Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
The words “ we ” and “ our ” in this Form 10-K refer collectively to AB Holding and AB and its subsidiaries, or to their officers and employees. Similarly, the words “ company ” and “ firm ” refer to both AB Holding and AB. Where the context requires distinguishing between AB Holding and AB, we identify which company is being discussed. Cross-references are in italics.
We use “ global ” in this Form 10-K to refer to all nations, including the United States; we use “ international ” or “ non-U.S. ” to refer to nations other than the United States.
We use “ emerging markets ” in this Form 10-K to refer to countries included in the Morgan Stanley Capital International (“ MSCI ”) emerging markets index, which include, as of December 31, 2025: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.
Clients
We provide diversified investment management and related services globally to a broad range of clients through our three distribution channels: Institutions, Retail and Private Wealth Management. S ee “Distribution Channels” in this Item 1 for additional information.
As of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, our AUM were approximately $867 billion, $792 billion and $725 billion, respectively, and our net revenues were approximately $4.5 billion, $4.5 billion and $4.2 billion, respectively. EQH ( our parent company ) and its subsidiaries, whose AUM consist primarily of fixed income investments, is our largest client. Our EQH affiliates represented approximately 16%, 17% and 16% of our AUM as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, and we earned approximately 4% of our net revenues from services we provided to them in each of 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Assets Under Management (AUM)
($ billions)
Net Revenues
($ billions)
See “Distribution Channels” below and “Assets Under Management” and “Net Revenues” in Item 7 for additional information regarding our AUM and net revenues.
Generally, we are compensated for our investment services on the basis of investment advisory and services fees calculated as a percentage of AUM. For additional information about our investment advisory and services fees, including performance-based fees, see “ Risk Factors ” in Item 1A and “Net Revenues – Investment Advisory and Services Fees” in Item 7 .
Research
Our high-quality, in-depth research is the foundation of our asset management and private wealth management businesses. We believe that our global team of research professionals, whose disciplines include economic, equity, fixed income and quantitative research, gives us a competitive advantage in achieving investment success for our clients. We also have experts focused on multi-asset strategies, wealth management, sustainability and impact strategies, and alternative investments.
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Purpose and Values
To AllianceBernstein, being a responsible firm means delivering better outcomes for our clients while upholding high ethical standards, building a strong culture, and promoting the future viability of our business.
Our purpose and values describe the employee behaviors and actions that support these goals, and we work diligently across our business to bring them to life.
Purpose — Pursue insight that unlocks opportunity.
Our Values:
• We invest in one another , meaning that we have a strong organizational culture where community and belonging 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 other stakeholders.
• 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 high value asset management to our clients.
We describe our firm's governance structure, including our Board and its committees, in Item 10 of this Form 10-K.
Investment Philosophy
We believe that strong long-term investment outcomes are achieved through disciplined portfolio construction, differentiated research, and active risk management across market environments. Our investment approach integrates fundamental and quantitative insights, rigorous valuation and risk frameworks, and active portfolio oversight to deliver a range of client objectives, including alpha generation, total return, income, diversification, and downside mitigation.
Our global research platform emphasizes depth of expertise, collaboration across asset classes, and continuous challenge of investment decisions. We focus not only on identifying attractive opportunities, but also on managing risk, liquidity, and concentration as integral components of portfolio construction in advancing clients’ investment objectives.
Our investment services include expertise in:
• Equities, including actively managed strategies across global and regional markets and capitalization ranges, spanning growth, value, core, defensive, thematic, and sustainable approaches, with varying degrees of active risk, concentration, and benchmark sensitivity;
• Fixed Income , including actively managed traditional and unconstrained strategies across taxable and tax-exempt markets, encompassing government, corporate, securitized, emerging market, and municipal securities, with a focus on income generation, risk management, liquidity, and diversification;
• Multi-Asset Solutions , including outcome-oriented and asset-allocation strategies such as target-date, target-risk, income, and total-return portfolios, as well as customized multi-asset solutions designed to meet specific client objectives;
• Hedge Fund Strategies , including fundamental and systematic hedge funds, equity market neutral, event-driven, macro, and fund-of-funds strategies, focused on delivering diversified, idiosyncratic return streams with controlled market exposure;
• Private Alternatives , including private credit, asset-based finance, real assets, real estate debt, and specialty finance strategies, where returns are driven by underwriting discipline, structure, selectivity, and active portfolio management rather than public market beta; and
• Systematic Strategies , including alpha-seeking and risk-controlled approaches that apply quantitative research, data-driven signals, and disciplined portfolio construction across equity and fixed income markets, as well as passive index, ESG index, and enhanced index solutions designed to provide efficient market exposure.
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Our AUM by client domicile and investment service as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023 are as follows:
AUM by Client Domicile
($ in billions)
AUM by Investment Service
($ in billions)
Distribution Channels
Institutions
We offer to our institutional clients, which include private and public pension plans, foundations and endowments, insurance companies, central banks and governments worldwide, and EQH and its subsidiaries, separately managed accounts, sub-advisory relationships, structured products, collective investment trusts, mutual funds, hedge funds and other investment vehicles (“ Institutional Services ”).
We manage the assets of our institutional clients pursuant to written investment management agreements or other arrangements, which generally are terminable at any time or upon relatively short notice by either party. In general, our written investment management agreements may not be assigned without the client's consent. For information about our institutional investment advisory and services fees, including performance-based fees, see “ Risk Factors ” in Item 1A and “Net Revenues – Investment Advisory and Services Fees” in Item 7 .
EQH and its subsidiaries constitute our largest institutional client. EQH and its subsidiaries combined AUM accounted for approximately 26%, 27% and 25% of our institutional AUM as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and approximately 26%, 22% and 22% of our institutional revenues for 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. 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, 2025.
EQH and Subsidiaries as a % of our Institutional AUM EQH and Subsidiaries as a % of our Institutional Revenues
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As of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, Institutional Services represented approximately 41%, 41% and 44%, respectively, of our AUM, and the fees we earned from providing these services represented approximately 15%, 16% and 16% of our net revenues for each of those years, respectively. Our AUM and revenues are as follows:
Institutional Services Assets Under Management
(by Investment Service)
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in millions)
Equity:
Equity Actively Managed $ 51,108 $ 48,952 $ 59,423 4.4 % (17.6 %)
Equity Passively Managed (1)
28,599 24,614 23,630 16.2 4.2
Total Equity 79,707 73,566 83,053 8.3 (11.4)
U.S. 43,333 40,799 40,930 6.2 (0.3)
Global & Non-U.S. 36,374 32,767 42,123 11.0 (22.2)
Total Equity 79,707 73,566 83,053 8.3 (11.4)
Fixed Income:
Fixed Income Taxable 118,956 116,744 126,350 1.9 (7.6)
Fixed Income Tax-Exempt 1,421 1,564 1,317 (9.1) 18.8
Fixed Income Passively Managed (1)
88 81 306 8.6 (73.5)
Total Fixed Income 120,465 118,389 127,973 1.8 (7.5)
U.S. 92,903 88,720 95,808 4.7 (7.4)
Global & Non-U.S. 27,562 29,669 32,165 (7.1) (7.8)
Total Fixed Income 120,465 118,389 127,973 1.8 (7.5)
Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions (2) :
U.S. 41,007 30,942 13,810 32.5 124.1
Global & Non-U.S. 113,060 98,493 92,288 14.8 6.7
Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 154,067 129,435 106,098 19.0 22.0
Total:
U.S. 177,243 160,461 150,548 10.5 6.6
Global & Non-U.S. 176,996 160,929 166,576 10.0 (3.4)
Total $ 354,239 $ 321,390 $ 317,124 10.2 % 1.3 %
Affiliated - EQH $ 91,134 $ 87,447 $ 78,942 4.2 % 10.8 %
Non-affiliated 263,105 233,943 238,182 12.5 (1.8)
Total $ 354,239 $ 321,390 $ 317,124 10.2 % 1.3 %
(1) Includes index and enhanced index services.
(2) Includes certain multi-asset solutions and services not included in equity or fixed income services.
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Revenues from Institutional Services
(by Investment Service)
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in thousands)
Equity:
Equity Actively Managed $ 171,938 $ 183,526 $ 197,822 (6.3 %) (7.2 %)
Equity Passively Managed (1)
4,555 4,190 4,115 8.7 1.8
Total Equity 176,493 187,716 201,937 (6.0) (7.0)
U.S. 75,969 79,185 75,861 (4.1) 4.4
Global & Non-U.S. 100,524 108,531 126,076 (7.4) (13.9)
Total Equity 176,493 187,716 201,937 (6.0) (7.0)
Fixed Income:
Fixed Income Taxable 164,861 166,539 180,625 (1.0) (7.8)
Fixed Income Tax-Exempt 2,115 1,955 1,300 8.2 50.4
Fixed Income Passively Managed (1)
— 934 580 (100.0) 61.0
Fixed Income Servicing (2)
23,123 22,315 20,149 3.6 10.7
Total Fixed Income 190,099 191,743 202,654 (0.9) (5.4)
U.S. 131,894 127,699 135,560 3.3 (5.8)
Global & Non-U.S. 58,205 64,044 67,094 (9.1) (4.5)
Total Fixed Income 190,099 191,743 202,654 (0.9) (5.4)
Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions (3) :
U.S. 159,192 130,533 94,488 22.0 38.1
Global & Non-U.S. 157,221 190,234 166,964 (17.4) 13.9
Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 316,413 320,767 261,452 (1.4) 22.7
Total Investment Advisory and Services Fees:
U.S. 367,055 337,417 305,909 8.8 10.3
Global & Non-U.S. 315,950 362,809 360,134 (12.9) 0.7
Total 683,005 700,226 666,043 (2.5) 5.1
Distribution Revenues 189 203 250 (6.9) (18.8)
Shareholder Servicing Fees 348 367 377 (5.2) (2.7)
Total $ 683,542 $ 700,796 $ 666,670 (2.5 %) 5.1 %
Affiliated - EQH $ 178,062 $ 157,017 $ 144,523 13.4 % 8.6 %
Non-affiliated 505,480 543,779 522,147 (7.0) 4.1
Total $ 683,542 $ 700,796 $ 666,670 (2.5 %) 5.1 %
(1) Includes index and enhanced index services.
(2) Fixed Income Servicing includes advisory-related services fees that are not based on AUM, including derivative transaction fees and other fixed income advisory services.
(3) Includes certain multi-asset solutions and services not included in equity or fixed income services.
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Retail
We provide investment management and related services to a wide variety of individual retail investors globally through retail mutual funds we sponsor, mutual fund sub-advisory relationships, separately-managed account programs ( see below ), and other investment vehicles (“ Retail Products and Services ”).
We distribute our Retail Products and Services through financial intermediaries, including broker-dealers, insurance sales representatives, banks, registered investment advisers and financial planners. These products and services include open-end and closed-end funds that are either (i) registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act (“ U.S. Funds ”), or (ii) not registered under the Investment Company Act and generally not offered to U.S. persons (“ Non-U.S. Funds ” and collectively with the U.S. Funds, “ AB Funds ”). They also include separately-managed account programs, which are sponsored by financial intermediaries and generally charge an all-inclusive fee covering investment management, trade execution, asset allocation, and custodial and administrative services. In addition, we provide distribution, shareholder servicing, transfer agency services and administrative services for our Retail Products and Services. See “Net Revenues – Investment Advisory and Services Fees” in Item 7 for information about our retail investment advisory and services fees. See Note 2 to AB’s consolidated financial statements in Item 8 for a discussion of the commissions we pay to financial intermediaries in connection with the sale of open-end AB Funds.
Fees paid by the U.S. Funds are reflected in the applicable investment management agreement, which generally must be approved annually by the board of directors or trustees of those funds, by a majority vote of the independent directors or trustees. Increases in these fees must be approved by fund shareholders; decreases need not be, including any decreases implemented by a fund’s directors or trustees. In general, each investment management agreement with the U.S. Funds provides for termination by either party, at any time, upon 60 days’ notice.
Fees paid by Non-U.S. Funds are reflected in management agreements that continue until they are terminated. Increases in these fees generally must be approved by the relevant regulatory authority, depending on the domicile and structure of the fund, and Non-U.S. Fund shareholders must be given advance notice of any fee increases.
The mutual funds we sub-advise for a subsidiary of EQH constitute our largest retail clients. These assets accounted for approximately 13%, 13% and 14% of our retail AUM as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and approximately 1% of our retail net revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023.
Most open-end U.S. Funds have adopted a plan under Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act that allows the fund to pay, out of assets of the fund, distribution and service fees, for the distribution and sale of its shares. The open-end U.S. Funds have entered into such agreements with us, and we have entered into selling and distribution agreements pursuant to which we pay sales commissions to the financial intermediaries that distribute our open-end U.S. Funds. These agreements are terminable by either party upon notice (generally 30 days) and do not obligate the financial intermediary to sell any specific amount of fund shares.
As of December 31, 2025, retail U.S. Fund AUM was approximately $75 billion, or 21% of retail AUM, as compared to $74 billion, or 22%, as of December 31, 2024, and $66 billion, or 23%, as of December 31, 2023. Retail non-U.S. Fund AUM, as of December 31, 2025, totaled $131 billion, or 37% of retail AUM, as compared to $127 billion, or 38%, as of December 31, 2024, and $107 billion, or 37%, as of December 31, 2023.
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Our Retail Services represented approximately 41%, 42% and 39% of our AUM as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and the fees we earned from providing these services represented approximately 55%, 52% and 46% of our net revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our AUM and revenues are as follows:
Retail Services Assets Under Management
(by Investment Service)
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in millions)
Equity:
Equity Actively Managed $ 166,840 $ 160,638 $ 137,702 3.9 % 16.7 %
Equity Passively Managed (1)
40,993 37,608 34,582 9.0 8.8
Total Equity 207,833 198,246 172,284 4.8 15.1
U.S. 173,112 168,086 141,721 3.0 18.6
Global & Non-U.S. 34,721 30,160 30,563 15.1 (1.3)
Total Equity 207,833 198,246 172,284 4.8 15.1
Fixed Income:
Fixed Income Taxable 73,344 73,839 64,051 (0.7) 15.3
Fixed Income Tax-Exempt 56,513 44,652 33,014 26.6 35.3
Fixed Income Passively Managed (1)
9,588 10,212 11,066 (6.1) (7.7)
Total Fixed Income 139,445 128,703 108,131 8.3 19.0
U.S. 84,456 69,525 52,683 21.5 32.0
Global & Non-U.S. 54,989 59,178 55,448 (7.1) 6.7
Total Fixed Income 139,445 128,703 108,131 8.3 19.0
Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions (2) :
U.S. 2,817 2,808 2,724 0.3 3.1
Global & Non-U.S. 6,301 4,498 3,636 40.1 23.7
Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 9,118 7,306 6,360 24.8 14.9
Total:
U.S. 260,385 240,419 197,128 8.3 22.0
Global & Non-U.S. 96,011 93,836 89,647 2.3 4.7
Total $ 356,396 $ 334,255 $ 286,775 6.6 % 16.6 %
Affiliated - EQH $ 47,145 $ 44,009 $ 40,516 7.1 % 8.6 %
Non-affiliated 309,251 290,246 246,259 6.5 17.9
Total $ 356,396 $ 334,255 $ 286,775 6.6 % 16.6 %
(1) Includes index and enhanced index services.
(2) Includes certain multi-asset solutions and services not included in equity or fixed income services
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Revenues from Retail Services
(by Investment Service)
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in thousands)
Equity:
Equity Actively Managed $ 930,244 $ 869,324 $ 732,186 7.0 % 18.7 %
Equity Passively Managed (1)
13,184 12,652 11,283 4.2 12.1
Total Equity 943,428 881,976 743,469 7.0 18.6
U.S. 744,277 685,686 556,751 8.5 23.2
Global & Non-U.S. 199,150 196,290 186,718 1.5 5.1
Total Equity 943,428 881,976 743,469 7.0 18.6
Fixed Income:
Fixed Income Taxable 449,958 443,908 373,659 1.4 18.8
Fixed Income Tax-Exempt 123,736 105,123 88,128 17.7 19.3
Fixed Income Passively Managed (1)
10,449 11,160 12,247 (6.4) (8.9)
Total Fixed Income 584,143 560,191 474,034 4.3 18.2
U.S. 183,259 147,419 118,288 24.3 24.6
Global & Non-U.S. 400,884 412,772 355,746 (2.9) 16.0
Total Fixed Income 584,143 560,191 474,034 4.3 18.2
Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions (2) :
U.S. 50,729 61,732 44,273 (17.8) 39.4
Global & Non-U.S. 24,926 17,794 13,499 40.1 31.8
Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 75,655 79,526 57,772 (4.9) 37.7
Total Investment Advisory and Services Fees:
U.S. 978,265 894,837 719,312 9.3 24.4
Global & Non-U.S. 624,960 626,856 555,963 (0.3) 12.8
Consolidated company-sponsored investment funds 484 486 836 (0.4) (41.9)
Total 1,603,709 1,522,179 1,276,111 5.4 19.3
Distribution Revenues 787,255 703,174 569,485 12.0 23.5
Shareholder Servicing Fees 79,439 85,964 80,424 (7.6) 6.9
Total $ 2,470,403 $ 2,311,317 $ 1,926,020 6.9 % 20.0 %
Affiliated - EQH $ 23,853 $ 24,060 $ 21,842 (0.9 %) 10.2 %
Non-affiliated 2,446,550 2,287,257 1,904,178 7.0 20.1
Total $ 2,470,403 $ 2,311,317 $ 1,926,020 6.9 % 20.0 %
(1) Includes index and enhanced index services.
(2) Includes certain multi-asset solutions and services not included in equity or fixed income services.
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Private Wealth Management
We partner with our clients, embracing innovation and research to address increasingly complex challenges. Our clients include high-net-worth individuals and families who have created generational wealth as successful business owners, athletes, entertainers, corporate executives and private practice owners. We also provide investment and wealth advice to foundations and endowments, family offices and other entities. Our flexible and extensive investment platform offers a range of solutions, including separately-managed accounts, hedge funds, mutual funds and other investment vehicles, tailored to meet each distinct client's needs. Our investment platform is complemented with a wealth platform that includes complex tax and estate planning, pre-IPO and pre-transaction planning, multi-generational family engagement, and philanthropic advice in addition to tailored approaches to meeting the unique needs of emerging wealth and multi-cultural demographics (" Private Wealth Services ").
We manage accounts pursuant to written investment advisory agreements, which generally are terminable at any time or upon relatively short notice by any authorized party, and may not be assigned without the client's consent. For information about our investment advisory and services fees, including performance-based fees, see “ Risk Factors ” in Item 1A and “Net Revenues – Investment Advisory and Services Fees” in Item 7 .
Our Private Wealth Services represented approximately 18%, 17% and 17% of our AUM as of December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The fees we earned from providing these services represented approximately 28%, 28% and 25% of our net revenues for 2025, 2024 and 2023. Our AUM and revenues are as follows:
Private Wealth Services Assets Under Management
(by Investment Service)
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in millions)
Equity:
Equity Actively Managed $ 60,104 $ 53,788 $ 50,351 11.7 % 6.8 %
Equity Passively Managed (1)
8,685 6,102 3,851 42.3 58.5
Total Equity 68,789 59,890 54,202 14.9 10.5
U.S. 45,247 39,056 33,639 15.9 16.1
Global & Non-U.S. 23,542 20,834 20,563 13.0 1.3
Total Equity 68,789 59,890 54,202 14.9 10.5
Fixed Income:
Fixed Income Taxable 20,833 18,712 18,201 11.3 2.8
Fixed Income Tax-Exempt 32,812 29,971 26,760 9.5 12.0
Fixed Income Passively Managed (1)
— — 2 n/m (100.0)
Total Fixed Income 53,645 48,683 44,963 10.2 8.3
U.S. 48,298 43,969 40,166 9.8 9.5
Global & Non-U.S. 5,347 4,714 4,797 13.4 (1.7)
Total Fixed Income 53,645 48,683 44,963 10.2 8.3
Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions (2) :
U.S. 10,933 9,504 6,923 15.0 37.3
Global & Non-U.S. 22,886 18,462 15,167 24.0 21.7
Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 33,819 27,966 22,090 20.9 26.6
Total:
U.S. 104,478 92,529 80,728 12.9 14.6
Global & Non-U.S. 51,775 44,010 40,527 17.6 8.6
Total $ 156,253 $ 136,539 $ 121,255 14.4 % 12.6 %
(1) Includes index and enhanced index services.
(2) Includes certain multi-asset solutions and services not included in equity or fixed income services.
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Revenues from Private Wealth Services
(by Investment Service)
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in thousands)
Equity:
Equity Actively Managed $ 567,330 $ 552,321 $ 502,673 2.7 % 9.9 %
Equity Passively Managed (1)
34,301 24,473 14,711 40.2 66.4
Total Equity 601,631 576,794 517,384 4.3 11.5
U.S. 377,362 359,338 304,456 5.0 18.0
Global & Non-U.S. 224,269 217,456 212,928 3.1 2.1
Total Equity 601,631 576,794 517,384 4.3 11.5
Fixed Income:
Fixed Income Taxable 88,593 81,457 70,887 8.8 14.9
Fixed Income Tax-Exempt 142,140 134,814 124,438 5.4 8.3
Fixed Income Passively Managed (1)
— 8 13 (100.0) (38.5)
Total Fixed Income 230,733 216,279 195,338 6.7 10.7
U.S. 198,146 184,086 164,601 7.6 11.8
Global & Non-U.S. 32,587 32,193 30,737 1.2 4.7
Total Fixed Income 230,733 216,279 195,338 6.7 10.7
Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions (2) :
U.S. 317,305 311,875 223,518 1.7 39.5
Global & Non-U.S. 95,107 114,786 97,074 (17.1) 18.2
Total Alternatives/Multi-Asset Solutions 412,412 426,661 320,592 (3.3) 33.1
Total Investment Advisory and Services Fees:
U.S. 892,813 855,299 692,575 4.4 23.5
Global & Non-U.S. 351,963 364,435 340,739 (3.4) 7.0
Total 1,244,776 1,219,734 1,033,314 2.1 % 18.0 %
Distribution Revenues 31,000 23,293 16,528 33.1 40.9
Shareholder Servicing Fees 2,984 2,864 3,001 4.2 (4.6)
Total $ 1,278,760 $ 1,245,891 $ 1,052,843 2.6 % 18.3 %
(1) Includes index and enhanced index services.
(2) Includes certain multi-asset solutions and services not included in equity or fixed income services.
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Bernstein Research Services
On April 1, 2024, AB and Societe Generale (" SocGen ") completed their previously announced transaction forming a global joint venture with two joint venture holding companies, one outside of North America (" ROW JV ") and one within North America (" NA JV ", and together the " JVs "). As of December 31, 2025, AB owned a majority interest in the NA JV while SocGen owned a majority interest in the ROW JV. AB deconsolidated the Bernstein Research Services business (" Bernstein Research Services" or " BRS " ) and retained the Bernstein Private Wealth Management business within its existing U.S. broker dealer Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC.
On January 1, 2026, AB entered into an Amended and Restated Shareholder agreement with SocGen (the " Amendment Agreement ") and exercised our option to deliver a 17.7% interest in the NA JV to SocGen resulting in AB owning a 49% interest in the NA JV. Subsequent to the Amendment Agreement, on January 1, 2026, AB and SocGen contributed their respective interests in the NA JV for an equal interest in ROW JV resulting in a single joint venture (the " AB/SG JV "). AB now owns a 49% interest in the AB/SG JV and SocGen owns a 51% majority interest. See Note 24 Divestitures to AB's consolidated financial statements in Item 8 for further discussion.
Prior to the deconsolidation of the BRS business, we earned revenues for providing investment research to, and executing brokerage transactions for, institutional clients. These clients compensated us principally by directing us to execute brokerage transactions on their behalf, for which we earned commissions, and to a lesser extent, by paying us directly for research through commission sharing agreements or cash payments. Bernstein Research Services accounted for approximately zero, 2% and 9% of our net revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
For information regarding trends in fee rates charged for brokerage transactions, see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A .
Our Bernstein Research Services revenues are as follows:
Revenues from Bernstein Research Services
Years Ended December 31 % Change
2025 2024 2023 2025-24 2024-23
(in thousands)
Bernstein Research Services $ — $ 96,222 $ 386,142 (100.0 %) (75.1 %)
Custody
Our U.S. based broker-dealer subsidiary acts as custodian for substantially all of our Private Wealth Management AUM and some of our Institutional AUM. Other custodian arrangements, directed by clients, or where clients authorize or instruct us to appoint a custodian on their behalf, include banks, trust companies, brokerage firms and other financial institutions.
People Management
As a leading global investment management firm, we bring together a wide range of insights, expertise, and innovation to advance the interests of our clients around the world. The intellectual capital and distinctive knowledge of our employees are collectively the most important assets of our firm, so the long-term sustainability and success of our firm is heavily dependent on our people. Our People team plays a central role in supporting our employees and advancing their work experience. We are keenly focused on fostering a culture of meritocracy; encouraging innovation; sourcing, developing, and retaining top performing talent; and consistently aligning employees’ incentives and risk taking with those of the firm.
As a result, we have a robust firm culture that helps us to elevate performance and drive excellence. Further, our firm’s role as a fiduciary is embedded in our culture and our day-to-day practices. As a fiduciary, our firm’s primary objective is to act in our clients' best interests and help them reach their financial goals.
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. These collaborative efforts contribute to the overall framework that guides how AB oversees a workforce that supports our values and drives our strategic initiatives.
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Talent Acquisition and Development
AB seeks to excel as an organization, in 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 the best 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 a unique and compelling experience. We continue to enhance the firm’s recruiting efforts to include talent with a nontraditional path to financial services has been a focus area this year. We recognize that traditional recruitment efforts may not always provide access to the full range of top talent available in the marketplace. Therefore, we remain committed to implementing a recruiting strategy that is broad and includes partnering with community organizations, exploring alternative education and training programs, while more effectively leveraging the networks of our existing top performing talent leading to a valuable expansion of the pool of qualified applicants available to the firm.
We focus heavily on high candidate engagement, an efficient offer process and sound onboarding to support success. Learning and continued development are central to our talent strategy. In addition to an established culture of mentoring, we leverage technology to develop and deploy relevant coursework. Internal mobility is championed throughout the firm and progressing assignments of responsibility offer employees career growth and new opportunities. We remain highly committed to a culture of meritocracy and employee development, and believe that top performers expect and deserve this ongoing investment.
Employee Engagement and Fostering an Inclusive 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 both high performance 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. We offer many opportunities to volunteer, including our firm-wide philanthropic initiative, AB Gives Back. We prioritize the well-being of our staff through our global wellness programming, employee wellness groups, and our hybrid work schedule. Measuring engagement is key to understanding the views and perspectives 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.
AB is committed to promoting an inclusive workplace because we believe it has had a positive impact on our people, clients, and communities. In 2025, the workplace continued to undergo changes driven by various factors including rapid technological advances, evolving employee expectations, nuanced global needs and broader societal shifts. We have navigated the current dynamic environment by fostering a culture of continuous learning with a focus on employee engagement, exploring nontraditional recruiting sources, and locally driven inclusion initiatives.
We have prioritized initiatives and events that allow for learning, employee development and healthy discourse to cultivate an environment centered on inclusion. Our Employee Resource Groups hosted over 70 events which aimed to not only foster an inclusive work environment, but also contribute to business opportunities and the professional development of employees worldwide. Additionally, we leveraged data from our annual engagement survey to inform our decision-making process and gain a deeper understanding of the ever-changing needs of our diverse workforce across the globe.
Compensation and Benefits
We recognize the role that a competitive total reward 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 with the interests of our Unitholders and 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 self-directed 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 offerings that meet their individual needs.
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Employees
As of December 31, 2025, our firm had 4,468 full-time employees as compared to 4,341 employees as of December 31, 2024.
Information about our Executive Officers
Please refer to "Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance" below for information relating to our firm's executive officers.
Service Marks
We have registered a number of service marks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and various foreign trademark offices, including the mark “AllianceBernstein.” The logo set forth below is a service mark of AB:
In 2015, we established a new brand identity by prominently incorporating “AB” into our brand architecture, while maintaining the legal names of our corporate entities. With this and other related refinements, our company and each of its subsidiaries, including our Institutional and Retail businesses, are referred to as “AllianceBernstein ( AB )” or simply “AB.” Private Wealth Management is referred to as “AB Bernstein.”
Service marks are generally valid and may be renewed indefinitely, as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained.
Regulation
Virtually all aspects of our business are subject to various federal and state laws and regulations, rules of various securities regulators and exchanges, and laws in the foreign countries in which our subsidiaries conduct business. These laws and regulations primarily are intended to protect clients and fund shareholders and generally grant supervisory agencies broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or restrict the carrying on of business for failure to comply with such laws and regulations. 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.
AB, AB Holding, the General Partner and five of our subsidiaries (Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“ SCB LLC ”), AB Broadly Syndicated Loan Manager LLC, AB Custom Alternative Solutions LLC (" AB CAS "), AB Private Credit Investors LLC, and AB CarVal Investors, L.P.) are registered with the SEC as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act. Additionally, AB Holding is an NYSE-listed company and, accordingly, is subject to applicable regulations promulgated by the NYSE. Also, AB, SCB LLC and AB CAS are registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“ CFTC ”). AB is registered with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator (" CPO ") and commodity trading adviser (" CTA "); SCB LLC is registered with the CFTC as a CPO, CTA, and commodities introducing broker; and AB CAS is registered with the CFTC as a CPO.
Each U.S. Fund is registered with the SEC under the Investment Company Act and each Non-U.S. Fund is subject to the laws in the jurisdiction in which the fund is registered. For example, our platform of Luxembourg-based funds operates pursuant to Luxembourg laws and regulations, including Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directives, and is authorized and supervised by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (“ CSSF ”), the primary regulator in Luxembourg. AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc., one of our subsidiaries, is registered with the SEC as a transfer and servicing agent.
SCB LLC and another of our subsidiaries, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc., are registered with the SEC as broker-dealers, and both are members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. AB Trust Company, LLC (" ABTC ") is registered with the New Hampshire Banking Department as a state chartered trust bank. ABTC serves as the trustee for our collective investment trusts.
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Many of our subsidiaries are subject to the oversight of regulatory authorities in the jurisdictions outside the United States in which they operate, including the Ontario Securities Commission, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the European Securities and Markets Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority in the U.K., the CSSF in Luxembourg, the Financial Services Agency in Japan, the Securities & Futures Commission in Hong Kong, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Financial Services Commission in South Korea, and the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan. While these regulatory requirements often may be comparable to the requirements of the SEC and other U.S. regulators, they are sometimes more restrictive and may cause us to incur substantial expenditures of time and money related to our compliance efforts. For additional information relating to the regulations that impact our business, please refer to "Risk Factors" in Item 1A .
History and Structure
We have been in the investment research and management business for more than 50 years. Sanford C. Bernstein was founded in 1967. Alliance Capital was founded in 1971 when the investment management department of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. (since November 2000, a part of Credit Suisse Group) merged with the investment advisory business of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.
In April 1988, AB Holding “went public” as a master limited partnership. AB Holding Units, which trade under the ticker symbol “AB,” have been listed on the NYSE since that time.
In October 1999, AB Holding reorganized by transferring its business and assets to AB, a newly-formed operating partnership, in exchange for all of the AB Units (the “ Reorganization ”). Since the date of the Reorganization, AB has conducted the business formerly conducted by AB Holding and AB Holding’s activities have consisted of owning AB Units and engaging in related activities. Unlike AB Holding Units, AB Units do not trade publicly and are subject to significant restrictions on transfer. The General Partner is the general partner of both AB and AB Holding.
In October 2000, our two legacy firms, Alliance Capital and Sanford C. Bernstein, combined, bringing together Alliance Capital’s expertise in growth equity and corporate fixed income investing and its family of retail mutual funds, with Sanford C. Bernstein’s expertise in value equity investing, tax-exempt fixed income management, and Private Wealth Management.
As of December 31, 2025, 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 ):
The General Partner owns 100,000 general partnership units in AB Holding and a 1.0% general partnership interest in AB. Including these general partnership interests, EQH, directly and through certain of its subsidiaries ( see “Principal Security Holders” in Item 12 ), had an approximate 68.3% economic interest in AB as of December 31, 2025.
Competition
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. Some of our competitors are larger, have a broader range of product choices and investment capabilities, conduct business in more markets, and have substantially greater resources than we do. These factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage, and we can give no assurance that our strategies and efforts to maintain and enhance our current client relationships, and create new ones, will be successful.
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In addition, EQH and its subsidiaries provide financial services, some of which compete with those we offer. The AB Partnership Agreement specifically allows EQH and its subsidiaries (other than the General Partner) to compete with AB and to pursue opportunities that may be available to us. EQH and certain of its subsidiaries have substantially greater financial resources than we do and are not obligated to provide resources to us.
To grow our business, we believe we must be able to compete effectively for AUM. Key competitive factors include:
• our investment performance for clients;
• our commitment to place the interests of our clients first;
• the quality of our research;
• our ability to attract, motivate and retain highly skilled, and often highly specialized, personnel;
• the array of investment products we offer;
• the fees we charge;
• Morningstar/Lipper rankings for the AB Funds;
• our ability to sell our actively-managed investment services despite the fact that many investors favor passive services;
• our operational effectiveness;
• our ability to further develop and market our brand; and
• our global presence.
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 .
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 Securities and Exchange Commission (" 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.