AllianceBernstein Continues to Innovate in Target-Date Design by Adding Volatility Management Component to Retirement Strategies Mutual Funds

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In early April 2010, AllianceBernstein will add a new Volatility Management component to its Retirement Strategies target-date mutual funds.  The Volatility Management component is designed to reduce the market risk of the funds during periods of extreme volatility.

According to Seth J. Masters, Chief Investment Officer of Blend Strategies and Defined Contribution at AllianceBernstein, "This important enhancement is the result of a multiyear firmwide research effort, which created new tools we believe can be applied to 'smooth the ride' and improve retirement outcomes for defined contribution plan participants.  The project demonstrates our ongoing work to deliver our best thinking on target-date design to plan sponsors and investors."  

AllianceBernstein's Volatility Management approach seeks to balance risk and return, placing primary emphasis on controlling risk. This differs from traditional tactical asset allocation which focuses primarily on predicting asset-class returns and attempting to time the market to take advantage of short-term opportunities to enhance returns.  

"Target-date funds naturally reduce the volatility in a portfolio by reducing the exposure to equities over time as an investor approaches and moves through retirement.  With Volatility Management, we can now more explicitly manage risk in target-date portfolios," says Thomas J. Fontaine, Head of Defined Contribution at AllianceBernstein.  "We believe our new risk management tools will allow us to adjust portfolios during extreme market cycles such as the recent credit crunch, moderating short-term negative performance — but importantly, without sacrificing long-term return potential."

AllianceBernstein will allocate up to 20% of the existing Retirement Strategies target-date funds into the new Volatility Management component, with the allocation varying by vintage.  This Volatility Management component will invest in a mix of equities and REITs in normal markets but will have the ability to dynamically de-risk into bonds and cash when it's appropriate to reduce overall portfolio risk.  The Volatility Management component will replace a portion of the equities and REITs so the long-term strategic allocation does not change following the introduction of this component into the Retirement Strategies funds.

An institutional implementation of Volatility Management will be available in the second quarter of 2010 for use in customized target-date portfolios, including AllianceBernstein's Customized Retirement Strategies(SM) service for large-market defined contribution plans.

AllianceBernstein Defined Contribution Investments (ABDC) is a business unit of AllianceBernstein that offers a full range of solutions to meet the needs of defined contribution plan sponsors and participants. For more information on ABDC, please go to www.abdc.com.

Cautions regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements provided by management in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The most significant of these factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, industry trends, future acquisitions, competitive conditions, and government regulations, including changes in tax regulations and rates and the manner in which the earnings of publicly-traded partnerships are taxed. We caution readers to carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made; we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements. For further information regarding these forward-looking statements and the factors that could cause actual results to differ, see "Risk Factors" and "Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. Any or all of the forward-looking statements that we make in this news release, Form 10-K, other documents we file with or furnish to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and any other public statements we issue, may turn out to be wrong. It is important to remember that other factors besides those listed in "Risk Factors" and "Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements", and those listed above, could also adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and business prospects.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein is a leading global investment-management firm that offers high-quality research and diversified investment services to institutional clients, individuals and private clients in major markets around the world. AllianceBernstein employs more than 500 investment professionals with expertise in growth equities, value equities, fixed-income securities, blend strategies and alternative investments and, through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, operates in more than 20 countries. AllianceBernstein's research disciplines include fundamental research, quantitative research, economic research and currency forecasting capabilities. Through its integrated global platform, AllianceBernstein is well positioned to tailor investment solutions for its clients. AllianceBernstein also offers independent research, portfolio strategy and brokerage-related services to institutional investors.

As of December 31, 2009, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. ("Holding") (NYSE: AB) owned approximately 36.5% of the issued and outstanding AllianceBernstein Units and AXA, one of the largest global financial services organizations, owned an approximate 62.1% economic interest in AllianceBernstein.  

AllianceBernstein Defined Contribution Investments is a unit of AllianceBernstein L.P. and AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. is an affiliate of AllianceBernstein L.P. and member of FINRA.

©2010 AllianceBernstein L.P.

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