Customized Retirement Strategies Setting a Strong Pace in 2009 at Its Second Anniversary with Nearly $1 Billion in New Funding
May 05 2009 - 11:19AM
PR Newswire (US)
NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceBernstein's Customized
Retirement Strategies (CRS) is off to a strong start in 2009,
securing nearly $1 billion in new funding from defined-contribution
(DC) plans. CRS is a unique, open-architecture target-date solution
launched in April 2007 by AllianceBernstein Defined Contribution
Investments ("ABDC"), a business unit of AllianceBernstein L.P.
("AllianceBernstein"). AllianceBernstein manages or has commitments
for nearly $5 billion in CRS assets for 16 DC clients with total
plan assets of $50 billion. These CRS assets include $900 million
in new funding so far in 2009 from three major clients, as our
target-date solution celebrates its two-year anniversary. "This is
a powerful statement that plan sponsors aren't taking a
'wait-and-see' approach in a difficult market environment, but
rather they are moving forward with enhancing their plans,"
according to Thomas J. Fontaine, Head of ABDC. AllianceBernstein
can manage all of the target-date investment components of CRS if
the plan sponsor desires, or the solution's open architecture
allows the target-date fund to use any combination of active or
passive managers. In fact, most of the new business is from plans
that are replacing single-manager target-date mutual-funds with the
more flexible approach of CRS. The customizable elements of CRS go
far beyond just asset allocation. ABDC consults with each client on
aspects ranging from communication strategies and operational
support to legal and regulatory compliance, tailoring the
implementation strategy to the unique needs of each plan. "Many
sponsors view customization purely as modifying the glide path and
asset allocation to match plan demographics. This is important, but
it's only the starting point," said Richard A. Davies, ABDC's Head
of Product Strategy. "We're seeing more and more plans that want to
use specific managers--both active and passive--for each asset
class. They want to tailor asset management to their needs using
their existing core DC options or managers from their DB plans, and
they usually incorporate institutional vehicles to reduce
expenses." In addition, AllianceBernstein can work with any
recordkeeper to make the implementation and ongoing operations of
CRS seamless and easy. In fact, CRS has already been implemented on
six major recordkeeper's platforms. ABDC continues to enhance CRS,
planning to introduce a secure lifetime income solution that will
also offer flexible, multi-insurer capabilities. ABDC recently
lowered minimum plan asset size for CRS to $50 million, broadening
its reach. The rapid growth and popularity of CRS in many
industries demonstrates that plan sponsors appreciate its flexible
nature. ABDC is a business unit of AllianceBernstein that offers a
full range of solutions to meet the needs of DC plan sponsors and
participants. For more information on Customized Retirement
Strategies and AllianceBernstein Defined Contribution Investments,
please go to http://www.abdc.com/. SOURCE: AllianceBernstein
Defined Contribution Investments 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.
At March 31, 2009, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. ("Holding") owned
approximately 34.3% of the issued and outstanding AllianceBernstein
Units. AXA Financial was the beneficial owner of approximately
62.0% of the AllianceBernstein Units at December 31, 2008
(including those held indirectly through its ownership of
approximately 1.6% of the issued and outstanding Holding Units)
which, including the general partnership interests in
AllianceBernstein and Holding, represent an approximate 62.4%
economic interest in AllianceBernstein. AXA Financial is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA, one of the largest global financial
services organizations. Investment Products Offered: Are Not FDIC
Insured | May Lose Value | Are Not Bank Guaranteed Investors should
carefully consider the investment objectives and policies, sales
charges, expenses, risks and other matters of importance before
investing in any AllianceBernstein mutual fund. For a free copy of
any Fund's prospectus, which contains this and other information,
call AllianceBernstein Investments at (800) 227-4618. Please read
the prospectus carefully before you invest. AllianceBernstein
Defined Contribution Investments is a unit of AllianceBernstein
L.P. and AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. is an affiliate of
AllianceBernstein L.P. and member FINRA. (C)2009 AllianceBernstein
L.P. DATASOURCE: AllianceBernstein CONTACT: Jennifer DeLong,
+1-212-969-6689, Web Site: http://www.abdc.com/
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