3 AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to Buy Amid Market Volatility
Headquartered in Nashville, TN, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. AB is one of the most trusted investment management companies in the world. In 2000, a merger brought together Alliance Capital’s capabilities in growth equity and corporate fixed income and Bernstein’s expertise in value equity and tax-exempt fixed income to form the current company.
AllianceBernstein has approximately $652 billion in assets under management as of October 30, 2023. The retail part of AllianceBernstein provides investment advice, research and tools that cover mutual funds, managed accounts, college and retirement saving, and insurance services. Bernstein Research, a wholly-owned subsidiary, provides sell-side research and brokerage services. Bernstein Wealth Management provides investment and wealth-planning services for high-net-worth clients in the Americas.
The company currently has more than 4600 employees across 45 locations globally. While reporting its third-quarter 2023 earnings, AllianceBernstein projected resilience amid a challenging market environment, which was witnessing a pullback in equity and fixed-income markets. Notwithstanding, the firm achieved organic growth across key services. Gross sales rose to $25.2 billion, marking a 27% year-over-year increase. Of its fixed-income assets, 73% outperformed their year-ago numbers. The retail channel saw net inflows of $1.6 billion, driven by demand for taxable and municipal fixed income.
While projecting for the future, the firm said it expects positive flows in municipal bonds as interest rates remain elevated and inflation is controlled. New initiatives, such as the launch of an interval fund and the growth of the active ETF business, are also expected to do well.
Thus, investing in mutual funds from AllianceBernstein may provide the much-required stability and growth potential in a market that is expected to remain volatile for a while. Hence, astute investors should consider such funds at present. Mutual funds, in general, reduce transaction costs and diversify portfolios without an array of commission charges that are mostly associated with stock purchases (read more: Mutual Funds: Advantages, Disadvantages, and How They Make Investors Money).
We have thus selected three mutual funds that boast a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), have positive three-year and five-year annualized returns and minimum initial investments within $5000, as well as carry a low expense ratio.
AB Value Fund ABVRX invests primarily in a varied portfolio of domestic, large-cap companies that the fund advisor believes are undervalued. In deciding a company’s valuation, ABVRX advisors consider firms that are attractively priced relative to their future earnings power and dividend-paying capability.
Cem Inal has been the lead manager of ABVRX since March 2016. The three top holdings for ABVRX are 4.3% in Walmart, 3.6% in Wells Fargo and 3.4% in Oracle.
ABVRX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 13.3% and 5.9%, respectively, and its net expense ratio is 0.70% compared to the category average of 0.94%. ABVRX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1. To see how this fund performed compared to its category, and other 1 and 2 Ranked Mutual Funds, please click here.
AB Trust - AB Discovery Value Fund ABSIX primarily invests its equity securities of small-cap and mid-cap domestic companies. ABSIX advisors define small- to mid-cap companies as those that, at the time of investment, fall within the capitalization range between the smallest company in the Russell 2500 Value Index and the greater of $5 billion or the market-cap of the largest company in the Russell 2500 Value Index.
James W. MacGregor has been the lead manager of ABSIX since February 2005. The three top holdings for ABSIX are 2% in First Citizens Bank, 1.7% in Dycom and 1.7% in Vertiv.
ABSIX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 10.7% and 4.1%, respectively, and its net expense ratio is 1.08% compared to the category average of 1.16%. ABSIX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.
AB Large Cap Growth Fund APGCX invests primarily in equity securities of a careful selection of high-quality large-cap domestic companies. For arriving at the investment decision, APGCX advisors consider large, seasoned companies across sectors with very high growth potential.
John H. Fogarty has been the lead manager of APGCX since February 2012. The three top holdings for APGCX are 9.6% in Microsoft, 5% in Alphabet and 4.9% in Visa.
APGCX’s 3-year and 5-year annualized returns are 6% and 11.9%, respectively, and its net expense ratio is 0.60% compared to the category average of 0.99%. APGCX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1.
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