AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. Q4 2011 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Michael Kim - Sandler O'Neill - Analyst : Hey, guys. Good morning. First, it seems like CRS continues to gain momentum. So just wondering if the new fee disclosure requirements and the 401(k) channel, if those could have any potential impact. Is it potentially a catalyst to gain further marketshare for the CRS business?

Question: Michael Kim - Sandler O'Neill - Analyst : Okay, fair enough. And then, secondly, can you maybe just point to some of the specific reasons why the large-cap strategies have underperformed? Is it a function of sector weighting, stock selection, maybe style drift on the part of some of your peers? And then beyond that, what are you doing to address those issues? Have there been any kind of meaningful changes on the investment management side in terms of turnover more recently?

Question: Michael Kim - Sandler O'Neill - Analyst : So no kind of meaningful changes in terms of the PM or analyst staff?

Question: Michael Kim - Sandler O'Neill - Analyst : Okay. Thanks for taking my questions. LSEG STREETEVENTS | www.lseg.com | Contact Us consent of LSEG. 'LSEG' and the LSEG logo are registered trademarks of LSEG and its affiliated companies.

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Just coming back to the comp discussion. Just curious, is that full-year run rate a reasonable outlook on a go-forward basis?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Full-year, excuse me.

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : That is helpful. And then sort of stepping back and looking at the businesses a little bit, obviously, very strong Fixed Income; obviously, very strong non-US. As you think about sort of a more sustainable margin, obviously, 7% is pretty depressed this quarter. Just given the mix shift that is going on, the geographic shift that is going on, the business line shift that is going on, what do you think the right margin could be if the industry is sitting around 30% round numbers in a more normalized backdrop?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Just one more big picture question. Thanks for taking all my questions. As you look at the Private Client business in particular, it seems like the companies that are having more success growing those businesses have more of an open architecture platform. Is there any thoughts to revamping the strategy for the business to try and enhance the growth rate? LSEG STREETEVENTS | www.lseg.com | Contact Us consent of LSEG. 'LSEG' and the LSEG logo are registered trademarks of LSEG and its affiliated companies.

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Okay, that is helpful perspective. Thank you very much.

Question: Matthew Kelley - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Hi, thanks, guys, for taking my questions. So I was just hoping to get a little bit more color in the start of 2012 on conversations you're having with institutional clients and consultants, what they are looking for and how would you are fulfilling their needs.

Question: Matthew Kelley - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Okay, that is very helpful. So one follow-up for me then, on your alternatives platform, anything you are not currently offering that you think is a big potential win for you or an opportunity set?

Question: Matthew Kelley - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : One quick follow-up from me and then I will jump back in. Just on the trend in terms of active versus passive, what do you guys think is kind of a -- what is your go-forward mentality on ETFs and index versus actively managed products?

Question: Matthew Kelley - Morgan Stanley - Analyst : Thank you very much. LSEG STREETEVENTS | www.lseg.com | Contact Us consent of LSEG. 'LSEG' and the LSEG logo are registered trademarks of LSEG and its affiliated companies.

Question: Cynthia Mayer - Bank of America-Merrill Lynch - Analyst : Hi, thanks a lot. I'm wondering if you could talk a little more generally about the impact of AXA on your flows and how the relationship has trended. I think you mentioned you expect to lose $16 billion and $4 billion has gone out. But overall, can you give us a sense of how much you still manage for them, how that has trended and any color on fees? And also in terms of where this money would be in your statements, is that -- would that slot in under the institutional -- the non-US institutional redemptions? Thanks.

Question: Cynthia Mayer - Bank of America-Merrill Lynch - Analyst : Okay, great. Thanks. And then just in terms of -- it sounds like you are still being very vigilant on costs and I am wondering where you see opportunities to cut back? Are you thinking more -- in terms of being vigilant, are you thinking more that, as the market has moved up, you would simply keep costs fixed or are you actually thinking you can cut them in some places?

Question: Cynthia Mayer - Bank of America-Merrill Lynch - Analyst : Okay, thank you.

Question: Alex Blostein - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Thanks, good morning, guys. Just to quickly follow up maybe on Cynthia's question on expenses. Maybe it would be helpful just to think in two broader buckets. What do you sort of think is your more fixed expense base run rate versus variable? And I guess a lot of the variable piece will come in comp, but even within that, is there a way you could I guess get smaller on the base level? Something that I guess tend to be a little bit more fixed in nature.

Question: Alex Blostein - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Understood. That is very helpful. Thanks. And then my second question is you guys put out AUM numbers for the end of the month. Could you talk a little bit more about the flow trends you are seeing so far in the quarter? And then I guess more specifically on the institutional pipeline, it would be helpful to get a sense of where that stands now versus I guess you provided the numbers as of the end of the year.

Question: Alex Blostein - Goldman Sachs - Analyst : Got it. Thank you.

Question: Chris Spahr - CLSA - Analyst : Hi, good morning. I just have a few more questions on expenses and to the extent that you can focus on the non-comp expenses, and when you might realize some savings there on the rent. It just seems like you have a lot of negative headwinds on the revenue front going into this year relative to last year given where AUM is starting.

Question: Chris Spahr - CLSA - Analyst : So when I look at the full-year adjusted margin of 17%, and I know that that includes some noise from the fourth quarter, but again, given that, I think revenues, unless we have a strong market year, are going to be lower on a year-over-year basis. So I mean would we expect to see the margin improve just because -- as these numbers -- as these expense numbers start flowing through or would you see more margin deterioration and not improve until 2013?

Question: Chris Spahr - CLSA - Analyst : Thank you.

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Thanks again. Just two modeling questions, I guess. Number one, you mentioned you brought back some units and shares during the quarter, but your end-of-period numbers ended a little bit higher. Is the end-of-period a better run rate on a go-forward basis just given issuance, etc.?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Yes.

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Okay. And the second question, sorry to beat a dead horse here, but within the G&A line, can you quantify how big the real estate component is of that number?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : So based on the ability with the closings coming through and maybe some further square footage subleasing, are we talking about a 10%, 15% drop in G&A just given that kind of weighting average or is that just too severe?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : So it would really be a multiyear to get to that full 10% run rate of reduced overhead? Is that fair?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Right, okay. And just one more question. Again, thanks for your patience. So as you look at your business -- again, you are having very strong growth in some of your newer services, is there any thoughts to doing a little bit more of a shakeup of the business and shed some of the legacy businesses, which seem to be a bit of an anchor on both flows and margins of the Company?

Question: Bill Katz - Citigroup - Analyst : Okay. Thanks for taking all my questions. I appreciate it.

Question: Robert Lee - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods - Analyst : Thank you. Good morning. And I apologize if you had mentioned this in your comments in the start of the call; I jumped on late. I mean I did hear the comments around some of the AXA business that is scheduled to flow out. But could you update us -- if I remember correctly in prior last -- I think maybe it was the last quarter, you had some outflows related from A&P in Australia, I think it was, related -- and that may have been somewhat related to the change in the joint venture there and your buying that in. Were there some more -- was there some more of that in this quarter and is there -- is it possible to kind of quantify if there is any kind of asset pool there you think may be vulnerable over the coming quarters?

Question: Robert Lee - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods - Analyst : Okay, because -- that is why I wanted to clarify. This isn't -- I mean I know you still -- I believe you still subadvice various assets for --.

Question: Robert Lee - Keefe, Bruyette & Woods - Analyst : Oh, great. That was a clarification I was looking for. That was it. Thank you.