Long-term Incentive Compensation Plans

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]

AB maintains several unfunded, non-qualified long-term incentive compensation plans, under which the company grants awards of restricted AB Holding Units to its employees and members of the Board of Directors, who are not employed by AB or by any of AB’s affiliates (“Eligible Directors”).

AB funds its restricted AB Holding Unit awards either by purchasing AB Holding Units on the open market or purchasing newly-issued AB Holding Units from AB Holding, and then keeping these AB Holding Units in a consolidated rabbi trust until delivering them or retiring them. In accordance with the AB Holding Partnership Agreement, when AB purchases newly-issued AB Holding Units from AB Holding, AB Holding is required to use the proceeds it receives from AB to purchase the equivalent number of newly-issued AB Units, thus increasing its percentage ownership interest in AB. AB Holding Units held in the consolidated rabbi trust are corporate assets in the name of the trust and are available to the general creditors of AB.

Repurchases of AB Holding Units for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 consisted of the following:



	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
	2020		2019		2020		2019
	(in millions)
Total amount of AB Holding Units Purchased ⁽¹⁾	1.3		—		2.2		2.0
Total Cash Paid for AB Holding Units Purchased⁽¹⁾	$	27.8	$	—	$	47.6	$	58.6
Open Market Purchases of AB Holding Units Purchased ⁽²⁾	1.3		—		2.2		1.9
Total Cash Paid for Open Market Purchases of AB Holding Units ⁽²⁾	$	27.8	$	—	$	45.1	$	55.2

^{(1) Purchased on a trade date basis.}

^{(2) The remainder related to purchases of AB Holding Units from employees to fulfill statutory tax withholding requirements at the time of delivery of long-term incentive compensation awards.}

Each quarter, AB considers whether to implement a plan to repurchase AB Holding Units pursuant to Rules 10b5-1 and 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”). A plan of this type allows a company to repurchase its shares at times when it otherwise might be prevented from doing so because of self-imposed trading blackout periods or because it possesses material non-public information. Each broker selected by AB has the authority under the terms and limitations specified in the plan to repurchase AB Holding Units on AB’s behalf in accordance with the terms and limitations specified in the plan. Repurchases are subject to regulations promulgated by the SEC as well as certain price, market volume and timing constraints specified in the plan. The plan adopted during the second quarter of 2020 expired at the close of business on July 22, 2020. AB may adopt additional plans in the future to engage in open-market purchases of AB Holding Units to help fund anticipated obligations under its incentive compensation award program and for other corporate purposes.

During the first six months of 2020 and 2019, AB granted to employees and Eligible Directors 0.2 million and 1.7 million restricted AB Holding Unit awards, respectively. AB used AB Holding Units repurchased during the applicable period and newly-issued AB Holding Units to fund these restricted AB Holding Unit awards.

During the first six months of 2020 and 2019, AB Holding issued 5,182 and 0.4 million AB Holding Units, respectively, upon exercise of options to buy AB Holding Units. AB Holding used the proceeds of $0.1 million and $9.0 million, respectively, received from award recipients as payment in cash for the exercise price to purchase the equivalent number of newly-issued AB Units.