NPORT-EX 2 NPORT_3116_BBH_66169992_0923.htm HTML

AB International Low Volatility Equity Portfolio

Portfolio of Investments

September 30, 2023 (unaudited)

 

Company    Shares        U.S. $ Value  

COMMON STOCKS – 98.0%

        

Financials – 21.5%

        

Banks – 11.1%

        

Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM

      956,629        $ 7,926,485  

DBS Group Holdings Ltd.

      286,800          7,043,709  

KBC Group NV

      60,172          3,746,105  

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

      743,200          6,297,992  

Nordea Bank Abp

      614,622          6,738,551  

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., Ltd.

      1,139,880          10,660,219  

Royal Bank of Canada

      111,078          9,707,314  

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

      303,800          14,924,493  

Toronto-Dominion Bank (The)

      81,973          4,938,598  
       

 

 

  
          71,983,466  
       

 

 

  

Capital Markets – 3.3%

        
Euronext NV(a)      80,965          5,631,858  
IG Group Holdings PLC      376,073          2,944,132  
London Stock Exchange Group PLC      79,828          8,000,836  
Singapore Exchange Ltd.      734,200          5,223,111  
       

 

 

  
          21,799,937  
       

 

 

  

Insurance – 7.1%

        

AIA Group Ltd.

      606,800          4,907,281  

AXA SA

      325,615          9,660,628  

Medibank Pvt Ltd.

      2,128,317          4,697,478  

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gesellschaft AG in Muenchen (REG)

      26,514          10,325,952  

NN Group NV

      172,715          5,536,930  

Sampo Oyj - Class A

      248,788          10,755,479  
       

 

 

  
          45,883,748  
       

 

 

  
              139,667,151  
       

 

 

  

Industrials – 16.6%

        

Aerospace & Defense – 0.9%

        

BAE Systems PLC

      514,728          6,254,894  
       

 

 

  

Commercial Services & Supplies – 0.6%

        

Secom Co., Ltd.

      60,400          4,097,585  
       

 

 

  

Electrical Equipment – 3.3%

        

Prysmian SpA

      251,977          10,113,927  

Schneider Electric SE

      68,109          11,223,831  
       

 

 

  
          21,337,758  
       

 

 

  

Ground Transportation – 1.1%

        

Canadian National Railway Co.

      64,608          6,996,643  
       

 

 

  

Industrial Conglomerates – 0.7%

        

Siemens AG (REG)

      31,300          4,473,044  
       

 

 

  

Machinery – 0.5%

        

ANDRITZ AG

      66,890          3,370,763  
       

 

 

  

Marine Transportation – 1.0%

        

Kuehne & Nagel International AG (REG)

      23,293          6,618,260  
       

 

 

  

Professional Services – 8.5%

        

Experian PLC

      268,925          8,795,883  

MEITEC Group Holdings, Inc.

      603,600              10,916,289  

 

1

Company    Shares        U.S. $ Value  

RELX PLC (London)

      486,211        $ 16,404,726  

Wolters Kluwer NV

      157,735          19,097,846  
       

 

 

  
          55,214,744  
       

 

 

  
              108,363,691  
       

 

 

  

Health Care – 14.1%

        

Health Care Equipment & Supplies – 0.5%

        

ConvaTec Group PLC(a)

      1,163,500          3,083,358  
       

 

 

  

Health Care Providers & Services – 2.5%

        

Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA

      218,749          6,794,394  

Galenica AG(a)

      127,791          9,440,653  
       

 

 

  
          16,235,047  
       

 

 

  

Pharmaceuticals – 11.1%

        

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

      331,300          10,215,320  

Novartis AG (REG)

      99,744          10,186,719  

Novo Nordisk A/S - Class B

      249,444          22,712,191  

Roche Holding AG (Genusschein)

      40,707          11,113,057  

Sanofi

      167,350          17,969,250  
       

 

 

  
          72,196,537  
       

 

 

  
          91,514,942  
       

 

 

  

Information Technology – 12.8%

        

IT Services – 4.7%

        

Amdocs Ltd.

      81,832          6,913,986  

CGI, Inc.(b)

      48,199          4,750,879  

Nomura Research Institute Ltd.

      311,000          8,083,425  

Otsuka Corp.

      253,400          10,720,975  
       

 

 

  
          30,469,265  
       

 

 

  

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment – 2.1%

        

ASML Holding NV

      11,461          6,747,668  

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

      400,000          6,522,498  
       

 

 

  
          13,270,166  
       

 

 

  

Software – 5.1%

        

Constellation Software, Inc./Canada

      8,849          18,268,519  

Nice Ltd.(b)

      32,940          5,618,213  

SAP SE

      73,552          9,520,719  
       

 

 

  
          33,407,451  
       

 

 

  

Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals – 0.9%

        

Logitech International SA (REG)

      87,240          6,001,977  
       

 

 

  
          83,148,859  
       

 

 

  

Communication Services – 8.6%

        

Diversified Telecommunication Services – 4.4%

        

BCE, Inc.

      208,334          7,952,967  

Deutsche Telekom AG (REG)

      346,351          7,265,338  

HKT Trust & HKT Ltd. - Class SS

      6,669,000          6,954,232  

Telstra Group Ltd.

      2,635,966          6,512,532  
       

 

 

  
              28,685,069  
       

 

 

  

 

2

Company    Shares        U.S. $ Value  

Entertainment – 1.4%

        

GungHo Online Entertainment, Inc.

      372,800        $ 5,884,680  

Ubisoft Entertainment SA(b)

      99,779          3,233,521  
       

 

 

  
          9,118,201  
       

 

 

  

Interactive Media & Services – 1.6%

        

Auto Trader Group PLC(a)

      969,134          7,282,047  

Kakaku.com, Inc.

      344,600          3,489,634  
       

 

 

  
          10,771,681  
       

 

 

  

Media – 1.2%

        

Informa PLC

      838,987          7,661,190  
       

 

 

  
          56,236,141  
       

 

 

  

Consumer Staples – 8.4%

        

Beverages – 0.6%

        

Heineken NV

      42,548          3,751,097  
       

 

 

  

Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail – 5.5%

        

Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA

         346,786          7,788,193  

Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV

      467,476          14,089,581  

Lawson, Inc.

      137,800          6,335,045  

Loblaw Cos., Ltd.

      87,424          7,427,741  
       

 

 

  
          35,640,560  
       

 

 

  

Food Products – 0.9%

        

Nestle SA (REG)

      52,637          5,958,299  
       

 

 

  

Tobacco – 1.4%

        

Philip Morris International, Inc.

      100,070          9,264,480  
       

 

 

  
          54,614,436  
       

 

 

  

Consumer Discretionary – 6.5%

        

Automobiles – 1.6%

        

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

      941,100          10,587,089  
       

 

 

  

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure – 1.2%

        

Compass Group PLC

      308,037          7,498,112  
       

 

 

  

Leisure Products – 1.3%

        

Bandai Namco Holdings, Inc.

      411,800          8,376,211  
       

 

 

  

Specialty Retail – 1.2%

        

ZOZO, Inc.(c)

      444,700          8,142,984  
       

 

 

  

Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods – 1.2%

        

LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE

      10,635          8,027,624  
       

 

 

  
          42,632,020  
       

 

 

  

Energy – 5.1%

        

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels – 5.1%

        

Equinor ASA

      354,110          11,604,911  

Shell PLC

      681,151          21,588,550  
       

 

 

  
          33,193,461  
       

 

 

  

Materials – 1.7%

        

Metals & Mining – 1.7%

        

Endeavour Mining PLC

      174,530          3,369,114  

Rio Tinto Ltd.

      103,113          7,437,322  
       

 

 

  
                10,806,436  
       

 

 

  

 

3

Company    Shares        U.S. $ Value  

Real Estate – 1.4%

        

Diversified REITs – 0.6%

        

Merlin Properties Socimi SA

      478,535        $ 4,026,316  
       

 

 

  

Retail REITs – 0.8%

        

Link REIT

      1,032,134          5,046,654  
       

 

 

  
          9,072,970  
       

 

 

  

Utilities – 1.3%

        

Electric Utilities – 1.3%

        

EDP - Energias de Portugal SA

      589,661          2,451,779  

Enel SpA

      980,823          6,015,138  
          8,466,917  
       

 

 

  

Total Common Stocks
(cost $586,783,876)

               637,717,024  
       

 

 

  

WARRANTS – 0.0%

        

Information Technology – 0.0%

        

Software – 0.0%

        

Constellation Software, Inc., expiring 03/31/2040(b)
(cost $0)

      9,807          0  
       

 

 

  

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS – 1.4%

        

Investment Companies – 1.4%

        

AB Fixed Income Shares, Inc. - Government Money Market Portfolio - Class AB, 5.25%(d) (e) (f)
(cost $9,213,236)

      9,213,236          9,213,236  
       

 

 

  

Total Investments – 99.4%
(cost $595,997,112)(g)

           646,930,260  

Other assets less liabilities – 0.6%

           3,918,164  
       

 

 

  

Net Assets – 100.0%

         $     650,848,424  
       

 

 

  

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS

 

Counterparty    Contracts to
Deliver
(000)		      In Exchange
For
(000)		      Settlement
Date		      Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Bank of America, NA        USD        1,421          EUR        1,288          10/12/2023        $ (58,597 )
Bank of America, NA        JPY        386,459          USD        2,648          10/19/2023          54,974
Bank of America, NA        USD        5,496          JPY        808,131          10/19/2023          (73,214 )
Bank of America, NA        CAD        1,815          USD        1,343          10/27/2023          5,926
Barclays Bank PLC        JPY        439,137          USD        2,979          10/19/2023          32,458
Barclays Bank PLC        USD        25,490          AUD        39,388          11/08/2023              (132,325 ) 
Barclays Bank PLC        SGD        18,678          USD        13,726          11/16/2023          34,429
Barclays Bank PLC        USD        12,859          SEK        141,664          12/07/2023          146,045
BNP Paribas SA        USD        991          CAD        1,345          10/27/2023          (414 )
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        EUR        7,261          USD        7,904          10/12/2023          224,143
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        USD        2,522          EUR        2,396          10/12/2023          12,345
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        USD        3,212          EUR        2,943          10/12/2023              (99,126 ) 

 

4

Counterparty    Contracts to
Deliver
(000)		      In Exchange
For
(000)		      Settlement
Date		      Unrealized
Appreciation
(Depreciation)
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        JPY        1,421,148          USD        9,654          10/19/2023        $ 118,007
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        USD        2,002          JPY        291,474          10/19/2023          (46,410 )
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        USD        7,489          CAD        10,117          10/27/2023          (37,576 )
Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.        USD        1,749          AUD        2,736          11/08/2023          12,194
Citibank, NA        TWD        195,064          USD        6,147          11/29/2023          72,767
Deutsche Bank AG        ILS        34,882          USD        9,463          10/18/2023          311,074
Deutsche Bank AG        USD        3,493          CHF        3,115          11/16/2023          (73,008 )
Goldman Sachs Bank USA        USD        1,934          EUR        1,750          10/12/2023          (83,268 )
Goldman Sachs Bank USA        USD        10,441          CHF        9,320          11/16/2023          (209,297 )
HSBC Bank USA        EUR        921          USD        1,006          10/12/2023          32,291
HSBC Bank USA        USD        1,962          EUR        1,803          10/12/2023          (54,847 )
JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA        USD        3,546          JPY        517,907          10/19/2023          (70,683 )
JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA        CAD        91,924          USD        67,922          10/27/2023          220,306
JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA        USD        1,380          CAD        1,858          10/27/2023          (11,820 )
JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA        NOK        62,568          USD        5,804          12/07/2023          (56,077 )
Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC        EUR        7,808          USD        8,426          10/12/2023          168,431
Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC        USD        22,058          EUR        20,002          10/12/2023          (902,519 )
Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC        JPY        144,130          USD        967          10/19/2023          (93 )
Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC        USD        47,401          JPY        6,798,465          10/19/2023          (1,780,490 )
Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC        USD        1,978          GBP        1,609          11/17/2023          (14,061 )
Morgan Stanley Capital Services LLC        USD        989          TWD        31,516          11/29/2023          (7,785 )
                                   

 

 

  
                                      $    (2,266,220 ) 
                                   

 

 

  

 

(a)

Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A or Regulation S of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities are considered restricted, but liquid and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration. At September 30, 2023, the aggregate market value of these securities amounted to $25,437,916 or 3.9% of net assets.

(b)

Non-income producing security.

(c)

Represents entire or partial securities out on loan.

(d)

To obtain a copy of the fund’s shareholder report, please go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov, or call AB at (800) 227-4618.

(e)

Affiliated investments.

(f)

The rate shown represents the 7-day yield as of period end.

(g)

As of September 30, 2023, the cost basis of investment securities owned was substantially identical for both book and tax purposes. Gross unrealized appreciation of investments was $89,252,219 and gross unrealized depreciation of investments was $(40,585,291), resulting in net unrealized appreciation of $48,666,928.

 

    

Please note: The sector classifications presented herein are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) which was developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International and Standard & Poor’s. The components are divided into sector, industry group, and industry sub-indices as classified by the GICS for each of the market capitalization indices in the broad market.

Currency Abbreviations:

AUD – Australian Dollar

CAD – Canadian Dollar

CHF – Swiss Franc

EUR – Euro

GBP – Great British Pound

ILS – Israeli Shekel

 

5

JPY – Japanese Yen

NOK – Norwegian Krone

SEK – Swedish Krona

SGD – Singapore Dollar

TWD – New Taiwan Dollar

USD – United States Dollar

Glossary:

REG – Registered Shares

REIT – Real Estate Investment Trust

COUNTRY BREAKDOWN1

September 30, 2023 (unaudited)

 

  16.7 %       Japan
  13.0 %       United Kingdom
  9.3 %       Canada
  8.5 %       Netherlands
  7.6 %       Switzerland
  6.0 %       France
  5.9 %       Germany
  5.6 %       United States
  3.6 %       Singapore
  3.5 %       Denmark
  2.9 %       Australia
  2.7 %       Finland
  2.6 %       Hong Kong
  10.7 %       Other
  1.4 %       Short-Term Investments

 

 

       
  100.0 %       Total Investments

 

 

       

 

1

The Fund’s country breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Fund also enters into derivative transactions, which may be used for hedging or investment purposes (see “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report for additional details). “Other” country weightings represent 2.5% or less in the following: Austria, Belgium, Israel, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Taiwan.

 

6

AB International Low Volatility Equity Portfolio

September 30, 2023 (unaudited)

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and a three-level hierarchy for fair value measurements based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability (including those valued based on their market values). Inputs may be observable or unobservable and refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Fund. Unobservable inputs reflect the Fund’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available in the circumstances. Each investment is assigned a level based upon the observability of the inputs which are significant to the overall valuation. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized below.

 

  •  

Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

  •  

Level 2 - other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

  •  

Level 3 - significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The fair value of debt instruments, such as bonds, and over-the-counter derivatives is generally based on market price quotations, recently executed market transactions (where observable) or industry recognized modeling techniques and are generally classified as Level 2. Pricing vendor inputs to Level 2 valuations may include quoted prices for similar investments in active markets, interest rate curves, coupon rates, currency rates, yield curves, option adjusted spreads, default rates, credit spreads and other unique security features in order to estimate the relevant cash flows which are then discounted to calculate fair values. If these inputs are unobservable and significant to the fair value, these investments will be classified as Level 3.

Where readily available market prices or relevant bid prices are not available for certain equity investments, such investments may be valued based on similar publicly traded investments, movements in relevant indices since last available prices or based upon underlying company fundamentals and comparable company data (such as multiples to earnings or other multiples to equity). Where an investment is valued using an observable input, such as another publicly traded security, the investment will be classified as Level 2. If management determines that an adjustment is appropriate based on restrictions on resale, illiquidity or uncertainty, and such adjustment is a significant component of the valuation, the investment will be classified as Level 3. An investment will also be classified as Level 3 where management uses company fundamentals and other significant inputs to determine the valuation.

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Fund’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of September 30, 2023:

 

Investments in Securities

    Level 1      Level 2     Level 3      Total  
Assets:           
Common Stocks:           

Financials

    $     14,645,912      $     125,021,239     $ -0-      $     139,667,151  

Industrials

      6,996,643        101,367,048       -0-        108,363,691  

Health Care

      -0-        91,514,942       -0-        91,514,942  

Information Technology

      29,933,384        53,215,475       -0-        83,148,859  

Communication Services

      7,952,967        48,283,174       -0-        56,236,141  

Consumer Staples

      16,692,221        37,922,215       -0-        54,614,436  

Consumer Discretionary

      -0-        42,632,020       -0-        42,632,020  

Energy

      -0-        33,193,461       -0-        33,193,461  

Materials

      -0-        10,806,436       -0-        10,806,436  

Real Estate

      -0-        9,072,970       -0-        9,072,970  

Utilities

      -0-        8,466,917       -0-        8,466,917  
Fixed Income Securities:           

Warrants

      -0-        -0-       0#        -0-  
Short-Term Investments:           

Investment Companies

      9,213,236        -0-       -0-        9,213,236  
  

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

     

 

 

  
Total Investments in Securities      85,434,363         561,495,897 †      -0-        646,930,260  
Other Financial Instruments*:           
Assets           
Forward Currency Exchange Contracts      -0-        1,445,390       -0-        1,445,390  
Liabilities           
Forward Currency Exchange Contracts      -0-        (3,711,610 )      -0-        (3,711,610 ) 
  

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

     

 

 

  
Total    $ 85,434,363      $ 559,229,677     $ -0-      $ 644,664,040  
  

 

 

     

 

 

    

 

 

     

 

 

  

 

7

#

The Fund held securities with zero market value at period end.

 

†

A significant portion of the Fund’s foreign equity investments are categorized as Level 2 investments since they are valued using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

 

*

Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swaps, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on the instrument. Other financial instruments may also include swaps with upfront premiums, written options and written swaptions which are valued at market value.

A summary of the Fund’s transactions in AB mutual funds for the three months ended September 30, 2023 is as follows:

 

Fund    Market Value
6/30/23
(000)		      Purchases
at Cost
(000)		      Sales
Proceeds
(000)		      Market Value
9/30/23
(000)		      Dividend
Income
(000)		  
Government Money Market Portfolio    $     16,958      $ 39,543      $     47,288      $ 9,213      $ 6  
Government Money Market Portfolio*      8,781            45,094        53,875        -0-        11  
Total                               $     9,213      $     17  

 

*

Investment of cash collateral for securities lending transactions.

 

8