NEW YORK, July 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceBernstein
L.P. (AB) (NYSE: AB), a global investment management firm, and
Wilmington Trust, a leader in institutional trust services, today
announced they will partner to provide collective investment trusts
(CIT) for defined contribution clients, supported by outstanding
administrative and custody services. With no minimum AUM
requirements to invest, AB and Wilmington Trust will create a
seamless onboarding process to efficiently implement CITs for a
broad range of clients and plan sponsors.
CITs offer lower cost fee options similar to separately managed
accounts with the operational and processing conveniences of a
mutual fund, while also providing the transparency necessary for
plan sponsors to meet their fiduciary duties.
Some of the key benefits of choosing CITs as an investment
vehicle include:
- Low cost and transparency: CITs generally have
lower legal, marketing, board and compliance-related costs. As plan
level assets increase, fees may decrease.
- Operational Efficiency: CITs are easy to establish
and maintain. They are traded through the National Securities
Clearing Corporation (NSCC) to mirror a mutual fund structure.
- Easy access to information: CITs look just like
mutual funds to participants because daily information is posted on
the recordkeeper's website and fact sheets are provided with
enrollment materials.
"CITs have gained traction in defined contribution plans due in
large part to their ability to offer relatively low costs, flexible
pricing and operational ease, which uniquely positions them to help
today's plan sponsors effectively fulfill their fiduciary duties,"
said Jennifer DeLong, Managing
Director and Head of Defined Contribution at AllianceBernstein.
"Our partnership with Wilmington Trust, a leader in the industry
for more than 70 years, is a testament to our commitment to provide
investment services that meet the evolving needs of our
clients."
"We are pleased to partner with an industry leader like
AllianceBernstein to deliver solutions that help clients meet their
long-term goals. In addition to their scalability, flexibility and
customizable options, CITs offer transparency that empowers plan
sponsors and participants to make fully informed decisions," said
Rob Barnett, Group Vice president
and Head of Retirement Distribution at Wilmington Trust. "As the
fiduciary trustee, our focus is on being a strategic partner with
all interested parties including plan sponsors, advisors,
aggregators and asset managers, which uniquely positions us to
build effective partnerships and deliver operational
efficiency."
Wilmington Trust is a leader in the collective investment trust
market with over $38 billion in
assets across funds managed by more than 50 sub-advisors, and
available on more than 35 trading platforms. As fiduciary trustee,
Wilmington Trust collaborates with more than two dozen industry
partners.
"At Wilmington Trust, we continually collaborate with advisors
and asset managers to design optimal strategies for them and their
clients and connect them with the right stakeholders to form
lasting, value-added relationships," said Chris Randall, Head of Retirement and
Institutional Custody Services at Wilmington Trust. "This
longstanding fiduciary commitment to our clients and our expertise
in administering these solutions has resulted in significant growth
of our CIT portfolio within the past 12 months. We look forward to
continuing our partnerships with AllianceBernstein and others to
further drive this expansion in the second half of the year and
beyond."
About AllianceBernstein
AllianceBernstein is a leading
global investment management firm that offers high-quality research
and diversified investment services to institutional investors,
individuals and private wealth clients in major world markets.
As of March 31, 2019, including
both the general partnership and limited partnership interests in
AllianceBernstein, AllianceBernstein Holding owned approximately
35.2% of AllianceBernstein and AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc.
("EQH"), directly and through various subsidiaries, owned an
approximate 65.6% economic interest in AllianceBernstein.
Additional information about AB may be found on our website,
www.alliancebernstein.com.
About Wilmington Trust
Wilmington Trust, N.A. provides
corporate and institution services including institutional trustee,
retirement plan, agency, asset management, and administrative
services for clients worldwide who use capital markets financing
structures. Wilmington Trust provides directed trustee, custody,
and fiduciary services for retirement plans, companies,
foundations, organizations, and financial institutions.
Wilmington Trust also provides Wealth Advisory services with a
wide array of personal trust, financial planning, fiduciary, asset
management, and family office solutions designed to help
high-net-worth individuals and families grow, preserve, and
transfer wealth.
Wilmington Trust maintains offices throughout the United States and internationally in
London, Paris, Dublin, and Frankfurt. For more information, visit
www.WilmingtonTrust.com.
Wilmington Trust is a registered service mark. Wilmington
Trust Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of M&T Bank
Corporation. Wilmington Trust Company, operating in Delaware only, Wilmington Trust, N.A., M&T
Bank and certain other affiliates, provide various fiduciary and
non-fiduciary services, including trustee, custodial, agency,
investment management and other services. International corporate
and institutional services are offered through Wilmington Trust
Corporation's international affiliates. Loans, credit cards, retail
and business deposits, and other business and personal banking
services and products are offered by M&T Bank, member
FDIC.
Collective investment trusts are not mutual funds and are not
deposits or obligations of or guaranteed by Wilmington Trust. The
units are securities which have not been registered under the
Securities Act of 1933 as amended and exempted from investment
company registration under the Investment Act of 1940.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alliancebernstein-partners-with-wilmington-trust-to-offer-an-enhanced-collective-investment-trust-lineup-to-plans-of-all-sizes-300882186.html
SOURCE AllianceBernstein