heart of a strong and agile DEI strategy and serves as an incredibly effective tool to best uncover gaps and determine key focus areas.

This year, we continued to closely monitor internal quantitative and qualitative metrics such as our AB Voice employee engagement survey to measure progress and determine which populations may require additional focus and development.

We also leveraged external data sources such as the Investment Company Institute Asset Management D&I benchmarking survey, Disability Equality Index and Coqual’s Asian/Asian American and Pacific Islander focused research to maintain awareness of how we are performing relative to peers and competitors and ensure alignment with common practices.

As global demographics change and employee needs and expectations evolve, providing platforms for education and productive discourse becomes even more critical.

In 2023, we introduced several intentional engagement and retention initiatives including disability inclusion, expanded programs and focus groups.

Our Employee Resource Groups which hosted over 50 events, remain essential to AB’s commitment to inclusivity as they not only encourage a positive work culture, but also contribute to business development and the professional development of employees worldwide.

2023 Annual Report 13

Compensation and Benefits

We consistently invest in our workforce by offering competitive compensation.

We utilize a variety of compensation elements, including base salaries, annual short-term compensation awards (i.e., cash bonuses) and, for those of our employees who earn more than $300,000 annually, a long-term compensation award program.

Long-term incentive compensation awards generally are denominated in restricted AB Holding Units.

We utilize this structure to foster a stronger sense of ownership and align the interests of our employees directly with the interests of our Unitholders and indirectly with the interests of our clients, as strong performance for our clients generally contributes directly to increases in AUM and improved financial performance for the firm.

Furthermore, in the U.S.

(and elsewhere, although benefits may differ by jurisdiction):

• We provide employee wages that are competitive and consistent with employee positions, skill levels, performance, experience, knowledge and geographic location.

• We engage nationally recognized compensation and benefits consulting firms to independently evaluate the effectiveness of our executive compensation and benefit programs, as well as consulting services relating to the amount and form of compensation paid to employees other than executives, and to provide benchmarking against our industry peers;

this process also includes engagement of outside counsel to conduct privileged pay equity reviews to ensure ongoing compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

• We provide merit-based and cost of living annual salary increases, as well as incentive compensation, which are communicated to employees at year-end and documented through our annual review procedures, upon internal transfer and/or promotion;

• The firm makes benefits available to all eligible employees, including a flexible in-office work schedule that permits working remotely two days weekly, health and prescription insurance, paid and unpaid leaves, a retirement plan, and life and disability/accident coverage.

We also offer a variety of voluntary benefits that allow employees to select the options that meet their needs, including flexible time-off, paid parental leave, adoption and surrogacy assistance, tuition reimbursement, and a health and financial wellness program.

Health, Safety and Flexibility for our Workforce

During 2020, at the onset of COVID, we mobilized to ensure the health and safety of our employees globally.

We implemented business continuity measures, including travel restrictions and a work-from-home requirement for almost all personnel (other than a relatively small number of employees whose physical presence in our offices was considered critical), which lasted through the second quarter of 2021.

Then, while continuing to closely monitor COVID-related conditions globally, we developed return-to-office programs tailored locally, so that employees could feel safe knowing that their health, and the health of their families, were a priority.

This meant a staggered return to the office so that we could monitor data while complying with local ordinances.

Beginning in July 2021, in the U.S.

we returned to the office three days a week, alternating weeks through the end of 2021.

In early 2022, while most of our employees returned to the office full-time, we offered employees the ability to work remotely up to two days per week given the ability and diligence our employees demonstrated while working remotely.

By the end of 2022, all employees had returned to the office utilizing a hybrid work schedule, including the flexibility to work remotely up to two days per week.

We believe this approach allows our employees to maintain the important benefits of in-person collaboration while providing greater work-life balance.

As of December 31, 2022, our firm had 4,436 full-time employees, including 203 AB CarVal employees, compared to 4,118 full-time employees as of December 31, 2021, representing a 7.7% increase (a 2.8% increase excluding AB CarVal).

AllianceBernstein

We recognize the role that a competitive total rewards offering plays in attracting and retaining top talent.

Our pay practices include base salaries, annual cash bonuses, and, for employees with total compensation over $300,000 annually, a long-term incentive compensation award.

These awards are generally denominated in restricted AB Holding Units.

We utilize this structure with intentionality to foster a stronger sense of ownership by employees, aligning their interests directly with the interests of our Unitholders and indirectly with the interests of our clients.

We are a meritocracy and pay for performance under the auspices of providing compensation that is competitive and consistent with employee positions, skill levels, performance, experience, knowledge, and geographic location.

Annually, we engage a compensation consulting firm to independently evaluate the accuracy of our executive compensation and to provide benchmarking against our industry peers.

We also use these insights to make pay decisions for the broader organization.

Periodically, we engage outside counsel to conduct privileged pay equity reviews.

Pay is evaluated on an annual basis, with the firm providing merit-based and cost of living annual base salary increases, as well as incentive compensation.

This information is communicated to employees at year-end.

On occasion, pay is adjusted off-cycle due to internal transfer and/or promotion.

Based on unique geographies, the firm makes benefits available to all eligible employees, including health insurance, paid and unpaid leaves, a retirement plan, and life and disability/accident coverage.

We also offer a variety of voluntary benefits, ranging from adoption and surrogacy assistance to tuition reimbursement, which allows employees to select the options that meet their individual needs.

As of December 31, 2023, our firm had 4,707 full-time employees, including 284 new hires onboarded during the first quarter of 2023, which were previously outsourced consultants in Pune, India.

Net of these hires, headcount declined year-over-year, as compared with 4,436 employees as of December 31, 2022.

As of December 31, 2023, our employees reflected the following characteristics and locations:

6 unchanged sentences

1,710 38 % 2,807 62 % 4,517 100 %

(1) The table above only reflects employees who have self-reported as male or female and as such does not reconcile to our total of 4,436 full-time employees.

(2) The methodology utilized to populate the table above changed from the prior year.

Specifically, while in 2021 we presented the total percentage of female and male full-time employees by region who self-reported, in the above table we present the total percentage of female and male full-time employees by region, as a percentage of total global full-time employees, who self-reported.

In connection with our establishing 1,250 roles in Nashville, Tennessee, we have relocated many of our employees from our New York City and White Plains, New York, locations.

Employees whose roles are in-scope for the move, but who are not relocating, receive a separation package.

We expect layoffs to continue on a rolling basis until all in-scope roles are filled in Nashville.

(1) The table above reflects only those employees who have self-reported as male or female and as such does not reconcile to our total of 4,707 full-time employees as of December 31, 2023.

Information about our Executive Officers

7 unchanged sentences

In connection with the Bernstein Transaction, we acquired all of the rights in, and title to, the Bernstein service marks, including the mark “Bernstein.”

AllianceBernstein

Service marks are generally valid and may be renewed indefinitely, as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained.

2 unchanged sentences

Possible sanctions that may be imposed on us include the suspension of individual employees, limitations on engaging in business for specific periods, the revocation of the registration as an investment adviser or broker-dealer, censures and fines.

2022 Annual Report 15

AB, AB Holding, the General Partner and six of our subsidiaries (Sanford C.

26 unchanged sentences

In October 2000, our two legacy firms, Alliance Capital and Bernstein, combined, bringing together Alliance Capital’s expertise in growth equity and corporate fixed income investing and its family of retail mutual funds, with Bernstein’s expertise in value equity investing, tax-exempt fixed income management, and its Private Wealth Management and Bernstein Research Services businesses.

AllianceBernstein

2023 Annual Report 15

As of December 31, 2023, the condensed ownership structure of AB is as follows (for a more complete description of our ownership structure, see “Principal Security Holders” in Item 12 ):

1 unchanged sentence

Including these general partnership interests, EQH, directly and through certain of its subsidiaries ( see “Principal Security Holders” in Item 12 ), had an approximate 61.2% economic interest in AB as of December 31, 2023.

We compete in all aspects of our business with numerous investment management firms, mutual fund sponsors, brokerage and investment banking firms, insurance companies, banks, savings and loan associations, and other financial institutions that often provide investment products with similar features and objectives as those we offer.

We compete in all aspects of our business with numerous investment management firms, mutual fund sponsors, brokerage and investment banking firms, insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions that often provide investment products with similar features and objectives as those we offer.

Our competitors offer a wide range of financial services to the same customers that we seek to serve.

18 unchanged sentences

Competition is an important risk that our business faces and should be considered along with the other factors we discuss in “Risk Factors” in Item 1A .

2022 Annual Report 17

AllianceBernstein

Available Information

AB and AB Holding file or furnish annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, amendments to such reports, and other reports (and amendments thereto) required to comply with federal securities laws, including Section 16 beneficial ownership reports on Forms 3, 4 and 5, registration statements and proxy statements.

We maintain an Internet site ( http://www.alliancebernstein.com ) where the public can view these reports, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after each report is filed with, or furnished to, the SEC.

In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site ( http://www.sec.gov ) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Compared sentence by sentence after normalising whitespace, quotation marks, case and digits, so re-formatting and restated figures do not read as changed language. Wording changes appear as one removal and one addition. The current filing and the prior one are authoritative.

What changed 10-K

Item 1. Business