Commitments and Contingencies

Operating Leases

We lease office space, furniture and office equipment under various operating leases. The future minimum payments under non-cancelable leases, sublease commitments and related payments we are obligated to make, net of sublease commitments of third party lessees to make payments to us, as of December 31, 2017, are as follows:



	Payments		Sublease Receipts		Net Payments
	(in millions)
2018	$	131.6	$	44.2	$	87.4
2019	127.8		46.0		81.8
2020	107.5		29.7		77.8
2021	102.3		28.4		73.9
2022	91.3		25.3		66.0
2023 and thereafter	204.2		48.9		155.3
Total future minimum payments	$	764.7	$	222.5	$	542.2

Office leases contain escalation clauses that provide for the pass through of increases in operating expenses and real estate taxes. Rent expense, which is amortized on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease, was $65.2 million, $68.1 million and $70.7 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, net of sublease income of $0.5 million, $2.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. See Note 3 for further discussion of the real estate charges.

Legal Proceedings

AB may be involved in various matters, including regulatory inquires, administrative proceedings and litigation, some of which may allege significant damages. It is reasonably possible that we could incur losses pertaining to these matters, but currently we cannot estimate any such additional losses.

Management, after consultation with legal counsel, currently believes that the outcome of any individual matter that is pending or threatened, or all of them combined, will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity. However, any inquiry, proceeding or litigation has an element of uncertainty; management cannot determine whether further developments relating to any individual matter that is pending or threatened, or all of them combined, will have a material adverse effect on our results of operation, financial condition or liquidity in any future reporting period.

Other

We entered into a subscription agreement, under which we committed to invest up to $35.0 million in a venture capital fund. As of December 31, 2017, we had funded all of this commitment.

As general partner of AllianceBernstein U.S. Real Estate L.P. (“Real Estate Fund”), we committed to invest $25.0 million in the Real Estate Fund. As of December 31, 2017, we had funded $22.4 million of this commitment. As general partner of AllianceBernstein U.S. Real Estate II L.P. (“Real Estate Fund II”), we committed to invest $28.0 million in the Real Estate Fund II. As of December 31, 2017, we had funded $10.4 million of this commitment.

We entered into an investment agreement under which we committed to invest up to $8.0 million in an oil and gas fund. As of December 31, 2017, we had funded $6.2 million of this commitment.