N-CSRS 1 dncsrs.htm ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN VARIABLE PRODUCTS SERIES FUND, INC. AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-CSR

 

 

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-05398

 

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN VARIABLE PRODUCTS SERIES FUND, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

 

1345 Avenue of the Americas,

New York, New York 10105

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

 

Joseph J. Mantineo

Alliance Bernstein L.P.

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10105

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (800) 221-5672

Date of fiscal year end: December 31, 2011

Date of reporting period: June 30, 2011

 

 

 


 

ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account  Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During  Period*
     Annualized
Expense  Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,035.20       $   3.33         0.66

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,021.52       $ 3.31         0.66
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,034.10       $ 4.59         0.91

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.28       $ 4.56         0.91

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Federal National Mortgage Association

   $ 47,182,842           7.9

U.S. Treasury Bonds & Notes

     38,492,577           6.5   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     9,298,439           1.6   

Apple, Inc.

     7,767,404           1.3   

Federal Farm Credit Bank

     5,704,563           1.0   

Comcast Corp.

     5,380,757           0.9   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)

     5,158,045           0.9   

Google, Inc.—Class A

     4,997,970           0.8   

Citigroup, Inc.

     4,709,913           0.8   

Canadian Government Bond

     4,452,448           0.7   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $ 133,144,958           22.4

SECURITY TYPE BREAKDOWN**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECURITY TYPE    U.S. $ VALUE       

PERCENT OF TOTAL

INVESTMENTS

 

Common Stocks

   $ 378,074,359           63.1

Corporates—Investment Grades

     57,191,807           9.6   

Governments—Treasuries

     45,080,773           7.5   

Mortgage Pass-Thru’s

     35,363,156           5.9   

Agencies

     22,513,219           3.8   

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

     18,307,787           3.1   

Asset-Backed Securities

     15,778,704           2.6   

Corporates—Non-Investment Grades

     6,659,320           1.1   

Governments—Sovereign Agencies

     2,050,504           0.3   

Quasi-Sovereigns

     1,322,522           0.2   

Preferred Stocks

     943,419           0.2   

Governments—Sovereign Bonds

     861,755           0.1   

Local Governments—Municipal Bonds

     523,801           0.1   

Other***

     538,643           0.1   

Short-Term Investments

     13,537,481           2.3   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $ 598,747,250           100.0

 

 

 

* Long-term investments.

 

** The Portfolio’s security type breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Portfolio 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” represents less than 0.1% weightings in the following security types: CMOs and Emerging Markets—Corporate Bonds.

 

2


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–63.6%

   
   

FINANCIALS–17.2%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–1.0%

   

Blackstone Group LP

    111,475      $ 1,846,026   

Deutsche Bank AG

    7,000        413,143   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

    20,275        2,698,400   

Man Group PLC

    63,078        239,934   

Morgan Stanley

    17,500        402,675   

UBS AG(a)

    33,877        618,240   
   

 

 

 
      6,218,418   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–2.2%

   

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

    9,900        234,678   

Banco do Brasil SA

    14,600        261,942   

Bank of China Ltd.

    441,100        216,469   

Barclays PLC

    120,000        492,282   

BNP Paribas

    15,221        1,173,676   

Danske Bank A/S(a)

    12,961        239,881   

Hana Financial Group, Inc.

    6,250        219,311   

HSBC Holdings PLC

    145,000        1,437,636   

Itau Unibanco Holding SA (ADR)

    21,100        496,905   

KB Financial Group, Inc.

    4,845        230,322   

KBC Groep NV

    11,500        451,249   

Lloyds Banking Group PLC(a)

    739,400        581,046   

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

    87,600        426,904   

National Australia Bank Ltd.

    26,400        729,892   

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

    7,100        423,231   

Societe Generale SA

    18,249        1,080,816   

Standard Chartered PLC

    35,159        923,545   

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

    13,300        410,101   

Turkiye Is Bankasi–Class C

    39,700        121,855   

Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi Tao–
Class D

    61,400        138,828   

UniCredit SpA

    234,495        496,359   

Wells Fargo & Co.

    81,700        2,292,502   
   

 

 

 
      13,079,430   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER FINANCE–0.1%

   

Capital One Financial Corp.

    7,700        397,859   

Shriram Transport Finance Co., Ltd.

    25,500        352,812   
   

 

 

 
      750,671   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–2.7%

   

Bank of America Corp.

    124,500        1,364,520   

Citigroup, Inc.

    80,500        3,352,020   

IG Group Holdings PLC

    78,452        548,850   

ING Groep NV(a)

    85,300        1,051,195   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    201,617        8,254,200   

Moody’s Corp.

    21,200        813,020   

ORIX Corp.

    3,580        348,233   
   

 

 

 
      15,732,038   
   

 

 

 
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

INSURANCE–1.7%

   

ACE Ltd.

    14,000      $ 921,480   

Admiral Group PLC

    31,589        842,404   

Aegon NV(a)

    79,700        543,077   

AIA Group Ltd.(a)

    196,400        684,942   

Allianz SE

    7,300        1,017,962   

Allstate Corp. (The)

    9,500        290,035   

Aviva PLC

    73,000        513,850   

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.(a)

    7,600        588,164   

Chubb Corp.

    6,400        400,704   

MetLife, Inc.

    39,500        1,732,865   

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG

    3,700        564,823   

Prudential PLC

    32,200        371,807   

Travelers Cos., Inc. (The)

    25,900        1,512,042   
   

 

 

 
      9,984,155   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITs)–6.3%

   

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust

    272,000        452,405   

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.

    47,079        586,134   

Beni Stabili SpA

    485,853        490,567   

Big Yellow Group PLC

    115,140        568,611   

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

    35,900        690,716   

Boston Properties, Inc.

    12,937        1,373,392   

BRE Properties, Inc.

    12,750        635,970   

British Land Co. PLC

    135,439        1,324,196   

Camden Property Trust

    14,500        922,490   

Chartwell Seniors Housing Real Estate Investment Trust

    66,500        579,190   

Colonial Properties Trust

    29,700        605,880   

Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust

    14,303        326,561   

Coresite Realty Corp.

    13,961        228,960   

Dexus Property Group

    970,000        918,978   

Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

    12,200        753,716   

Douglas Emmett, Inc.

    37,426        744,403   

Duke Realty Corp.

    48,200        675,282   

Dundee Real Estate Investment Trust

    13,056        439,961   

Entertainment Properties Trust

    6,050        282,535   

Equity Residential

    11,800        708,000   

Essex Property Trust, Inc.

    5,200        703,508   

Extra Space Storage, Inc.

    34,400        733,752   

Fonciere Des Regions

    5,300        561,417   

General Growth Properties, Inc.

    5,473        91,344   

Glimcher Realty Trust

    99,500        945,250   

Goodman Group

    946,850        717,810   

Great Portland Estates PLC

    67,500        472,484   

H&R Real Estate Investment Trust

    13,984        313,768   

Health Care REIT, Inc.

    17,500        917,525   

Home Properties, Inc.

    7,032        428,108   

InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust

    87,344        614,021   

Investa Office Fund

    83,900        58,181   

Kilroy Realty Corp.

    7,596        299,966   

 

3


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Klepierre

    21,303      $ 879,571   

Land Securities Group PLC

    59,950        820,119   

LaSalle Hotel Properties

    20,100        529,434   

Link REIT (The)

    100,912        345,363   

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.

    9,650        651,086   

National Health Investors, Inc.

    6,501        288,839   

Primaris Retail Real Estate Investment Trust

    14,883        324,835   

ProLogis, Inc.

    26,843        962,053   

Public Storage

    7,650        872,177   

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (New York)(b)

    1,400        37,655   

RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (Toronto)

    13,434        361,323   

RLJ Lodging Trust(a)

    24,458        424,835   

Simon Property Group, Inc.

    25,265        2,936,551   

SL Green Realty Corp.

    1,733        143,614   

Stockland

    184,151        675,462   

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.(a)

    41,046        380,496   

Taubman Centers, Inc.

    5,200        307,840   

U-Store-It Trust

    70,800        744,816   

Unibail-Rodamco SE

    9,509        2,197,060   

Ventas, Inc.

    14,000        737,940   

Washington Real Estate Investment Trust

    9,100        295,932   

Weingarten Realty Investors

    28,538        718,016   

Westfield Group

    154,349        1,438,615   

Weyerhaeuser Co.

    10,000        218,600   
   

 

 

 
      37,457,313   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT–3.1%

   

BR Malls Participacoes SA

    60,700        694,259   

Castellum AB

    43,645        653,525   

Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd.

    38,000        558,031   

China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd.

    136,000        292,927   

Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd.

    864,000        569,152   

FirstService Corp.(a)

    5,595        193,703   

Forest City Enterprises, Inc.(a)

    15,922        297,264   

Global Logistic Properties Ltd.(a)

    189,000        317,514   

Great Eagle Holdings Ltd.

    128,000        426,542   

GSW Immobilien AG(a)

    11,234        385,282   

Hang Lung Group Ltd.

    66,000        419,079   

Hang Lung Properties Ltd.

    309,000        1,274,482   

Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd.

    128,000        912,783   

Hysan Development Co., Ltd.

    112,822        561,874   

Kerry Properties Ltd.

    176,131        852,456   

Lend Lease Group

    77,367        747,161   

Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.

    108,000        1,895,394   

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

    116,100        1,999,577   

Multiplan Empreendimentos Imobiliarios SA

    14,287        312,169   

New World Development Ltd.

    496,972        754,513   

Norwegian Property ASA

    104,260        218,051   
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Soho China Ltd.

    599,000      $ 537,264   

Sponda Oyj

    80,011        465,362   

Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd.

    5,000        111,748   

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.

    117,700        1,715,933   

Sunac China Holdings Ltd.(a)

    440,200        156,594   

Swire Pacific Ltd.

    32,500        479,332   

UOL Group Ltd.

    101,487        412,109   

Wheelock & Co., Ltd.

    67,000        270,363   
   

 

 

 
      18,484,443   
   

 

 

 

THRIFTS & MORTGAGE FINANCE–0.1%

   

Housing Development Finance Corp.

    31,000        488,754   
   

 

 

 
      102,195,222   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–9.0%

   

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–1.5%

   

Alcatel-Lucent/France (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    38,100        219,837   

Aruba Networks, Inc.(a)

    9,200        271,860   

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    54,600        852,306   

HTC Corp.

    19,000        642,413   

Juniper Networks, Inc.(a)

    10,500        330,750   

Motorola Solutions, Inc.(a)

    17,200        791,888   

Qualcomm, Inc.

    53,430        3,034,290   

Riverbed Technology, Inc.(a)

    63,800        2,525,842   
   

 

 

 
      8,669,186   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–2.7%

   

Apple, Inc.(a)

    23,140        7,767,404   

Dell, Inc.(a)

    58,800        980,196   

EMC Corp.(a)

    103,514        2,851,811   

Fujitsu Ltd.

    65,000        371,533   

Hewlett-Packard Co.

    67,600        2,460,640   

Logitech International SA(a)

    59,189        664,374   

NetApp, Inc.(a)

    15,269        805,898   

Toshiba Corp.

    74,000        390,154   
   

 

 

 
      16,292,010   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, INSTRUMENTS & COMPONENTS–0.2%

   

AU Optronics Corp.(a)

    537,310        368,441   

Corning, Inc.

    27,900        506,385   

LG Display Co., Ltd.

    6,300        175,844   
   

 

 

 
      1,050,670   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES–1.0%

   

Google, Inc.–Class A(a)

    9,870        4,997,970   

Kakaku.com, Inc.

    27        189,860   

Telecity Group PLC(a)

    104,877        932,387   
   

 

 

 
      6,120,217   
   

 

 

 

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

IT SERVICES–0.4%

   

Accenture PLC

    40,217      $ 2,429,911   

Visa, Inc.–Class A

    2,000        168,532   
   

 

 

 
      2,598,443   
   

 

 

 

OFFICE ELECTRONICS–0.1%

   

Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.

    46,500        388,390   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–1.1%

   

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.

    93,000        102,545   

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (ADR)

    50,700        285,948   

Applied Materials, Inc.

    43,500        565,935   

Broadcom Corp.–Class A(a)

    67,108        2,257,513   

Intel Corp.

    30,800        682,528   

Lam Research Corp.(a)

    12,100        535,788   

Marvell Technology Group Ltd.(a)

    59,500        878,517   

Powertech Technology, Inc.

    29,000        97,620   

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

    650        505,199   

Sumco Corp.(a)

    9,400        159,146   

Trina Solar Ltd. (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    19,000        425,980   
   

 

 

 
      6,496,719   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–2.0%

   

Aveva Group PLC

    10,210        281,068   

Citrix Systems, Inc.(a)

    37,600        3,008,000   

Intuit, Inc.(a)

    30,200        1,566,172   

Microsoft Corp.

    19,300        501,800   

Oracle Corp.

    123,500        4,064,385   

Rovi Corp.(a)

    16,038        919,940   

SAP AG

    18,300        1,109,497   

Temenos Group AG(a)

    16,545        510,288   
   

 

 

 
      11,961,150   
   

 

 

 
      53,576,785   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–8.8%

   

AUTO COMPONENTS–1.5%

   

BorgWarner, Inc.(a)

    25,700        2,076,303   

Bridgestone Corp.

    24,900        573,709   

Faurecia

    5,500        235,868   

GKN PLC

    124,100        462,679   

Johnson Controls, Inc.

    65,100        2,712,066   

Lear Corp.

    18,400        984,032   

Magna International, Inc.–Class A

    10,100        546,130   

NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.

    21,000        290,167   

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

    11,500        139,163   

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.(a)

    11,700        690,651   
   

 

 

 
      8,710,768   
   

 

 

 

AUTOMOBILES–0.7%

   

Ford Motor Co.(a)

    39,100        539,189   

General Motors Co.(a)

    40,400        1,226,544   

Mazda Motor Corp.(a)

    5,000        13,176   
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

    66,300      $ 696,761   

Renault SA

    10,700        634,835   

Toyota Motor Corp.

    20,500        844,173   
   

 

 

 
      3,954,678   
   

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTORS–0.2%

   

Inchcape PLC

    23,660        158,880   

Li & Fung Ltd.

    620,000        1,239,187   
   

 

 

 
      1,398,067   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–0.9%

   

Hyatt Hotels Corp.(a)

    13,470        549,845   

Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC

    30,100        616,171   

Kosmopolito Hotels International Ltd.(a)

    457,000        103,738   

Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd.

    119,000        276,646   

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.(a)

    7,900        297,356   

Shangri-La Asia Ltd.

    279,333        687,207   

Starbucks Corp.

    59,800        2,361,502   

Thomas Cook Group PLC

    43,000        91,892   

Whitbread PLC

    11,100        287,794   

Wyndham Worldwide Corp.

    9,700        326,405   
   

 

 

 
      5,598,556   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–0.5%

   

Fortune Brands, Inc.

    7,000        446,390   

LG Electronics, Inc.

    4,730        368,802   

NVR, Inc.(a)

    1,200        870,576   

Rossi Residencial SA

    73,300        599,307   

Sharp Corp.

    45,000        410,671   

Sony Corp.

    10,800        284,961   
   

 

 

 
      2,980,707   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–0.5%

   

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

    11,475        2,346,523   

Rakuten, Inc.

    561        580,648   
   

 

 

 
      2,927,171   
   

 

 

 

LEISURE EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS–0.0%

   

Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc.

    6,300        75,836   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–2.6%

   

CBS Corp.–Class B

    10,100        287,749   

Comcast Corp.–Class A

    180,900        4,584,006   

DIRECTV(a)

    18,300        930,006   

Gannett Co., Inc.

    23,300        333,656   

Informa PLC

    22,900        158,952   

Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (The)

    20,500        256,250   

McGraw-Hill Cos., Inc. (The)

    15,400        645,414   

News Corp.–Class A

    177,200        3,136,440   

Time Warner Cable, Inc.–Class A

    14,900        1,162,796   

Viacom, Inc.–Class B

    25,500        1,300,500   

Vivendi SA

    17,335        483,177   

Walt Disney Co. (The)

    49,332        1,925,921   
   

 

 

 
      15,204,867   
   

 

 

 

 

5


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

MULTILINE RETAIL–0.1%

   

Don Quijote Co., Ltd.

    10,600      $ 368,627   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–1.8%

   

Esprit Holdings Ltd.

    82,800        258,709   

Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.

    3,100        501,357   

Foot Locker, Inc.

    23,200        551,232   

GameStop Corp.–Class A(a)

    13,400        357,378   

Gap, Inc. (The)

    38,100        689,610   

Hennes & Mauritz AB–Class B

    41,100        1,417,174   

Inditex SA

    14,497        1,320,876   

Limited Brands, Inc.

    73,300        2,818,385   

Lowe’s Cos., Inc.

    57,300        1,335,663   

Office Depot, Inc.(a)

    83,900        354,058   

Ross Stores, Inc.

    9,000        721,080   

Yamada Denki Co., Ltd.

    5,620        457,915   
   

 

 

 
      10,783,437   
   

 

 

 

TEXTILES, APPAREL & LUXURY GOODS–0.0%

   

Cie Financiere Richemont SA

    3,400        222,812   

Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Ltd.

    9,000        28,629   
   

 

 

 
      251,441   
   

 

 

 
      52,254,155   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–7.0%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–2.1%

   

AMEC PLC

    56,968        995,434   

Ensco PLC (Sponsored ADR)

    19,800        1,055,340   

FMC Technologies, Inc.(a)

    16,100        721,119   

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

    10,500        694,260   

McDermott International, Inc.(a)

    27,300        540,813   

Nabors Industries Ltd.(a)

    38,000        936,320   

Petrofac Ltd.

    55,500        1,349,593   

Saipem SpA

    13,600        702,308   

Schlumberger Ltd.

    50,655        4,376,592   

Technip SA

    7,100        761,059   

Transocean Ltd./Switzerland

    8,200        529,392   
   

 

 

 
      12,662,230   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–4.9%

   

Afren PLC(a)

    185,500        469,945   

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

    12,100        928,796   

BP PLC

    106,600        784,895   

Chevron Corp.

    32,600        3,352,584   

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.–Class H

    146,000        148,582   

ConocoPhillips

    38,400        2,887,296   

Denbury Resources, Inc.(a)

    6,700        134,000   

Devon Energy Corp.

    28,000        2,206,680   

ENI SpA

    20,300        481,089   

EOG Resources, Inc.

    18,135        1,896,014   

Gazprom OAO (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    36,000        523,800   

Hess Corp.

    20,200        1,510,152   

JX Holdings, Inc.

    57,500        386,747   
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Lukoil OAO (London) (Sponsored ADR)

    5,000      $ 318,750   

Marathon Oil Corp.

    42,300        2,228,364   

Murphy Oil Corp.

    2,900        190,414   

Nexen, Inc. (New York)

    46,200        1,039,500   

Nexen, Inc. (Toronto)

    26,584        599,239   

Noble Energy, Inc.

    36,024        3,228,831   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

    17,500        1,820,700   

OMV AG

    6,400        279,593   

Penn West Petroleum Ltd.

    9,613        221,973   

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Sponsored ADR)

    6,700        205,556   

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (Euronext Amsterdam)–Class A

    40,704        1,445,345   

Southwestern Energy Co.(a)

    10,000        428,800   

Suncor Energy, Inc. (Toronto)

    16,500        646,690   

Tatneft (Sponsored ADR)

    2,600        112,060   

Tesoro Corp.(a)

    14,900        341,359   

Valero Energy Corp.

    9,600        245,472   
   

 

 

 
      29,063,226   
   

 

 

 
      41,725,456   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–6.1%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–1.1%

   

BAE Systems PLC

    103,000        526,913   

General Dynamics Corp.

    5,800        432,216   

Goodrich Corp.

    17,900        1,709,450   

Northrop Grumman Corp.

    31,200        2,163,720   

Precision Castparts Corp.

    4,100        675,065   

Raytheon Co.

    17,900        892,315   
   

 

 

 
      6,399,679   
   

 

 

 

AIR FREIGHT & LOGISTICS–0.6%

   

Kuehne & Nagel International AG

    1,900        288,657   

United Parcel Service, Inc.–
Class B

    42,700        3,114,111   
   

 

 

 
      3,402,768   
   

 

 

 

AIRLINES–0.1%

   

Delta Air Lines, Inc.(a)

    95,600        876,652   
   

 

 

 

BUILDING PRODUCTS–0.1%

   

Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.

    40,000        468,091   

Cie de St-Gobain

    3,000        194,454   
   

 

 

 
      662,545   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SUPPLIES–0.2%

   

Aggreko PLC

    18,000        557,685   

Serco Group PLC

    92,815        823,319   
   

 

 

 
      1,381,004   
   

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING–0.2%

   

Bouygues SA

    18,200        800,330   

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

    10,900        447,881   

Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd.

    600        143,889   
   

 

 

 
      1,392,100   
   

 

 

 

 

6


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–0.6%

   

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

    4,900      $ 225,170   

Cooper Industries PLC

    21,689        1,294,183   

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

    43,000        179,529   

Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

    40,000        464,644   

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

    7,299        633,261   

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd.

    33,400        487,160   

Vestas Wind Systems A/S(a)

    11,505        267,076   
   

 

 

 
      3,551,023   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–1.4%

   

Bidvest Group Ltd.

    10,256        228,443   

Cookson Group PLC

    17,900        193,369   

Danaher Corp.

    66,839        3,541,799   

General Electric Co.

    168,200        3,172,252   

Keppel Corp. Ltd.

    106,500        963,575   

SembCorp Industries Ltd.

    30,000        122,167   

Tyco International Ltd.

    2,800        138,404   
   

 

 

 
      8,360,009   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–1.1%

   

Fanuc Corp.

    6,500        1,086,949   

Flowserve Corp.

    18,448        2,027,251   

Ingersoll-Rand PLC

    17,600        799,216   

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd.

    45,986        175,828   

Komatsu Ltd.

    24,500        764,967   

Parker Hannifin Corp.

    5,300        475,622   

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

    21,100        1,520,255   
   

 

 

 
      6,850,088   
   

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES–0.4%

   

Capita Group PLC (The)

    123,600        1,419,590   

Experian PLC

    38,500        490,409   

Intertek Group PLC

    6,648        210,688   
   

 

 

 
      2,120,687   
   

 

 

 

ROAD & RAIL–0.1%

   

DSV A/S

    14,680        352,388   

East Japan Railway Co.

    3,400        194,721   

Firstgroup PLC

    3,033        16,611   

Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

    49,000        198,554   
   

 

 

 
      762,274   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–0.1%

   

Mitsubishi Corp.

    13,500        337,201   

Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

    7,000        121,031   
   

 

 

 
      458,232   
   

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE–0.1%

   

China Merchants Holdings International Co., Ltd.

    80,000        310,943   
   

 

 

 
      36,528,004   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–5.7%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–0.9%

   

Amgen, Inc.(a)

    16,800        980,280   
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Celgene Corp.(a)

    38,253      $ 2,307,421   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

    51,785        2,144,417   
   

 

 

 
      5,432,118   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES–0.2%

   

Cochlear Ltd.

    1,400        108,357   

Covidien PLC

    11,500        612,145   

Kinetic Concepts, Inc.(a)

    10,800        622,404   
   

 

 

 
      1,342,906   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–1.4%

   

Aetna, Inc.

    6,900        304,221   

Express Scripts, Inc.–Class A(a)

    52,100        2,812,358   

HCA Holdings, Inc.(a)

    23,365        771,045   

Health Net, Inc.(a)

    15,100        484,559   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

    34,700        1,789,826   

WellPoint, Inc.

    28,600        2,252,822   
   

 

 

 
      8,414,831   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–3.2%

   

Allergan, Inc.

    28,810        2,398,433   

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd.(a)

    17,330        215,445   

AstraZeneca PLC

    27,500        1,374,485   

AstraZeneca PLC (Sponsored ADR)

    35,500        1,777,485   

Forest Laboratories, Inc.(a)

    4,900        192,766   

GlaxoSmithKline PLC

    15,294        327,816   

Johnson & Johnson

    52,700        3,505,604   

Merck & Co., Inc.

    52,700        1,859,783   

Novartis AG

    15,834        970,420   

Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd.

    9,100        240,792   

Pfizer, Inc.

    208,500        4,295,100   

Roche Holding AG

    4,500        753,393   

Sanofi

    8,278        665,887   
   

 

 

 
      18,577,409   
   

 

 

 
      33,767,264   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–4.0%

   

CHEMICALS–2.6%

   

Agrium, Inc. (Toronto)

    2,200        193,186   

Air Water, Inc.

    14,000        168,653   

Clariant AG(a)

    18,100        346,278   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)

    123,615        4,450,140   

Huabao International Holdings Ltd.

    124,000        112,978   

Incitec Pivot Ltd.

    6,901        28,741   

Israel Chemicals Ltd.

    95,400        1,522,404   

K&S AG

    22,500        1,727,737   

Koninklijke DSM NV

    5,851        379,709   

LyondellBasell Industries NV

    19,200        739,584   

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc.

    19,000        139,204   

Monsanto Co.

    48,458        3,515,143   

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc.

    36,400        2,074,436   

Ube Industries Ltd./Japan

    41,000        123,436   
   

 

 

 
      15,521,629   
   

 

 

 

 

7


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

METALS & MINING–1.4%

   

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.

    3,800      $ 239,894   

Alcoa, Inc.

    65,800        1,043,588   

Centamin Egypt Ltd.(a)

    46,300        93,516   

Commercial Metals Co.

    8,400        120,540   

Hindalco Industries Ltd.

    48,200        195,132   

JFE Holdings, Inc.

    14,900        409,774   

KGHM Polska Miedz SA(a)

    1,500        107,733   

New Gold, Inc.(a)

    7,477        77,139   

Newcrest Mining Ltd.

    6,400        259,326   

OneSteel Ltd.

    24,700        49,326   

Rio Tinto Ltd.

    17,400        1,557,452   

Rio Tinto PLC

    19,200        1,386,350   

Tata Steel Ltd.

    23,600        324,055   

ThyssenKrupp AG

    10,800        561,143   

Vale SA (Sponsored ADR) (Local Preference Shares)

    23,100        668,976   

Vale SA (Sponsored ADR)–Class B

    7,400        236,430   

Xstrata PLC

    35,210        775,514   
   

 

 

 
      8,105,888   
   

 

 

 
      23,627,517   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–3.4%

   

BEVERAGES–0.4%

   

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV

    19,724        1,144,729   

Asahi Breweries Ltd.

    16,500        332,368   

Constellation Brands, Inc.–
Class A(a)

    42,100        876,522   

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.

    3,100        129,983   
   

 

 

 
      2,483,602   
   

 

 

 

FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING–0.8%

   

Delhaize Group SA

    4,637        347,939   

Koninklijke Ahold NV

    33,000        443,694   

Kroger Co. (The)

    58,600        1,453,280   

Olam International Ltd.

    632,454        1,405,949   

Safeway, Inc.

    6,500        151,905   

Sugi Holdings Co., Ltd.

    10,000        260,985   

Tesco PLC

    157,717        1,019,006   
   

 

 

 
      5,082,758   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–0.7%

   

Bunge Ltd.

    18,200        1,254,890   

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

    30,200        779,462   

General Mills, Inc.

    16,300        606,686   

Smithfield Foods, Inc.(a)

    14,900        325,863   

Tyson Foods, Inc.–Class A

    48,600        943,812   
   

 

 

 
      3,910,713   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS–0.6%

   

Procter & Gamble Co. (The)

    52,000        3,305,640   
   

 

 

 

TOBACCO–0.9%

   

Altria Group, Inc.

    49,600        1,309,936   

British American Tobacco PLC

    33,272        1,459,030   

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC

    25,800        858,946   

Japan Tobacco, Inc.

    421        1,625,090   
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Reynolds American, Inc.

    5,700      $ 211,185   
   

 

 

 
      5,464,187   
   

 

 

 
      20,246,900   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–1.6%

   

DIVERSIFIED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–1.2%

   

AT&T, Inc.

    127,000        3,989,070   

CenturyLink, Inc.

    31,500        1,273,545   

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.

    15,600        752,416   

Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd.

    62,600        126,676   

Telecom Italia SpA (ordinary shares)

    428,500        596,039   

Telecom Italia SpA (savings shares)

    148,800        173,110   

Telenor ASA

    18,700        306,031   
   

 

 

 
      7,216,887   
   

 

 

 

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–0.4%

   

Sprint Nextel Corp.(a)

    172,200        928,158   

Vodafone Group PLC

    398,653        1,057,085   
   

 

 

 
      1,985,243   
   

 

 

 
      9,202,130   
   

 

 

 

UTILITIES–0.8%

   

ELECTRIC UTILITIES–0.3%

   

American Electric Power Co., Inc.

    3,500        131,880   

E.ON AG

    26,826        762,513   

EDP–Energias de Portugal SA

    91,200        323,654   

NV Energy, Inc.

    45,100        692,285   

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (The)

    34,900        141,280   
   

 

 

 
      2,051,612   
   

 

 

 

GAS UTILITIES–0.1%

   

Gas Natural SDG SA

    25,900        542,481   

Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

    12,000        54,160   
   

 

 

 
      596,641   
   

 

 

 

MULTI-UTILITIES–0.4%

   

CMS Energy Corp.

    32,600        641,894   

DTE Energy Co.

    20,400        1,020,408   

TECO Energy, Inc.

    33,900        640,371   
   

 

 

 
      2,302,673   
   

 

 

 
      4,950,926   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $325,267,055)

      378,074,359   
   

 

 

 

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

CORPORATES– INVESTMENT GRADES–9.6%

     

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS–4.2%

   

   

BANKING–2.1%

     

American Express Co.
7.25%, 5/20/14

    U.S.$        310      $ 354,543   

Bank of America Corp.

     

5.625%, 7/01/20

      420        433,655   

5.875%, 1/05/21

      200        209,895   

7.375%, 5/15/14

      340        382,227   

Series L
5.65%, 5/01/18

      285        300,484   

BankAmerica Capital II
Series 2
8.00%, 12/15/26

      94        95,645   

Bear Stearns Cos. LLC (The)

     

5.55%, 1/22/17

      290        317,167   

5.70%, 11/15/14

      190        209,849   

Citigroup, Inc.

     

5.375%, 8/09/20

      232        242,107   

5.50%, 4/11/13

      230        244,185   

6.50%, 8/19/13

      260        282,765   

8.50%, 5/22/19

      475        588,836   

Compass Bank
5.50%, 4/01/20

      314        306,577   

Countrywide Financial Corp.
6.25%, 5/15/16

      92        96,952   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

     

6.00%, 6/15/20

      440        473,435   

7.50%, 2/15/19

      335        389,787   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     

4.40%, 7/22/20

      830        813,124   

4.625%, 5/10/21

      233        231,115   

M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank

     

4.85%, 6/16/15

      250        263,583   

5.00%, 1/17/17

      205        221,833   

Macquarie Group Ltd.
4.875%, 8/10/17(b)

      470        473,873   

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
6.05%, 5/16/16

      245        256,856   

Morgan Stanley

     

5.50%, 7/24/20

      1,020        1,032,435   

6.625%, 4/01/18

      345        380,050   

National Capital Trust II
5.486%, 3/23/15(b)

      91        87,094   

Nationwide Building Society
6.25%, 2/25/20(b)

      465        483,563   

North Fork Bancorporation, Inc.
5.875%, 8/15/12

      100        103,740   

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC
5.00%, 10/01/14

      205        202,342   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The)
6.125%, 1/11/21

    U.S.$        510      $ 522,808   

Santander US Debt SA Unipersonal
2.991%, 10/07/13(b)

      500        498,862   

Shinhan Bank
4.125%, 10/04/16(b)

      515        524,432   

Societe Generale SA

     

2.50%, 1/15/14(b)

      245        243,870   

5.20%, 4/15/21(b)

      250        245,514   

SouthTrust Corp.
5.80%, 6/15/14

      225        247,062   

Unicredit Luxembourg Finance SA
6.00%, 10/31/17(b)

      230        221,026   

Union Bank NA
5.95%, 5/11/16

      250        273,380   

Wachovia Corp.
5.50%, 5/01/13

      320        344,113   
     

 

 

 
        12,598,784   
     

 

 

 

BROKERAGE–0.1%

     

Jefferies Group, Inc.

     

5.125%, 4/13/18

      322        322,649   

6.875%, 4/15/21

      186        199,904   

Lazard Group LLC
6.85%, 6/15/17

      160        176,455   
     

 

 

 
        699,008   
     

 

 

 

FINANCE–0.3%

     

General Electric Capital Corp.

     

4.80%, 5/01/13

      315        334,491   

5.625%, 5/01/18

      480        524,985   

Series A
4.375%, 11/21/11

      25        25,382   

HSBC Finance Corp.
7.00%, 5/15/12

      125        131,653   

SLM Corp.
Series A
5.375%, 1/15/13-5/15/14

      650        671,636   
     

 

 

 
        1,688,147   
     

 

 

 

INSURANCE–1.4%

     

Aetna, Inc.
6.00%, 6/15/16

      140        160,351   

Aflac, Inc.
3.45%, 8/15/15

      80        81,700   

Allied World Assurance Co. Holdings Ltd.
7.50%, 8/01/16

      160        183,351   

Allstate Corp. (The)

     

6.125%, 5/15/37

      235        233,238   

7.45%, 5/16/19

      187        222,517   

Allstate Life Global Funding Trusts
5.375%, 4/30/13

      155        167,044   

 

9


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

American International Group, Inc.
6.40%, 12/15/20

    U.S.$        300      $ 322,916   

AON Corp.
3.125%, 5/27/16

      340        338,892   

Assurant, Inc.
5.625%, 2/15/14

      135        144,243   

CIGNA Corp.
5.125%, 6/15/20

      190        200,692   

Coventry Health Care, Inc.

     

5.95%, 3/15/17

      90        96,203   

6.125%, 1/15/15

      40        43,493   

6.30%, 8/15/14

      275        296,053   

Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (The)
7.25%, 7/25/21(b)

      125        125,863   

Genworth Financial, Inc.
6.515%, 5/22/18

      550        546,856   

Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
7.375%, 9/30/39(b)

      210        248,414   

Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

     

4.00%, 3/30/15

      95        97,931   

5.50%, 3/30/20

      435        448,402   

Humana, Inc.

     

6.30%, 8/01/18

      55        61,189   

6.45%, 6/01/16

      40        45,566   

7.20%, 6/15/18

      285        330,838   

Lincoln National Corp.
8.75%, 7/01/19

      98        123,666   

Markel Corp.
7.125%, 9/30/19

      230        262,665   

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
8.875%, 6/01/39(b)

      185        256,305   

MetLife, Inc.

     

4.75%, 2/08/21

      448        456,698   

7.717%, 2/15/19

      112        135,567   

10.75%, 8/01/39

      140        197,050   

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
9.375%, 8/15/39(b)

      335        415,632   

Principal Financial Group, Inc.
7.875%, 5/15/14

      495        572,702   

Prudential Financial, Inc.

     

3.00%, 5/12/16

      200        198,238   

5.15%, 1/15/13

      205        216,319   

6.20%, 1/15/15

      45        50,379   

8.875%, 6/15/38

      170        198,475   

Series D
7.375%, 6/15/19

      35        41,507   

QBE Capital Funding III Ltd.
7.25%, 5/24/41(b)

      290        290,978   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
6.00%, 2/15/18

      270        306,148   

XL Group PLC

     

5.25%, 9/15/14

      135        144,641   

6.375%, 11/15/24

      157        162,095   
     

 

 

 
        8,424,817   
     

 

 

 
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

OTHER FINANCE–0.1%

     

Aviation Capital Group Corp.
7.125%, 10/15/20(b)

  U.S.$          173      $ 175,972   

ORIX Corp.
4.71%, 4/27/15

      458        473,824   
     

 

 

 
        649,796   
     

 

 

 

REITS–0.2%

     

ERP Operating LP
5.25%, 9/15/14

      105        115,019   

HCP, Inc.

     

5.375%, 2/01/21

      130        134,086   

5.95%, 9/15/11

      340        343,305   

Healthcare Realty Trust, Inc.
5.125%, 4/01/14

      131        139,628   

Nationwide Health Properties, Inc.
6.50%, 7/15/11

      180        180,248   
     

 

 

 
        912,286   
     

 

 

 
        24,972,838   
     

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL–4.1%

     

BASIC–0.7%

     

Alcoa, Inc.
6.75%, 7/15/18

      145        160,359   

Anglo American Capital PLC
9.375%, 4/08/19(b)

      350        460,408   

AngloGold Ashanti Holdings PLC
5.375%, 4/15/20

      290        285,537   

ArcelorMittal
6.125%, 6/01/18

      535        573,027   

Arcelormittal USA, Inc.
6.50%, 4/15/14

      105        116,437   

BHP Billiton Finance USA Ltd.
7.25%, 3/01/16

      203        245,722   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)
8.55%, 5/15/19

      549        707,905   

Georgia-Pacific LLC
5.40%, 11/01/20(b)

      74        75,416   

International Paper Co.

     

5.30%, 4/01/15

      219        239,503   

7.50%, 8/15/21

      150        175,327   

7.95%, 6/15/18

      190        226,232   

Packaging Corp. of America
5.75%, 8/01/13

      30        32,051   

PPG Industries, Inc
5.75%, 3/15/13

      250        268,549   

Rio Tinto Finance USA Ltd.
6.50%, 7/15/18

      345        402,928   

Teck Resources Ltd.
6.00%, 8/15/40

      30        29,435   

Vale Canada Ltd.
7.75%, 5/15/12

      80        84,451   
     

 

 

 
        4,083,287   
     

 

 

 

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

CAPITAL GOODS–0.1%

     

Holcim US Finance Sarl & Cie SCS 6.00%, 12/30/19(b)

    U.S.$        40      $ 42,743   

Lafarge SA
6.15%, 7/15/11

      172        172,232   

Owens Corning
6.50%, 12/01/16

      178        193,679   

Republic Services, Inc.
3.80%, 5/15/18

      17        17,073   

5.25%, 11/15/21

      165        174,335   

5.50%, 9/15/19

      233        253,998   
     

 

 

 
        854,060   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–MEDIA–0.8%

  

 

CBS Corp.
8.875%, 5/15/19

      330        420,671   

Comcast Cable Communications Holdings, Inc.
9.455%, 11/15/22

      180        250,405   

Comcast Corp.
5.15%, 3/01/20

      740        796,751   

DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.
4.60%, 2/15/21

      255        256,209   

4.75%, 10/01/14

      155        169,667   

News America, Inc.
6.15%, 3/01/37

      222        224,882   

6.55%, 3/15/33

      250        267,195   

9.25%, 2/01/13

      144        161,926   

Reed Elsevier Capital, Inc.
8.625%, 1/15/19

      435        552,991   

Time Warner Cable, Inc.
5.00%, 2/01/20

      322        334,540   

7.50%, 4/01/14

      145        167,048   

Time Warner Entertainment Co. LP
8.375%, 3/15/23

      311        394,829   

WPP Finance UK
5.875%, 6/15/14

      150        164,762   

8.00%, 9/15/14

      350        410,564   
     

 

 

 
        4,572,440   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–
TELECOMMUNICATIONS–0.5%

   

American Tower Corp.
5.05%, 9/01/20

      380        374,289   

AT&T Corp.
8.00%, 11/15/31

      15        19,849   

AT&T, Inc.
4.45%, 5/15/21

      251        255,435   

BellSouth Corp.
5.20%, 9/15/14

      94        103,560   

British Telecommunications PLC
5.15%, 1/15/13

      720        763,355   

Embarq Corp.
7.082%, 6/01/16

      261        290,133   

Qwest Communications International, Inc.
7.50%, 2/15/14

      25        25,375   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Qwest Corp.
7.50%, 10/01/14

    U.S.$        295      $ 330,769   

Telecom Italia Capital SA
6.00%, 9/30/34

      65        55,163   

6.175%, 6/18/14

      305        328,204   

6.375%, 11/15/33

      60        53,505   

7.175%, 6/18/19

      170        187,695   

United States Cellular Corp.
6.70%, 12/15/33

      250        248,866   

Vodafone Group PLC
7.875%, 2/15/30

      100        128,556   
     

 

 

 
        3,164,754   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
AUTOMOTIVE–0.1%

   

Daimler Finance North America LLC
5.75%, 9/08/11

      135        136,226   

7.30%, 1/15/12

      166        171,778   

Harley-Davidson Funding Corp.
5.75%, 12/15/14(b)

      341        372,725   
     

 

 

 
        680,729   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
ENTERTAINMENT–0.2%

   

Time Warner, Inc.
4.70%, 1/15/21

      123        124,621   

7.625%, 4/15/31

      345        413,923   

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.
8.375%, 7/01/13

      225        255,372   

Viacom, Inc.
5.625%, 9/15/19

      553        613,658   
     

 

 

 
        1,407,574   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
OTHER–0.1%

   

Marriott International, Inc.
Series J
5.625%, 2/15/13

      216        230,373   

MDC Holdings, Inc.
5.50%, 5/15/13

      140        147,332   
     

 

 

 
        377,705   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
RETAILERS–0.1%

   

CVS Caremark Corp.
6.125%, 8/15/16

      100        114,640   

6.60%, 3/15/19

      195        226,337   
     

 

 

 
        340,977   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER NON-CYCLICAL–0.5%

  

Ahold Finance USA LLC
6.875%, 5/01/29

      420        474,427   

Altria Group, Inc.
9.70%, 11/10/18

      210        275,965   

Bunge Ltd. Finance Corp.
5.10%, 7/15/15

      69        74,192   

5.875%, 5/15/13

      180        191,788   

8.50%, 6/15/19

      153        186,526   

Cadbury Schweppes US Finance LLC
5.125%, 10/01/13(b)

      260        281,640   

 

11


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Delhaize Group SA
5.875%, 2/01/14

  U.S.$          105      $ 115,184   

Diageo Capital PLC
7.375%, 1/15/14

      265        304,431   

Fortune Brands, Inc.
3.00%, 6/01/12

      280        283,926   

4.875%, 12/01/13

      201        213,706   

Kroger Co. (The)
6.80%, 12/15/18

      79        93,908   

Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.
5.50%, 4/15/13

      175        187,316   

Reynolds American, Inc.
7.25%, 6/01/13

      150        165,832   

7.625%, 6/01/16

      250        299,855   

Whirlpool Corp.
8.60%, 5/01/14

      45        52,439   
     

 

 

 
        3,201,135   
     

 

 

 

ENERGY–0.5%

  

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
5.95%, 9/15/16

      222        249,880   

6.45%, 9/15/36

      109        113,736   

Baker Hughes, Inc.
6.50%, 11/15/13

      150        168,660   

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
5.15%, 2/01/13

      100        106,454   

ConocoPhillips Holding Co.
6.95%, 4/15/29

      66        80,162   

Hess Corp.
7.875%, 10/01/29

      80        100,448   

8.125%, 2/15/19

      100        126,530   

Marathon Petroleum Corp.
3.50%, 3/01/16(b)

      67        68,682   

5.125%, 3/01/21(b)

      113        116,169   

Nabors Industries, Inc.
9.25%, 1/15/19

      315        399,276   

Noble Energy, Inc.
8.25%, 3/01/19

      303        387,426   

Noble Holding International Ltd.
4.90%, 8/01/20

      36        37,420   

Valero Energy Corp.
4.75%, 6/15/13

      80        85,064   

6.125%, 2/01/20

      125        137,367   

6.875%, 4/15/12

      290        303,263   

Weatherford International Ltd./Bermuda
5.15%, 3/15/13

      125        132,073   

9.625%, 3/01/19

      285        368,061   

Williams Cos., Inc. (The)
7.875%, 9/01/21

      159        197,073   
     

 

 

 
        3,177,744   
     

 

 

 

OTHER INDUSTRIAL–0.1%

  

Noble Group Ltd.
6.75%, 1/29/20(b)

      445        467,250   
     

 

 

 

SERVICES–0.0%

     

Western Union Co. (The)
5.93%, 10/01/16

      90        101,766   
     

 

 

 
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

TECHNOLOGY–0.1%

     

Agilent Technologies, Inc.
5.00%, 7/15/20

  U.S.$          71      $ 74,527   

Computer Sciences Corp.
5.50%, 3/15/13

      180        191,214   

Motorola Solutions, Inc.
7.50%, 5/15/25

      35        40,947   

Xerox Corp.
8.25%, 5/15/14

      280        328,542   
     

 

 

 
        635,230   
     

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION–
AIRLINES–0.1%

   

Southwest Airlines Co.
5.25%, 10/01/14

      307        332,192   

5.75%, 12/15/16

      155        171,195   
     

 

 

 
        503,387   
     

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION–
RAILROADS–0.0%

   

Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
6.50%, 5/15/18

      58        67,267   

CSX Corp.
5.50%, 8/01/13

      35        37,964   
     

 

 

 
        105,231   
     

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION–
SERVICES–0.2%

   

Asciano Finance Ltd.
3.125%, 9/23/15(b)

      470        463,733   

Con-way, Inc.
6.70%, 5/01/34

      300        285,978   

Ryder System, Inc.
5.85%, 11/01/16

      127        142,975   

7.20%, 9/01/15

      127        148,714   
     

 

 

 
        1,041,400   
     

 

 

 
        24,714,669   
     

 

 

 

UTILITY–0.8%

  

ELECTRIC–0.5%

     

Allegheny Energy Supply Co. LLC
5.75%, 10/15/19(b)

      300        313,868   

Ameren Corp.
8.875%, 5/15/14

      240        278,046   

Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
5.15%, 12/01/20

      385        394,555   

FirstEnergy Corp.

     

Series B
6.45%, 11/15/11

      13        13,243   

Series C
7.375%, 11/15/31

      275        313,124   

NextEra Energy Capital Holdings, Inc.
6.35%, 10/01/66

      55        54,588   

6.65%, 6/15/67

      170        170,000   

Nisource Finance Corp.
6.80%, 1/15/19

      502        582,613   

Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
6.05%, 3/01/34

      38        40,181   

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

SPI Electricity & Gas Australia Holdings Pty Ltd.
6.15%, 11/15/13(b)

  U.S.$          348      $ 376,528   

TECO Finance, Inc.
4.00%, 3/15/16

      100        104,713   

5.15%, 3/15/20

      125        132,555   

Union Electric Co.
6.70%, 2/01/19

      45        52,841   
     

 

 

 
        2,826,855   
     

 

 

 

NATURAL GAS–0.3%

     

DCP Midstream LLC
5.35%, 3/15/20(b)

      137        145,211   

Energy Transfer Partners LP
6.70%, 7/01/18

      127        143,119   

7.50%, 7/01/38

      410        464,187   

EQT Corp.
8.125%, 6/01/19

      234        286,243   

TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.
6.35%, 5/15/67

      120        120,632   

Williams Partners LP
5.25%, 3/15/20

      298        313,736   
     

 

 

 
        1,473,128   
     

 

 

 

OTHER UTILITY–0.0%

  

Veolia Environnement SA
6.00%, 6/01/18

      210        237,013   
     

 

 

 
        4,536,996   
     

 

 

 

NON CORPORATE
SECTORS–0.5%

   

AGENCIES–NOT GOVERNMENT
GUARANTEED–0.5%

   

AK Transneft OJSC Via TransCapitalInvest Ltd.
8.70%, 8/07/18(b)

      470        574,575   

Ecopetrol SA
7.625%, 7/23/19

      125        149,688   

Gazprom OAO Via Gaz Capital SA
6.212%, 11/22/16(b)

      920        992,450   

MDC-GMTN BV
3.75%, 4/20/16(b)

      520        525,198   

Petrobras International Finance Co.–Pifco
5.75%, 1/20/20

      680        725,393   
     

 

 

 
        2,967,304   
     

 

 

 

Total Corporates–Investment
Grades
(cost $53,173,556)

    

      57,191,807   
     

 

 

 

GOVERNMENTS–TREASURIES–7.6%

  

UNITED STATES–6.5%

     

U.S. Treasury Bonds
4.50%, 2/15/36

      2,485        2,568,094   

4.625%, 2/15/40

      5,380        5,609,489   

5.375%, 2/15/31

      2,650        3,105,882   

U.S. Treasury Notes
2.125%, 2/29/16

      7,735        7,918,706   

2.625%, 4/30/16-11/15/20

      8,915        9,044,732   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

3.625%, 2/15/20

  U.S.$          9,685      $ 10,245,674   
     

 

 

 
        38,492,577   
     

 

 

 

CANADA–0.7%

  

Canadian Government Bond
2.00%, 6/01/16

  CAD          4,360        4,452,448   
     

 

 

 

MEXICO–0.4%

     

Mexican Bonos
Series M 10 7.25%, 12/15/16

  MXN          23,935        2,135,748   
     

 

 

 

Total Governments–Treasuries
(cost $44,716,923)

        45,080,773   
     

 

 

 

MORTGAGE PASS-
THRU’S–6.0%

   

AGENCY FIXED RATE 30-YEAR–4.3%

  

 

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Gold

     

Series 2005
5.50%, 1/01/35

  U.S.$          1,157        1,256,105   

Series 2007
5.50%, 7/01/35

      119        129,210   

Federal National Mortgage Association
4.00%, 1/01/41

      1,673        1,675,603   

4.50%, 8/01/40

      1,360        1,408,961   

5.50%, 1/01/35-6/01/38

      3,635        3,941,626   

6.00%, 8/01/37-2/01/40

      4,653        5,113,953   

Series 2003
5.00%, 11/01/33

      354        377,456   

Series 2004
5.50%, 2/01/34-11/01/34

      480        521,605   

6.00%, 9/01/34-11/01/34

      417        462,022   

Series 2005
4.50%, 8/01/35

      381        397,186   

Series 2006
5.00%, 2/01/36

      1,280        1,364,640   

6.00%, 3/01/36

      168        185,648   

Series 2007
4.50%, 9/01/35

      311        324,865   

5.00%, 11/01/35-7/01/36

      383        408,142   

5.50%, 1/01/37-8/01/37

      1,807        1,964,019   

Series 2008
5.50%, 8/01/37

      841        913,296   

6.00%, 3/01/37-5/01/38

      3,858        4,249,405   

Series 2010
6.00%, 4/01/40

      822        903,773   
     

 

 

 
        25,597,515   
     

 

 

 

AGENCY FIXED RATE
15-YEAR–1.5%

   

Federal National Mortgage Association
4.50%, TBA1/01/00

      7,990        8,470,648   
     

 

 

 

AGENCY ARMS–0.2%

     

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
Series 2008
4.897%, 11/01/37(c)

      119        125,629   

Federal National Mortgage Association
3.71%, 8/01/37(d)

      533        564,825   

 

13


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Series 2006
2.205%, 3/01/36(c)

  U.S.$          101      $ 104,759   

2.308%, 2/01/36(c)

      164        171,165   

5.767%, 11/01/36(d)

      28        29,468   

Series 2007
2.462%, 3/01/34(c)

      286        299,147   
     

 

 

 
        1,294,993   
     

 

 

 

Total Mortgage Pass-Thru’s
(cost $34,351,258)

        35,363,156   
     

 

 

 

AGENCIES–3.8%

     

AGENCY DEBENTURES–3.8%

  

Federal Farm Credit Bank
0.20%, 11/13/12(d)

      900        900,381   

0.21%, 10/12/12(d)

      1,200        1,200,733   

0.216%, 9/20/12(d)

      1,100        1,100,856   

0.246%, 6/26/13(d)

      2,500        2,502,593   

Federal National Mortgage Association
0.206%, 11/23/12(d)

      7,745        7,745,001   

0.215%, 9/17/12(d)

      1,310        1,311,015   

0.216%, 10/18/12(d)

      500        500,000   

6.25%, 5/15/29

      740        898,433   

6.625%, 11/15/30

      2,277        2,876,181   

Residual Funding Corp. Principal Strip Zero Coupon,
7/15/20

      4,770        3,478,026   
     

 

 

 

Total Agencies
(cost $22,256,232)

        22,513,219   
     

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL
MORTGAGE-BACKED
SECURITIES–3.1%

    

NON-AGENCY FIXED RATE CMBS–3.0%

  

Banc of America Commercial Mortgage, Inc. Series 2006-5, Class A4
5.414%, 9/10/47

      355        379,377   

Bear Stearns Commercial Mortgage Securities

     

Series 2006-PW12, Class A4
5.903%, 9/11/38

      250        275,310   

Series 2007-PW18, Class A4
5.70%, 6/11/50

      280        304,344   

Citigroup Commercial Mortgage Trust

     

Series 2004-C1, Class A4 5.541%, 4/15/40

      110        118,687   

Series 2008-C7, Class A4 5.823%, 12/10/49

      440        487,182   

Commercial Mortgage Pass Through Certificates

     

Series 2006-C8, Class A4 5.306%, 12/10/46

      130        139,211   

Series 2007-C9, Class A4
6.008%, 12/10/49

      650        713,947   

Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp.

     

Series 2004-C1, Class A4
4.75%, 1/15/37

      70        73,889   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Series 2005-C1, Class A4 5.014%, 2/15/38

  U.S.$          260      $ 278,979   

Credit Suisse Mortgage Capital Certificates

     

Series 2006-C3, Class A3 6.014%, 6/15/38

      620        681,326   

Series 2006-C4, Class A3 5.467%, 9/15/39

      235        253,438   

Series 2006-C5, Class A3 5.311%, 12/15/39

      345        369,504   

Greenwich Capital Commercial Funding Corp.

     

Series 2005-GG3, Class A4 4.799%, 8/10/42

      85        90,808   

Series 2005-GG5, Class AJ 5.461%, 4/10/37

      215        171,445   

Series 2007-GG11, Class A4 5.736%, 12/10/49

      695        745,770   

Series 2007-GG9, Class A2 5.381%, 3/10/39

      323        328,680   

Series 2007-GG9, Class A4 5.444%, 3/10/39

      410        439,805   

GS Mortgage Securities Corp. II Series 2004-GG2, Class A6 5.396%, 8/10/38

      80        86,531   

JP Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp.

     

Series 2005-CB11, Class A4 5.335%, 8/12/37

      170        185,078   

Series 2006-CB14, Class A4 5.481%, 12/12/44

      315        341,278   

Series 2006-CB15, Class A4 5.814%, 6/12/43

      595        652,253   

Series 2006-CB16, Class A4 5.552%, 5/12/45

      335        364,821   

Series 2006-CB17, Class A4 5.429%, 12/12/43

      350        377,717   

Series 2007-CB18, Class A4 5.44%, 6/12/47

      445        475,598   

Series 2007-LD11, Class A4 6.005%, 6/15/49

      964        1,039,709   

Series 2007-LDPX, Class A3 5.42%, 1/15/49

      475        509,295   

LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust

     

Series 2004-C4, Class A4 5.499%, 6/15/29

      40        43,079   

Series 2006-C1, Class A4 5.156%, 2/15/31

      1,095        1,184,752   

Series 2006-C3, Class A4 5.661%, 3/15/39

      285        311,779   

Series 2006-C4, Class A4 6.067%, 6/15/38

      275        303,820   

Series 2006-C6, Class A4 5.372%, 9/15/39

      660        717,858   

Series 2006-C7, Class A3 5.347%, 11/15/38

      195        209,915   

 

14


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Merrill Lynch/Countrywide Commercial Mortgage Trust

     

Series 2006-2, Class A4
6.097%, 6/12/46

  U.S.$          110      $ 121,458   

Series 2006-3, Class A4
5.414%, 7/12/46

      480        517,187   

Series 2006-4, Class AM

     

5.204%, 12/12/49

      265        254,021   

Series 2007-9, Class A4

     

5.70%, 9/12/49

      440        473,826   

Morgan Stanley Capital I

     

Series 2006-IQ12, Class A4 5.332%, 12/15/43

      780        842,691   

Series 2007-IQ13, Class A4 5.364%, 3/15/44

      90        95,495   

Series 2007-T27, Class A4 5.789%, 6/11/42

      210        232,489   

Series 2011-C2, Class A2
3.476%, 6/15/44(b)

      425        426,338   

Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust

     

Series 2006-C27, Class A3 5.765%, 7/15/45

      630        690,323   

Series 2007-C31, Class A4 5.509%, 4/15/47

      190        199,711   

Series 2007-C32, Class A3 5.932%, 6/15/49

      625        672,572   

WF-RBS Commercial Mortgage Trust
Series 2011-C3, Class A2
3.24%, 3/15/44(b)

      428        426,211   
     

 

 

 
        17,607,507   
     

 

 

 

AGENCY CMBS–0.1%

  

FHLMC Multifamily Structured Pass Through Certificates Series K008, Class A2
3.531%, 6/25/20

      634        626,126   
     

 

 

 

NON-AGENCY FLOATING
RATE CMBS–0.0%

   

GS Mortgage Securities Corp. II Series 2007-EOP, Class E
2.669%, 3/06/20(b)(d)

      75        74,154   
     

 

 

 

Total Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities
(cost $16,785,528)

        18,307,787   
     

 

 

 

ASSET-BACKED
SECURITIES–2.7%

   

AUTOS–FIXED RATE–1.5%

     

Ally Auto Receivables Trust

     

Series 2011-2, Class A2
0.67%, 10/15/13

      560        560,177   

Series 2011-1, Class A3
1.38%, 1/15/15

      677        681,496   

AmeriCredit Automobile Receivables Trust
Series 2011-3, Class A2
0.84%, 11/10/14

      765        764,559   

BMW Vehicle Lease Trust
Series 2011-1, Class A2
0.64%, 4/22/13

      850        850,558   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

CarMax Auto Owner Trust Series 2011-1, Class A3
1.29%, 9/15/15

  U.S.$          666      $ 669,728   

Ford Credit Auto Lease Trust Series 2011-A, Class A2 1.00%, 9/15/13

      790        789,938   

Mercedes-Benz Auto Lease Trust
Series 2011-1A, Class A2
0.79%, 4/15/13(b)

      1,030        1,030,976   

MMCA Automobile Trust
Series 2011-A, Class A2
0.75%, 10/15/13(b)

      620        620,410   

Porsche Financial Auto Securitization Trust
Series 2011-1, Class A3
0.84%, 1/16/15(b)

      480        479,312   

Volkswagen Auto Loan Enhanced Trust
Series 2011-1, Class A3
1.22%, 6/22/15

      1,040        1,045,635   

World Omni Automobile Lease Securitization Trust
Series 2011-A, Class A2
0.81%, 10/15/13

      990        990,323   
     

 

 

 
        8,483,112   
     

 

 

 

CREDIT CARDS–FLOATING
RATE–0.5%

   

Discover Card Master Trust

     

Series 2009-A1, Class A1
1.487%, 12/15/14(d)

      190        192,163   

Series 2009-A2, Class A
1.487%, 2/17/15(d)

      200        202,023   

Series 2010-A1, Class A1 0.837%, 9/15/15(d)

      184        185,612   

GE Capital Credit Card Master Note Trust

     

Series 2011-1, Class A
0.737%, 1/15/17(d)

      425        427,290   

Series 2011-2, Class A
0.666%, 5/15/19(d)

      715        715,000   

MBNA Credit Card Master Note Trust
Series 2006-A2, Class A2
0.247%, 6/15/15(d)

      170        169,829   

Penarth Master Issuer PLC Series 2010-2A, Class A2
0.936%, 12/18/14(b)(d)

      1,160        1,158,639   
     

 

 

 
        3,050,556   
     

 

 

 

AUTOS–FLOATING RATE–0.4%

  

Ford Credit Floorplan Master Owner Trust
Series 2009-2, Class A
1.737%, 9/15/14(d)

      1,095        1,109,513   

GE Dealer Floorplan Master Note Trust
Series 2009-2A, Class A
1.737%, 10/20/14(b)(d)

      794        803,187   

 

15


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Hyundai Floorplan Master Owner Trust
Series 2009-1A, Class A
1.437%, 11/17/14(b)(d)

  U.S.$          595      $ 599,372   
     

 

 

 
        2,512,072   
     

 

 

 

OTHER ABS–FIXED RATE–0.2%

  

CNH Equipment Trust
Series 2010-C, Class A3
1.17%, 5/15/15

      411        412,675   

John Deere Owner Trust
Series 2011-A, Class A2
0.64%, 6/16/14

      615        615,296   
     

 

 

 
        1,027,971   
     

 

 

 

HOME EQUITY LOANS–
FLOATING RATE–0.1%

   

Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities Trust
Series 2007-HE3, Class M1
0.636%, 4/25/37(d)(e)

      100        2,318   

Home Equity Asset Trust
Series 2007-3, Class M1
0.536%, 8/25/37(d)(e)

      72        432   

HSBC Home Equity Loan Trust Series 2007-1, Class M1
0.566%, 3/20/36(d)

      365        253,015   

Indymac Residential Asset Backed Trust
Series 2006-D, Class 2A2
0.296%, 11/25/36(d)

      160        113,029   

Option One Mortgage Loan Trust Series 2007-2, Class M1
0.546%, 3/25/37(d)(e)

      125        954   

Residential Asset Securities Corp. Series 2003-KS3, Class A2
0.786%, 5/25/33(d)(e)

      1        964   

Soundview Home Equity Loan Trust
Series 2007-OPT2, Class 2A2
0.316%, 7/25/37(d)

      300        204,731   
     

 

 

 
        575,443   
     

 

 

 

HOME EQUITY LOANS–FIXED
RATE–0.0%

   

Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC
Series 2003-CB1, Class AF
3.95%, 1/25/33

      151        129,550   
     

 

 

 

Total Asset-Backed Securities
(cost $16,312,504)

        15,778,704   
     

 

 

 

CORPORATES–
NON-INVESTMENT
GRADES–1.1%

    

INDUSTRIAL–0.9%

  

BASIC–0.2%

  

Lyondell Chemical Co.
8.00%, 11/01/17(b)

      161        179,113   

Nalco Co.
6.625%, 1/15/19(b)

      195        199,875   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

United States Steel Corp.
5.65%, 6/01/13

  U.S.$          426      $ 444,105   

6.05%, 6/01/17

      10        9,925   

Westvaco Corp.
8.20%, 1/15/30

      15        16,248   

Weyerhaeuser Co.
7.375%, 3/15/32

      110        114,469   
     

 

 

 
        963,735   
     

 

 

 

CAPITAL GOODS–0.2%

  

Building Materials Corp. of America
6.75%, 5/01/21(b)

      53        53,265   

Case New Holland, Inc.
7.875%, 12/01/17(b)

      146        160,600   

Griffon Corp.
7.125%, 4/01/18(b)

      190        190,713   

Hanson Australia Funding Ltd.
5.25%, 3/15/13

      120        124,800   

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. 6.875%, 3/15/18(b)

      48        49,200   

7.125%, 3/15/21(b)

      49        50,715   

Mohawk Industries, Inc.
6.875%, 1/15/16

      245        266,437   

Textron Financial Corp.
5.40%, 4/28/13

      53        56,168   
     

 

 

 
        951,898   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–
MEDIA–0.1%

   

EH Holding Corp.
6.50%, 6/15/19(b)

      135        137,363   

RR Donnelley & Sons Co.
4.95%, 4/01/14

      25        25,420   

5.50%, 5/15/15

      120        121,500   

11.75%, 2/01/19

      190        236,925   
     

 

 

 
        521,208   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–
TELECOMMUNICATIONS–0.0%

   

eAccess Ltd.
8.25%, 4/01/18(b)

      105        105,919   

Windstream Corp.
7.875%, 11/01/17

      120        127,350   
     

 

 

 
        233,269   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
AUTOMOTIVE–0.1%

   

Delphi Corp.
5.875%, 5/15/19(b)

      44        43,120   

6.125%, 5/15/21(b)

      73        72,087   

Ford Motor Co.
7.45%, 7/16/31

      190        215,391   

Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC 5.75%, 2/01/21

      205        204,748   
     

 

 

 
        535,346   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
OTHER–0.0%

   

Toll Brothers Finance Corp. 6.875%, 11/15/12

      11        11,685   

 

16


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Wyndham Worldwide Corp.
6.00%, 12/01/16

  U.S.$          70      $ 74,338   
     

 

 

 
        86,023   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
RETAILERS–0.1%

   

JC Penney Co., Inc.
5.65%, 6/01/20

      385        381,150   

Limited Brands, Inc.
6.625%, 4/01/21

      185        189,163   

6.90%, 7/15/17

      25        26,781   
     

 

 

 
        597,094   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER
NON-CYCLICAL–0.1%

   

Fresenius Medical Care US Finance, Inc.
5.75%, 2/15/21(b)

      205        200,900   

HCA, Inc.
7.875%, 2/15/20

      115        124,775   

8.50%, 4/15/19

      35        38,675   

Universal Health Services, Inc. 7.125%, 6/30/16

      320        350,152   
     

 

 

 
        714,502   
     

 

 

 

ENERGY–0.1%

  

Chesapeake Energy Corp.
6.125%, 2/15/21

      203        205,537   

Oil States International, Inc.
6.50%, 6/01/19(b)

      143        143,715   

Range Resources Corp.
5.75%, 6/01/21

      155        152,288   

Tesoro Corp.
6.50%, 6/01/17

      185        188,700   
     

 

 

 
        690,240   
     

 

 

 
        5,293,315   
     

 

 

 

FINANCIAL
INSTITUTIONS–0.1%

   

BANKING–0.0%

     

ABN Amro Bank NV
4.31%, 3/10/16

  EUR          90        105,390   

LBG Capital No.1 PLC
8.00%, 6/15/20(b)

  U.S.$          235        210,325   
     

 

 

 
        315,715   
     

 

 

 

BROKERAGE–0.0%

  

Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. 5.00%, 1/14/11(f)

      80        20,900   

6.20%, 9/26/14(f)

      33        8,786   

7.875%, 11/01/09-8/15/10(f)

      370        96,662   

Series G
4.80%, 3/13/14(f)

      42        10,973   
     

 

 

 
        137,321   
     

 

 

 

FINANCE–0.0%

  

International Lease Finance Corp.
5.65%, 6/01/14

      28        28,000   
     

 

 

 

INSURANCE–0.1%

     

ING Capital Funding Trust III Series 9
3.846%, 9/30/11(d)

      200        188,875   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

XL Group PLC
Series E
6.50%, 4/15/17

  U.S.$          245      $ 224,788   
     

 

 

 
        413,663   
     

 

 

 
        894,699   
     

 

 

 

UTILITY–0.1%

  

ELECTRIC–0.1%

     

AES Corp. (The)
7.75%, 3/01/14-10/15/15

      160        172,050   

CMS Energy Corp.
8.75%, 6/15/19

      165        201,406   

GenOn Energy, Inc.
7.625%, 6/15/14

      95        97,850   
     

 

 

 
        471,306   
     

 

 

 

Total Corporates–Non-Investment Grades
(cost $6,486,353)

        6,659,320   
     

 

 

 

GOVERNMENTS–
SOVEREIGN
AGENCIES–0.3%

    

UNITED KINGDOM–0.3%

     

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The)
1.45%, 10/20/11(b)

      1,338        1,342,379   

2.625%, 5/11/12(b)

      695        708,125   
     

 

 

 

Total Governments–Sovereign Agencies
(cost $2,032,817)

        2,050,504   
     

 

 

 

QUASI-SOVEREIGNS–0.2%

  

RUSSIA–0.1%

     

Russian Agricultural Bank OJSC Via RSHB Capital SA
7.75%, 5/29/18(b)

      486        552,825   
     

 

 

 

MALAYSIA–0.1%

     

Petronas Capital Ltd.
5.25%, 8/12/19(b)

      460        493,246   
     

 

 

 

KAZAKHSTAN–0.0%

     

KazMunayGas National Co.
7.00%, 5/05/20(b)

      251        276,451   
     

 

 

 

Total Quasi-Sovereigns
(cost $1,196,254)

        1,322,522   
     

 

 

 
          Shares        

PREFERRED STOCKS–0.2%

  

UTILITY–0.1%

     

OTHER UTILITY–0.1%

     

DTE Energy Trust I
7.80%

      20,000        536,200   
     

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL–0.1%

     

COMMUNICATIONS–
TELECOMMUNICATIONS–0.1%

   

Centaur Funding Corp.
9.08%(b)

      200        227,625   
     

 

 

 

 

17


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
     

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS–0.0%

  

FINANCE–0.0%

  

Citigroup Capital XII
8.50%

  U.S.$          7,000      $ 179,594   
     

 

 

 

Total Preferred Stocks
(cost $907,616)

        943,419   
     

 

 

 
          Principal
Amount
(000)
       

GOVERNMENTS–SOVEREIGN
BONDS–0.1%

   

HUNGARY–0.1%

     

Hungary Government International Bond
6.375%, 3/29/21

      520        545,740   
     

 

 

 

RUSSIA–0.0%

     

Russian Foreign Bond–Eurobond
7.50%, 3/31/30(b)

      268        316,015   
     

 

 

 

Total Governments–Sovereign Bonds
(cost $814,197)

        861,755   
     

 

 

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS–
MUNICIPAL BONDS–0.1%

   

UNITED STATES–0.1%

     

California GO
7.625%, 3/01/40
(cost $464,552)

      455        523,801   
     

 

 

 

CMOs–0.1%

  

NON-AGENCY FIXED RATE–0.1%

  

Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust

     

Series 2006-1, Class 22A1 2.708%, 2/25/36

      149        105,805   

Series 2007-1, Class 21A1 5.168%, 1/25/47

      50        28,680   

Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, Inc.
Series 2005-2, Class 1A4 5.083%, 5/25/35

      61        56,574   

Indymac Index Mortgage Loan Trust
Series 2006-AR7, Class 4A1
5.508%, 5/25/36

      60        33,689   
Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Merrill Lynch Mortgage Investors, Inc.
Series 2005-A8, Class A1C1
5.25%, 8/25/36

  U.S.$          43      $ 42,014   
     

 

 

 
        266,762   
     

 

 

 

NON-AGENCY FLOATING
RATE–0.0%

   

Countrywide Alternative Loan Trust

     

Series 2005-62, Class 2A1 1.278%, 12/25/35(d)

      34        21,929   

Series 2006-OA14,
Class 3A1 1.128%, 11/25/46(d)

      159        75,962   

Series 2007-OA3, Class M1 0.496%, 4/25/47(d)(e)

      185        1,018   
     

 

 

 
        98,909   
     

 

 

 

NON-AGENCY ARMS–0.0%

  

   

Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, Inc.
Series 2006-AR1, Class 3A1
2.69%, 3/25/36(d)

      87        61,222   
     

 

 

 

Total CMOs
(cost $828,007)

        426,893   
     

 

 

 

EMERGING MARKETS–
CORPORATE BONDS–0.0%

   

INDUSTRIAL–0.0%

     

BASIC–0.0%

     

Severstal OAO Via Steel Capital SA
9.75%, 7/29/13(b)
(cost $100,000)

      100        111,750   
     

 

 

 

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–2.3%

     

TIME DEPOSIT–2.3%

     

State Street Time Deposit 0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $13,537,481)

      13,537        13,537,481   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL
INVESTMENTS–100.8%
(cost $539,230,333)

        598,747,250   

Other assets less
liabilities–(0.8)%

        (4,471,509
     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

      $   594,275,741   
     

 

 

 

FUTURES CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Type    Number of
Contracts
    

Expiration

Month

     Original
Value
     Value at
June 30,
2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Purchased Contracts

              

Euro STOXX 50 Index Futures

     5         September 2011       $   200,203       $   206,501       $ 6,298   

Topix Index Futures

     3         September 2011         300,045         316,564           16,519   
              

 

 

 
               $ 22,817   
              

 

 

 

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts:

           

Bank of America N.A.:

           

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     791       $ 892,645       $ 941,054       $ 48,409   

BNP Paribas SA:

           

Australian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     1,180         1,241,887         1,259,067         17,180   

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     612         994,530         981,736           (12,794

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     3,297           5,357,790           5,288,863         (68,927

New Zealand Dollar settling 9/15/11

     1,256         1,024,619         1,035,580         10,961   

Citibank N.A.:

           

Euro settling 9/15/11

     407         577,084         589,016         11,932   

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     2,256         3,251,144         3,267,793         16,649   

Euro settling 8/15/11

     271         390,541         392,541         2,000   

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     11,560         2,117,123         2,137,201         20,078   

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 9/15/11

     9,707         1,805,449         1,790,932         (14,517

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     5,117         813,604         807,070         (6,534

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     10,020         1,596,256         1,580,387         (15,869

Swiss Franc settling 9/15/11

     320         379,867         380,784         917   

Goldman Sachs International:

           

Australian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     1,363         1,424,539         1,448,690         24,151   

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     239         386,960         383,390         (3,570

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     431         697,823         691,386         (6,437

HSBC Bank USA:

           

Euro settling 9/15/11

     844         1,234,363         1,221,449         (12,914

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     114,321         1,426,089         1,420,609         (5,480

Royal Bank of Canada:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     2,540         458,418         469,593         11,175   

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

New Zealand Dollar settling 9/15/11

     1,041         804,068         858,311         54,243   

Swedish Krona settling 9/15/11

     11,102         1,796,469         1,747,870         (48,599

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     1,147         1,291,463         1,364,588         73,125   

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     545         613,642         648,388         34,746   

Societe Generale:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     4,213         6,034,954         6,102,489         67,535   

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     59,290         735,969         736,628         659   

Standard Chartered Bank:

           

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     213,333         2,646,631         2,650,482         3,851   

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     81,184         1,005,238         1,008,643         3,405   

State Street Bank and Trust Co.:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/25/11

     44         44,512         45,185         673   

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     251         253,977         259,986         6,009   

Euro settling 8/15/11

     151         219,009         218,722         (287

Mexican Peso settling 8/18/11

     877         74,121         74,639         518   

 

19


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts: (continued)

           

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     965       $ 153,216       $ 152,203       $ (1,013

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     261         294,340         310,512         16,172   

Swiss Franc settling 9/15/11

     214         242,336         254,649         12,313   

UBS AG:

           

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     60,353         746,832         749,976         3,144   

Westpac Banking Corp.:

           

Australian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     1,156           1,212,725           1,233,459         20,734   

Australian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     1,444         1,528,229         1,534,783         6,554   

Sale Contracts:

           

Bank of America N.A.:

           

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     851         1,388,151         1,365,126         23,025   

Barclays Bank PLC Wholesale:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     5,015         901,931         927,168         (25,237

BNP Paribas SA:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     1,464         2,072,296         2,120,589         (48,293

Euro settling 8/15/11

     1,836         2,598,864         2,659,428         (60,564

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     4,122         6,739,305         6,612,281         127,024   

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     223,706         2,688,730         2,779,357         (90,627

Citibank N.A.:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     1,350         1,396,518         1,398,330         (1,812

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     1,758         1,818,576         1,820,936         (2,360

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     1,147         1,307,995         1,364,588         (56,593

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Canadian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     980         1,005,592         1,014,303         (8,711

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Euro settling 9/15/11

     341         492,592         493,500         (908

Great British Pound settling 9/15/11

     257         416,199         412,110         4,089   

Mexican Peso settling 8/18/11

     25,772         2,163,391         2,192,714           (29,323

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     4,503         707,619         710,228         (2,609

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     3,488         547,369         550,139         (2,770

HSBC Bank USA:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/25/11

     4,288         4,378,709         4,443,537         (64,828

Canadian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     1,827         1,871,686         1,890,951         (19,265

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     345         564,206         553,429         10,777   

Great British Pound settling 9/15/11

     1,951         3,204,713         3,128,507         76,206   

Standard Chartered Bank:

           

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     120,894         1,499,823         1,502,005         (2,182

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     213,333         2,641,535         2,650,482         (8,947

State Street Bank and Trust Co.:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/25/11

     56         57,558         57,853         (295

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     94         95,899         97,365         (1,466

Euro settling 7/14/11

     28         39,673         40,101         (428

Euro settling 8/15/11

     135         194,463         195,546         (1,083

Euro settling 8/15/11

     136         193,071         196,995         (3,924

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     16,187         193,063         201,110         (8,047

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     1,017         183,654         188,022         (4,368

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     965         151,879         152,203         (324

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Sale Contracts: (continued)

           

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     261       $ 292,414       $ 310,512       $   (18,098

UBS AG:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     666         946,589         964,694         (18,105

Euro settling 8/15/11

     792           1,125,673           1,147,204         (21,531

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     2,540         458,254         469,593         (11,339

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     6,545         1,180,815         1,210,033         (29,218

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

(b)   Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities are considered liquid and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2011, the aggregate market value of these securities amounted to $21,049,574 or 3.5% of net assets.

 

(c)   Variable rate coupon, rate shown as of June 30, 2011.

 

(d)   Floating Rate Security. Stated interest rate was in effect at June 30, 2011.

 

(e)   Illiquid security.

 

(f)   Security is in default and is non-income producing.

Currency Abbreviation:

CAD—Canadian Dollar

EUR—Euro

MXN—Mexican Peso

Glossary:

ABS—Asset-Backed Securities

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

ARMs—Adjustable Rate Mortgages

CMBS—Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

CMOs—Collateralized Mortgage Obligations

FHLMC—Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

GO—General Obligation

OJSC—Open Joint Stock Company

See notes to financial statements.

 

21


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $539,230,333)

   $ 598,747,250   

Cash

     40,731 (a) 

Foreign currencies, at value (cost $964,498)

     969,867   

Receivable for investment securities sold and foreign currency transactions

     5,833,800   

Interest and dividends receivable

     2,456,201   

Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     708,254   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     570,847   

Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts

     5,316   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     609,332,266   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased and foreign currency transactions

     13,675,393   

Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     740,196   

Advisory fee payable

     266,229   

Distribution fee payable

     107,176   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     54,454   

Administrative fee payable

     20,663   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     138   

Accrued expenses

     192,276   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     15,056,525   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 594,275,741   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 51,538   

Additional paid-in capital

     561,672,112   

Undistributed net investment income

     2,765,715   

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (29,739,526

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     59,525,902   
  

 

 

 
   $ 594,275,741   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets       

Shares

Outstanding

      

Net Asset

Value

 

A

     $     66,949,028           5,767,761         $   11.61   

B

     $   527,326,713           45,770,692         $   11.52   

 

 

 

(a)   An amount of $40,731 has been segregated to collateralize margin requirements for open futures contracts outstanding at June 30, 2011.

See notes to financial statements.

 

22


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $212,660)

   $ 4,581,890   

Interest

     3,880,591   
  

 

 

 
     8,462,481   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     1,622,526   

Distribution fee—Class B

     651,553   

Transfer agency—Class A

     376   

Transfer agency—Class B

     2,847   

Custodian

     147,773   

Printing

     60,157   

Administrative

     36,350   

Audit

     22,297   

Legal

     18,775   

Directors’ fees

     2,124   

Miscellaneous

     25,328   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     2,590,106   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     5,872,375   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain (loss) on:

  

Investment transactions

     23,217,134   

Futures contracts

     (77,126

Foreign currency transactions

     446,037   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (9,429,047 )(a) 

Futures contracts

     21,661   

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (273,732
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     13,904,927   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 19,777,302   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Net of decrease in accrued foreign capital gains taxes of $15,335.

See notes to financial statements.

 

23


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 5,872,375      $ 10,420,292   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     23,586,045        32,200,899   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (9,681,118     11,393,320   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     19,777,302        54,014,511   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (1,640,050     (1,880,068

Class B

     (11,281,113     (11,886,233

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net increase (decrease)

     (66,539     15,448,596   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase

     6,789,600        55,696,806   

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     587,486,141        531,789,335   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $2,765,715 and $9,814,503, respectively)

   $ 594,275,741      $ 587,486,141   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

24


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is to maximize total return consistent with the Adviser’s determination of reasonable risk. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time (see Note A.2).

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. Inputs may be

 

25


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

             

Financials

     $ 56,036,352       $ 46,158,870       $ –0 –     $ 102,195,222   

Information Technology

       46,688,026         6,888,759         –0 –       53,576,785   

Consumer Discretionary

       39,380,137         12,874,018         –0 –       52,254,155   

Energy

       33,078,316         8,647,140         –0 –       41,725,456   

Industrials

       23,465,772         13,062,232         –0 –       36,528,004   

Health Care

       29,110,669         4,656,595         –0 –       33,767,264   

Materials

       13,472,034         10,155,483         –0 –       23,627,517   

Consumer Staples

       11,349,164         8,897,736         –0 –       20,246,900   

Telecommunication Services

       6,190,773         3,011,357         –0 –       9,202,130   

Utilities

       3,126,838         1,824,088         –0 –       4,950,926   

Corporates—Investment Grades

       –0 –       57,191,807         –0 –       57,191,807   

Governments—Treasuries

       –0 –       45,080,773         –0 –       45,080,773   

Mortgage Pass-Thru’s

       –0 –       35,363,156         –0 –       35,363,156   

Agencies

       –0 –       22,513,219         –0 –       22,513,219   

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

       –0 –       9,803,456         8,504,331         18,307,787   

Asset-Backed Securities

       –0 –       14,045,740         1,732,964         15,778,704   

Corporates—Non-Investment Grades

       –0 –       6,659,320         –0 –       6,659,320   

Governments—Sovereign Agencies

       –0 –       2,050,504         –0 –       2,050,504   

Quasi-Sovereigns

       –0 –       1,322,522         –0 –       1,322,522   

Preferred Stocks

       715,794         227,625         –0 –       943,419   

Governments—Sovereign Bonds

       –0 –       861,755         –0 –       861,755   

Local Governments—Municipal Bonds

       –0 –       523,801         –0 –       523,801   

CMOs

       –0 –       –0 –       426,893         426,893   

Emerging Markets—Corporate Bonds

       –0 –       111,750         –0 –       111,750   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       13,537,481         –0 –       13,537,481   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       262,613,875         325,469,187      10,664,188         598,747,250   

Other Financial Instruments*:

             

Assets:

             

Futures Contracts

       22,817         –0 –       –0 –       22,817

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       708,254         –0 –       708,254   

Liabilities:

             

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       (740,196      –0 –       (740,196
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 262,636,692       $ 325,437,245       $ 10,664,188       $ 598,738,125   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

 

26


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

+   The earlier close of the foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred between the close of the foreign markets and the time at which the Portfolio values its securities which may materially affect the value of securities trading in such markets. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available. Accordingly, a significant portion of the Portfolio’s investments are categorized as Level 2 investments.

 

#   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

Following is a reconciliation of investments in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value. The transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy assumes the financial instrument was transferred at the end of the reporting period.

 

       Commercial
Mortgage-Backed
Securities
     Asset-Backed
Securities
     CMOs  

Balance as of 12/31/10

     $ 3,969,206       $ 1,281,731       $ 563,019   

Accrued discounts/(premiums)

       13,706         688         17   

Realized gain (loss)

       24,109         (37,225      (102,120

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

       40,301         233,035         100,403   

Purchases

       207,268         617,776         2,907   

Sales

       (223,543      (363,041      (137,333

Transfers in to Level 3

       4,473,284         –0 –       –0 – 

Transfers out of Level 3

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Balance as of 6/30/11

     $ 8,504,331       $ 1,732,964       $ 426,893   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

     $ 61,868       $ 212,198       $ (4,743
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
       Total                

Balance as of 12/31/10

     $ 5,813,956         

Accrued discounts/(premiums)

       14,411         

Realized gain (loss)

       (115,236      

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

       373,739         

Purchases

       827,951         

Sales

       (723,917      

Transfers in to Level 3

       4,473,284         

Transfers out of Level 3

       –0 –       
    

 

 

       

Balance as of 6/30/11

     $ 10,664,188         
    

 

 

       

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

     $ 269,323         
    

 

 

       

 

*   The unrealized appreciation/depreciation is included in net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments in the accompanying statement of operations.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent

 

27


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

8. Repurchase Agreements

It is the Portfolio’s policy that its custodian or designated subcustodian take control of securities as collateral under repurchase agreements and to determine on a daily basis that the value of such securities are sufficient to cover the value of the repurchase agreements. If the seller defaults and the value of the collateral declines or if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization of collateral by the Portfolio may be delayed or limited.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .55% of the first $2.5 billion, .45% of the next $2.5 billion and .40% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to .75% and 1.00% of daily average net assets for Class A and Class B shares, respectively (the “Expense Caps”). The Expense Caps will expire May 1, 2012 and may be extended by the Adviser for additional one-year terms. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, there were no expenses waived by the Adviser.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,350.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $233,142, of which $0 and $53, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

 

28


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases        Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 184,093,507         $ 174,683,100   

U.S. government securities

       58,592,287           58,503,714   

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation (excluding futures and foreign currency transactions) are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 68,355,431   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (8,838,514
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 59,516,917   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The principal types of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Futures Contracts

The Portfolio may buy or sell futures contracts for the purpose of hedging its portfolio against adverse effects of anticipated movements in the market or for investment purposes. The Portfolio bears the market risk that arises from changes in the value of these instruments and the imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and movements in the price of the securities hedged or used for cover. The Portfolio may also purchase or sell futures contracts for foreign currencies or options thereon for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investment in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

At the time the Portfolio enters into a futures contract, the Portfolio deposits and maintains as collateral an initial margin with the broker, as required by the exchange on which the transaction is effected. Pursuant to the contract, the Portfolio agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value

 

29


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

of the contract. Such receipts or payments are known as variation margin and are recorded by the Portfolio as unrealized gains or losses. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of the contract. The credit/counterparty risk for exchange-traded futures contracts is generally less than privately negotiated futures contracts, since the clearinghouse, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded future, provides a guarantee of performance. This guarantee is supported by a daily payment system (i.e., margin requirements). When the contract is closed, the Portfolio records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the time it was closed.

Use of long futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to risk of loss in excess of the amounts shown on the statement of assets and liabilities, up to the notional value of the futures contracts. Use of short futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to unlimited risk of loss. Under some circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day’s settlement price, which could effectively prevent liquidation of unfavorable positions.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held futures contracts to equitize fractional cash.

 

   

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

The Portfolio may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign portfolio holdings, to hedge certain firm purchase and sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies and for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

A forward currency exchange contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated forward rate. The gain or loss arising from the difference between the original contract and the closing of such contract would be included in net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions. Fluctuations in the value of open forward currency exchange contracts are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized appreciation and/or depreciation by the Portfolio. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of a contract and from unanticipated movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The face or contract amount, in U.S. dollars reflects the total exposure the Portfolio has in that particular currency contract.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held foreign currency exchange contracts to hedge into base currency, as well as go long in excess of underlying equity positions purposes.

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

    

Asset Derivatives

   

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

  

Statement of

Assets and Liabilities

Location

   Fair Value    

Statement of

Assets and Liabilities

Location

   Fair Value  

Foreign exchange contracts

   Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 708,254      Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 740,196   

Equity contracts

   Receivable/Payable for variation margin on futures contracts      22,817     
     

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total

      $ 731,071         $ 740,196   
     

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

*   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

 

30


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
    Change in  Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Foreign exchange contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities    $ 418,258      $ (267,220

Equity contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts      (77,126     21,661   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ 341,132      $ (245,559
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the average monthly principal amount of foreign currency exchange contracts was $94,815,055 and the average monthly original value of futures contracts was $777,964.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

3. Dollar Rolls

The Portfolio may enter into dollar rolls. Dollar rolls involve sales by the Portfolio of securities for delivery in the current month and the Portfolio’s simultaneously contracting to repurchase substantially similar (same type and coupon) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, the Portfolio forgoes principal and interest paid on the securities. The Portfolio is compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the “drop”) as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. Dollar rolls involve the risk that the market value of the securities the Portfolio is obligated to repurchase under the agreement may decline below the repurchase price. Dollar rolls are speculative techniques and may be considered to be borrowings by the Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio earned drop income of $10,427 which is included in interest income in the accompanying statement of operations.

 

31


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    268,192        199,409        $ 3,186,007      $ 2,156,296   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    138,870        175,872          1,640,050        1,880,068   

Shares redeemed

    (644,238     (1,227,452       (7,533,043     (13,141,950
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (237,176     (852,171     $ (2,706,986   $ (9,105,586
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    3,041,608        7,217,888        $ 35,415,214      $ 77,439,999   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    962,552        1,119,231          11,281,113        11,886,233   

Shares redeemed

    (3,796,779     (6,109,372       (44,055,880     (64,772,050
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase

    207,381        2,227,747        $ 2,640,447      $ 24,554,182   
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk—Interest rate risk is the risk that changes in interest rates will affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments in fixed-income debt securities such as bonds or notes. Increases in interest rates may cause the value of the Portfolio’s investments to decline. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. The degree of risk for a particular security may be reflected in its credit risk rating. Credit risk is greater for medium quality and lower-rated securities. Lower-rated debt securities and similar unrated securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) have speculative elements or are predominantly speculative risks.

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in

 

32


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 13,766,301         $ 3,878,705   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 13,766,301         $ 3,878,705   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 13,216,299   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (47,258,744 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     59,759,887 (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 25,717,442 (c) 
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $47,258,744 which expires in the year 2017. As a result of the merger with AllianceBernstein Balanced Shares Portfolio into the Portfolio, various limitations and reductions regarding the future utilization of certain capital loss carryforwards were applied, based on certain provisions in the Internal Revenue Code. During the fiscal year the Portfolio utilized capital loss carryforwards of $23,887,827.

 

(b)   The differences between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) are attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales, the realization for tax purposes of gains/losses on certain derivative instruments, the tax treatment of passive foreign investment companies, and the tax treatment of partnerships.

 

(c)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) is attributable to the tax treatment of interest on defaulted securities.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

33


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.48        $10.66        $8.63        $13.05        $12.87        $11.39   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .13        .23        .24        .22 (b)      .31 (b)      .25 (b) 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .28        .88        1.89        (3.97     .41        1.32   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (c)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .41        1.11        2.13        (3.75     .72        1.57   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.28     (.29     (.10     (.39     (.32     (.09

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (.28     (.22     –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.28     (.29     (.10     (.67     (.54     (.09
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.61        $11.48        $10.66        $8.63        $13.05        $12.87   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (d)

    3.52 %*      10.61 %*      24.88 %*      (30.01 )%*      5.55     13.92
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $66,949        $68,914        $73,120        $67,526        $10        $11,111   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .66 %(e)      .68 %(f)      .69     .75 %(f)      .76     .99 %(f) 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    .66 %(e)      .68 %(f)      .69     .78 %(f)      .85     1.07 %(f) 

Net investment income

    2.21 %(e)      2.14 %(f)      2.66     3.08 %(b)(f)      2.33 %(b)      2.08 %(b)(f) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    40     101     85     93     77     203

 

 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

34


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.38        $10.58        $8.58        $12.97        $12.81        $11.34   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .11        .20        .22        .26 (b)      .27 (b)      .22 (b) 

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .28        .87        1.86        (4.02     .41        1.33   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (c)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .39        1.07        2.08        (3.76     .68        1.55   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.25     (.27     (.08     (.35     (.30     (.08

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (.28     (.22     –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.25     (.27     (.08     (.63     (.52     (.08
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.52        $11.38        $10.58        $8.58        $12.97        $12.81   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (d)

    3.41 %*      10.30 %*      24.45 %*      (30.20 )%*      5.26     13.75
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $527,327        $518,572        $458,669        $285,962        $211,440        $124,992   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .91 %(e)      .93 %(f)      .95     1.00 %(f)      1.01     1.23 %(f) 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    .91 %(e)      .93 %(f)      .95     1.02 %(f)      1.07     1.31 %(f) 

Net investment income

    1.96 %(e)      1.89 %(f)      2.36     2.48 %(b)(f)      2.11 %(b)      1.84 %(b)(f) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    40     101     85     93     77     203

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Net of expenses waived or reimbursed by the Adviser.

 

(c)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(d)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(e)   Annualized.

 

(f)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.02%, 0.03%, 0.06% and 0.10%, respectively.

 

See   notes to financial statements.

 

35


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by the August 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Management fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Management fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

INVESTMENT ADVISORY FEES, EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS & CAPS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories3 of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.4

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

06/30/10

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Balanced

 

55 bp on 1st $2.5 billion

45 bp on next $2.5 billion

40 bp on the balance

  $ 507.0     

Balanced Wealth

Strategy Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $82,772 (0.02% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on July 22, 2010 and presented to the Board of Directors on August 3-5, 2010.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratios refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

3   The seven other categories that do not apply to any of the Portfolios listed and are not shown in the table below are Blend, Growth, Value, International, High Income, Low Risk Income and Specialty.

 

4   The AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds, which the Adviser manages, were also affected by the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG.

 

36


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser agreed to waive that portion of its management fees and/or reimburse a portion of the Portfolio’s total operating expense to the degree necessary to limit the Portfolio’s expense ratios to the amounts set forth below for the Portfolio’s current fiscal year. The waiver is terminable by the Adviser on May 1st of each year upon at least 60 days of written notice. Also set forth below are the Portfolio’s gross expense ratios as of December 31, 2009:

 

Portfolio   Expense Cap Pursuant
to Expense Limitation
Undertaking
  Gross Expense
Ratio
(12/31/09)
    Fiscal Year End

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

  Class A    0.75%     0.69% 5    December 31
  Class B    1.00%     0.95%     

I. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. Finally, in recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different and legal and reputational risks are greater, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts with similar investment styles as the Portfolio.6 With respect to the Portfolio, the Adviser represented that there is no category in the Form ADV for institutional products that has a similar investment style as the Portfolio.7

 

5   Note that the gross expense ratio, provided by the Adviser, for the Portfolio’s Class A shares differs from the gross expense ratio provided by Lipper. Lipper calculates the Portfolio’s total expense ratio based on information provided in the Portfolio’s Form NSAR filing. Lipper’s estimate of the Portfolio’s total expense ratio may differ slightly from the expense ratio provided by the Adviser.

 

6   The Supreme Court recently held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), slip op. at 9, 559 U.S.             2010. In the Jones v. Harris decision, the Supreme Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section §36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.” Jones v. Harris at 11.

 

7   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

37


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages The AllianceBernstein Portfolios—Balanced Wealth Strategy (“Balanced Wealth Strategy”) has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio and its fee schedule is set forth below. Since Balanced Wealth Strategy’s advisory fee schedule was affected by the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG, the breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule is the same as that of the Portfolio. The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Balanced Shares, Inc. (“Balanced Shares, Inc.), a retail mutual fund in the Balanced category, and its advisory fee schedule is also shown in the table below.8

 

Portfolio      ABMF      Fee Schedule

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

     Balanced Wealth Strategy     

0.55% on first $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

     Balanced Shares, Inc.     

0.60% on first $200 million

0.50% on next $200 million

0.40% on the balance

The Adviser also manages and sponsors retail mutual funds, which are organized in jurisdictions outside the United States, generally Luxembourg and Japan, and sold to non-United States resident investors. The Adviser charges the following fees for Global Balanced Portfolio, which is a Luxembourg fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio:

 

Portfolio    Luxembourg Fund      Fee9

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

   Global Balanced Portfolio      
   Class A      1.40%
   Class I (Institutional)      0.70%

The AllianceBernstein Investment Trust Management mutual funds (“ITM”), which are offered to investors in Japan, have an “all-in” fee to compensate the Adviser for investment advisory as well as fund accounting and administrative services. The fee schedule of the ITM mutual fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio is as follows:

 

Portfolio      ITM Mutual Fund      Fee

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

     Alliance Global Balance Neutral10      0.70%

The Adviser represented that it does not sub-advise any registered investment company with a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.11 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the proposed management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)12 at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.13

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

8   There was no change to the advisory fee schedule of AllianceBernstein Balanced Shares, Inc. since the retail mutual fund had already lower breakpoints than that of the NYAG related category.

 

9   Class A shares of the Luxembourg funds are charged an “all-in” fee, which covers investment advisory and distribution-related services, unlike class I shares, whose fee is for only investment advisory services.

 

10   This ITM fund is privately placed or institutional.

 

11   In considering this section, it should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 14.

 

12   Note that Lipper does not consider average account size when constructing EGs. Funds with relatively small average account sizes tend to have higher transfer agent expense ratios than comparable sized funds that have relatively large average account sizes. Note that there are limitations on Lipper expense category data because different funds categorize expenses differently.

 

13   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

38


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee14
    

Lipper

Group

Median (%)

     Rank  

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

     0.550         0.543         6/10   

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU15 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

It should be noted that Lipper uses expense ratio data from financial statements of the most current fiscal year in their database. This has several implications: the total expense ratio of each fund that Lipper uses in their report is based on each fund’s average net assets during its fiscal year. Since funds have different fiscal year ends, the total expense ratios of the funds may cover different twelve month periods, depending on the funds’ fiscal year ends. This is the process that Lipper always follows but given the volatile market conditions during 2008 and 2009, notably the last three months of 2008 through the first three months of 2009, when equity markets declined substantially, and conversely through the remainder of 2009, when equity markets rallied the effects on the funds’ total expense ratio caused by the differences in fiscal year ends may be more pronounced in 2008 and 2009 compared to other years under more normal market conditions.16

 

Portfolio   

Total

Expense

Ratio (%)17

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper Exp.

Group
Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe
Rank

 

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

     0.697         0.707         5/10         0.711         13/27   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a total expense ratio basis than it does on a management fee basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

At the May 5, 2010 Board meeting, members of the Adviser’s Controller’s Office presented the Adviser’s revenue and expenses associated with providing services to the Portfolio. See discussion below in Section IV.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio increased during calendar year 2009, relative to 2008.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset research expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter and distributor, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), an affiliate of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net

 

14   The contractual management fee would not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services. In addition, the contractual management fee does not reflect any advisory fee waivers for expense caps that would effectively reduce the actual management fee.

 

15   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

16   To cite an example, the average net assets and total expense ratio of a fund with a fiscal year end of March 31, 2009 will not be reflective of the market rally that occurred post March 2009, in contrast to a fund with a fiscal year end of December 31, 2009.

 

17   Most recently completed fiscal year Class A total expense ratio. See footnote 5.

 

39


BALANCED WEALTH STRATEGY PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, ABI received $896,107 in Rule 12b-1 fees from the Portfolio.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $530,405 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”)18. For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, the Portfolio paid ABIS a fee of approximately $1,250.19

The Portfolio may effect in the future brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and pay commissions for such transactions. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Portfolio did not effect any brokerage transactions with and pay any commission to SCB. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from any future business conducted with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for its clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s research expenses and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures,20 subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

An independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli21 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics. The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.22 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared

 

18   It should be noted that the insurance companies, linked to the variable products, provide additional shareholder services for the Portfolio, including record keeping, administration and customer service for contract holders.

 

19   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other series of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2009.

 

20   Fee structures include fee reductions, pricing at scale and breakpoints in advisory fee schedules.

 

21   The Deli study, which was based on 1997 SEC reported filings, was published in 2002 by Daniel N. Deli. The results of the study with respect to fund size and family size were consistent with economies of scale being shared with shareholders, suggesting a competitive environment.

 

22   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

40


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $458 billion as of June 30, 2010, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3 and 5 year net performance rankings of the Portfolio23 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)24 for the periods ended May 31, 2010.25

 

Portfolio   Portfolio
Return
(%)
   

PG

Median (%)

   

PU

Median (%)

   

PG

Rank

   

PU

Rank

 

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

         

1 year

    16.19        16.51        16.82        7/10        18/27   

3 year

    –5.24        –2.63        –2.90        8/10        24/26   

5 year

    2.09        3.01        2.91        7/10        16/23   

Set forth below are the 1, 3 and 5 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)26 versus its benchmark for the periods ended May 31, 2010.

 

    

Periods Ending May 31, 2010

Annualized Net Performance (%)

 
    

1
Year

(%)

   

3

Year

(%)

   

5
Year

(%)

   

Since
Inception

(%)

 

Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio

    16.19      5.24        2.09        2.84   

60% S&P 500 Stock Index / 40% Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index

    16.13      2.27        2.62        3.36   

S&P 500 Stock Index

    20.99      8.69        0.31        1.45   

Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index

    8.42        6.88        5.33        5.49   

Inception Date: July 1, 2004

       

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: September 02, 2010

 

23   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by the Adviser. Lipper maintains its own database that includes the Portfolio’s performance returns. Rounding differences may cause the Adviser’s Portfolio returns to be one or two basis points different from Lipper’s own Portfolio returns. To maintain consistency, the performance returns of the Portfolio, as reported by the Adviser, are provided instead of Lipper.

 

24   The Portfolio’s PG/PU is identical to the Portfolio’s EG/EU.

 

25   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

26   The performance returns shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

41


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
April 1, 2011+
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,007.00       $   2.10         0.85

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.58       $ 4.26         0.85
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,006.00       $ 2.72         1.10

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.34       $ 5.51         1.10

 

 

 

+   Commencement of operations.

 

*   The “Actual” and “Hypothetical” expenses paid are based on the period from April 1, 2011 (commencement of operations) to June 30, 2011. Actual and Hypothetical expenses are equal to the classes’ annualized expense ratios, shown on the table above, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 90/365 (to reflect the since inception period) and multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

U.S. Treasury Bonds & Notes

   $ 3,437,203           19.2

Vanguard MSCI EAFE ETF

     2,642,752           14.7   

Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

     704,990           3.9   

SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust

     212,880           1.2   

iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund

     149,040           0.8   

Exxon Mobil Corp.

     57,373           0.3   

Apple, Inc.

     43,973           0.2   

International Business Machines Corp.

     30,021           0.2   

Chevron Corp.

     29,824           0.2   

General Electric Co.

     28,102           0.2   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   7,336,158           40.9

SECURITY TYPE BREAKDOWN**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECURITY TYPE    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Investment Companies

   $   3,721,935           20.7

Governments—Treasuries

     3,437,203           19.1   

Common Stocks

     1,696,649           9.5   

Short-Term Investments

     9,103,855           50.7   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   17,959,642           100.0

 

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s security type breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Portfolio 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).

 

2


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

INVESTMENT COMPANIES–20.7%

   

FUNDS AND INVESTMENT TRUSTS–20.7%

   

iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund

    1,800      $ 149,040   

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

    93        12,273   

SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust

    1,200        212,880   

Vanguard MSCI EAFE ETF

    69,400        2,642,752   

Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

    14,500        704,990   
   

 

 

 

Total Investment Companies
(cost $3,653,848)

      3,721,935   
   

 

 

 
    Principal
Amount
(000)
       

GOVERNMENTS–
TREASURIES–19.2%

   

UNITED STATES–19.2%

   

U.S. Treasury Bonds
3.50%, 2/15/39

  $   122        104,767   

4.375%, 11/15/39–5/15/40

    133        132,997   

4.75%, 2/15/37

    61        65,260   

5.375%, 2/15/31

    40        46,881   

6.00%, 2/15/26

    49        60,990   

6.25%, 8/15/23

    124        157,306   

7.25%, 5/15/16

    48        60,600   

7.50%, 11/15/16

    92        118,687   

8.00%, 11/15/21

    123        175,140   

U.S. Treasury Notes
0.375%, 8/31/12–9/30/12

    160        160,193   

0.50%, 10/15/13

    153        152,761   

0.625%, 1/31/13

    60        60,237   

0.75%, 3/31/13–8/15/13

    450        452,424   

1.00%, 1/15/14

    60        60,530   

1.125%, 12/15/12–6/15/13

    179        181,216   

1.25%, 3/15/14

    95        96,380   

1.375%, 11/30/15

    62        61,695   

1.75%, 7/31/15

    60        61,017   

2.25%, 11/30/17

    124        123,642   

2.375%, 10/31/14–7/31/17

    199        203,158   

2.50%, 3/31/15

    58        60,845   

2.75%, 5/31/17–2/15/19

    285        290,413   

3.00%, 2/28/17

    59        62,079   

3.125%, 10/31/16

    237        251,924   

3.25%, 7/31/16

    57        61,119   

4.00%, 11/15/12

    57        59,863   

4.375%, 8/15/12

    110        115,079   
   

 

 

 

Total Governments–Treasuries
(cost $3,406,878)

      3,437,203   
   

 

 

 
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–9.4%

   

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–1.7%

   

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–0.2%

   

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    770      $ 12,020   

F5 Networks, Inc.(a)

    10        1,102   

Harris Corp.

    15        676   

JDS Uniphase Corp.(a)

    30        500   

Juniper Networks, Inc.(a)

    80        2,520   

Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc.(a)

    35        771   

Motorola Solutions, Inc.(a)

    45        2,072   

Qualcomm, Inc.

    230        13,062   

Tellabs, Inc.

    45        207   
   

 

 

 
      32,930   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–0.4%

   

Apple, Inc.(a)

    131        43,973   

Dell, Inc.(a)

    235        3,917   

EMC Corp.(a)

    285        7,852   

Hewlett-Packard Co.

    310        11,284   

Lexmark International, Inc.–
Class A(a)

    10        293   

NetApp, Inc.(a)

    50        2,639   

SanDisk Corp.(a)

    30        1,245   

Western Digital Corp.(a)

    30        1,091   
   

 

 

 
      72,294   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, INSTRUMENTS & COMPONENTS–0.0%

   

Amphenol Corp.–Class A

    25        1,350   

Corning, Inc.

    215        3,902   

FLIR Systems, Inc.

    20        674   

Jabil Circuit, Inc.

    25        505   

Molex, Inc.

    15        387   
   

 

 

 
      6,818   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES–0.2%

   

Akamai Technologies, Inc.(a)

    25        787   

eBay, Inc.(a)

    160        5,163   

Google, Inc.–Class A(a)

    35        17,723   

Monster Worldwide, Inc.(a)

    15        220   

VeriSign, Inc.

    20        669   

Yahoo!, Inc.(a)

    175        2,632   
   

 

 

 
      27,194   
   

 

 

 

IT SERVICES–0.3%

   

Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

    75        3,951   

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.–Class A(a)

    50        3,667   

Computer Sciences Corp.

    20        759   

Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.

    35        1,078   

Fiserv, Inc.(a)

    20        1,252   

International Business Machines Corp.

    175        30,021   

 

3


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

Mastercard, Inc.–Class A

    15      $ 4,520   

Paychex, Inc.

    40        1,229   

SAIC, Inc.(a)

    35        589   

Teradata Corp.(a)

    20        1,204   

Total System Services, Inc.

    20        372   

Visa, Inc.–Class A

    75        6,320   

Western Union Co. (The)–Class W

    85        1,702   
   

 

 

 
      56,664   
   

 

 

 

OFFICE ELECTRONICS–0.0%

   

Xerox Corp.

    195        2,030   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–0.2%

   

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.(a)

    75        524   

Altera Corp.

    50        2,317   

Analog Devices, Inc.

    40        1,566   

Applied Materials, Inc.

    185        2,407   

Broadcom Corp.–Class A(a)

    70        2,355   

Intel Corp.

    765        16,952   

KLA-Tencor Corp.

    20        810   

Linear Technology Corp.

    30        991   

LSI Corp.(a)

    80        570   

MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc.(a)

    30        256   

Microchip Technology, Inc.

    25        948   

Micron Technology, Inc.(a)

    120        898   

National Semiconductor Corp.

    30        738   

Novellus Systems, Inc.(a)

    10        361   

NVIDIA Corp.(a)

    75        1,195   

Teradyne, Inc.(a)

    20        296   

Texas Instruments, Inc.

    165        5,417   

Xilinx, Inc.

    35        1,276   
   

 

 

 
      39,877   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–0.4%

   

Adobe Systems, Inc.(a)

    75        2,359   

Autodesk, Inc.(a)

    30        1,158   

BMC Software, Inc.(a)

    25        1,367   

CA, Inc.

    50        1,142   

Citrix Systems, Inc.(a)

    25        2,000   

Compuware Corp.(a)

    25        244   

Electronic Arts, Inc.(a)

    40        944   

Intuit, Inc.(a)

    35        1,815   

Microsoft Corp.

    1,040        27,040   

Oracle Corp.

    550        18,100   

Red Hat, Inc.(a)

    25        1,148   

Salesforce.com, Inc.(a)

    21        3,129   

Symantec Corp.(a)

    100        1,972   
   

 

 

 
      62,418   
   

 

 

 
      300,225   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIALS–1.4%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–0.2%

   

Ameriprise Financial, Inc.

    35        2,019   

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (The)

    175        4,483   

BlackRock, Inc.–Class A

    17        3,261   
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

Charles Schwab Corp. (The)

    140      $ 2,303   

E*Trade Financial Corp.(a)

    30        414   

Federated Investors, Inc.–Class B

    10        238   

Franklin Resources, Inc.

    20        2,626   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

    78        10,381   

Invesco Ltd.

    60        1,404   

Janus Capital Group, Inc.

    20        189   

Legg Mason, Inc.

    20        655   

Morgan Stanley

    215        4,947   

Northern Trust Corp.

    30        1,379   

State Street Corp.

    75        3,382   

T Rowe Price Group, Inc.

    35        2,112   
   

 

 

 
      39,793   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–0.2%

   

BB&T Corp.

    90        2,416   

Comerica, Inc.

    20        691   

Fifth Third Bancorp

    120        1,530   

First Horizon National Corp.

    35        334   

Huntington Bancshares, Inc.

    115        754   

KeyCorp

    125        1,041   

M&T Bank Corp.

    25        2,199   

Marshall & Ilsley Corp.

    70        558   

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

    80        4,769   

Regions Financial Corp.

    175        1,085   

SunTrust Banks, Inc.

    70        1,806   

US Bancorp

    265        6,760   

Wells Fargo & Co.

    735        20,624   

Zions Bancorporation

    20        480   
   

 

 

 
      45,047   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER FINANCE–0.1%

   

American Express Co.

    150        7,755   

Capital One Financial Corp.

    70        3,617   

Discover Financial Services

    70        1,872   

SLM Corp.

    70        1,177   
   

 

 

 
      14,421   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–0.4%

   

Bank of America Corp.

    1,425        15,618   

Citigroup, Inc.

    408        16,989   

CME Group, Inc.–Class A

    10        2,916   

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.(a)

    10        1,247   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    565        23,131   

Leucadia National Corp.

    25        853   

Moody’s Corp.

    25        959   

NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (The)(a)

    20        506   

NYSE Euronext

    35        1,199   
   

 

 

 
      63,418   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–0.3%

   

ACE Ltd.

    45        2,962   

Aflac, Inc.

    65        3,034   

Allstate Corp. (The)

    70        2,137   

American International Group, Inc.(a)

    62        1,818   

AON Corp.

    45        2,309   

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

Assurant, Inc.

    10      $ 363   

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.(a)

    245        18,961   

Chubb Corp.

    40        2,504   

Cincinnati Financial Corp.

    20        584   

Genworth Financial, Inc.–
Class A(a)

    65        668   

Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.

    65        1,714   

Lincoln National Corp.

    40        1,140   

Loews Corp.

    40        1,684   

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc.

    70        2,183   

MetLife, Inc.

    150        6,580   

Principal Financial Group, Inc.

    40        1,217   

Progressive Corp. (The)

    85        1,817   

Prudential Financial, Inc.

    75        4,769   

Torchmark Corp.

    10        641   

Travelers Cos., Inc. (The)

    60        3,503   

Unum Group

    40        1,019   

XL Group PLC

    40        879   
   

 

 

 
      62,486   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS)–0.2%

   

Apartment Investment & Management Co.–Class A

    15        383   

AvalonBay Communities, Inc.

    15        1,926   

Boston Properties, Inc.

    20        2,123   

Equity Residential

    40        2,400   

HCP, Inc.

    60        2,201   

Health Care REIT, Inc.

    25        1,311   

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

    90        1,526   

Kimco Realty Corp.

    50        932   

Plum Creek Timber Co., Inc.

    20        811   

ProLogis, Inc.

    60        2,150   

Public Storage

    20        2,280   

Simon Property Group, Inc.

    46        5,347   

Ventas, Inc.

    20        1,054   

Vornado Realty Trust

    25        2,330   

Weyerhaeuser Co.

    70        1,530   
   

 

 

 
      28,304   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT–0.0%

   

CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc.–
Class A(a)

    35        879   
   

 

 

 

THRIFTS & MORTGAGE FINANCE–0.0%

   

Hudson City Bancorp, Inc.

    70        573   

People’s United Financial, Inc.

    45        605   
   

 

 

 
      1,178   
   

 

 

 
      255,526   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–1.2%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–0.2%

   

Baker Hughes, Inc.

    60        4,353   

Cameron International Corp.(a)

    40        2,012   

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc.

    10        704   
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

FMC Technologies, Inc.(a)

    30      $ 1,344   

Halliburton Co.

    130        6,630   

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

    15        992   

Nabors Industries Ltd.(a)

    35        862   

National Oilwell Varco, Inc.

    65        5,084   

Noble Corp.

    35        1,379   

Rowan Cos., Inc.(a)

    15        582   

Schlumberger Ltd.

    195        16,848   
   

 

 

 
      40,790   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–1.0%

   

Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.(a)

    32        1,454   

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

    75        5,757   

Apache Corp.

    55        6,786   

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

    15        995   

Chesapeake Energy Corp.

    95        2,820   

Chevron Corp.

    290        29,824   

ConocoPhillips

    200        15,038   

Consol Energy, Inc.

    30        1,454   

Denbury Resources, Inc.(a)

    50        1,000   

Devon Energy Corp.

    60        4,729   

El Paso Corp.

    100        2,020   

EOG Resources, Inc.

    45        4,705   

EQT Corp.

    20        1,050   

Exxon Mobil Corp.

    705        57,373   

Hess Corp.

    40        2,990   

Marathon Oil Corp.

    105        5,531   

Murphy Oil Corp.

    25        1,641   

Newfield Exploration Co.(a)

    20        1,360   

Noble Energy, Inc.

    25        2,241   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

    120        12,485   

Peabody Energy Corp.

    35        2,062   

Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

    15        1,344   

QEP Resources, Inc.

    25        1,046   

Range Resources Corp.

    20        1,110   

Southwestern Energy Co.(a)

    45        1,930   

Spectra Energy Corp.

    85        2,330   

Sunoco, Inc.

    15        626   

Tesoro Corp.(a)

    15        344   

Valero Energy Corp.

    75        1,918   

Williams Cos., Inc. (The)

    85        2,571   
   

 

 

 
      176,534   
   

 

 

 
      217,324   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–1.1%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–0.1%

   

Amgen, Inc.(a)

    135        7,877   

Biogen Idec, Inc.(a)

    35        3,742   

Celgene Corp.(a)

    70        4,223   

Cephalon, Inc.(a)

    10        799   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

    115        4,762   
   

 

 

 
      21,403   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES–0.2%

   

Baxter International, Inc.

    80        4,775   

Becton Dickinson and Co.

    30        2,585   

Boston Scientific Corp.(a)

    210        1,451   

 

5


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

CareFusion Corp.(a)

    30      $ 815   

Covidien PLC

    75        3,992   

CR Bard, Inc.

    15        1,648   

DENTSPLY International, Inc.

    20        762   

Edwards Lifesciences Corp.(a)

    15        1,308   

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a)

    5        1,861   

Medtronic, Inc.

    150        5,779   

St Jude Medical, Inc.

    45        2,146   

Stryker Corp.

    45        2,641   

Varian Medical Systems, Inc.(a)

    15        1,050   

Zimmer Holdings, Inc.(a)

    25        1,580   
   

 

 

 
      32,393   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–0.2%

   

Aetna, Inc.

    50        2,204   

AmerisourceBergen Corp.–Class A

    35        1,449   

Cardinal Health, Inc.

    45        2,044   

CIGNA Corp.

    35        1,800   

Coventry Health Care, Inc.(a)

    20        729   

DaVita, Inc.(a)

    15        1,299   

Express Scripts, Inc.–Class A(a)

    80        4,318   

Humana, Inc.

    25        2,014   

Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings(a)

    15        1,452   

McKesson Corp.

    35        2,928   

Medco Health Solutions, Inc.(a)

    55        3,109   

Patterson Cos., Inc.

    10        329   

Quest Diagnostics, Inc.

    20        1,182   

Tenet Healthcare Corp.(a)

    65        406   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

    155        7,995   

WellPoint, Inc.

    60        4,726   
   

 

 

 
      37,984   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY–0.0%

   

Cerner Corp.(a)

    20        1,222   
   

 

 

 

LIFE SCIENCES TOOLS & SERVICES–0.1%

   

Agilent Technologies, Inc.(a)

    45        2,300   

Life Technologies Corp.(a)

    25        1,302   

PerkinElmer, Inc.

    15        404   

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.(a)

    55        3,541   

Waters Corp.(a)

    15        1,436   
   

 

 

 
      8,983   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–0.5%

   

Abbott Laboratories

    215        11,313   

Allergan, Inc.

    50        4,162   

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

    235        6,806   

Eli Lilly & Co.

    145        5,442   

Forest Laboratories, Inc.(a)

    35        1,377   

Hospira, Inc.(a)

    20        1,133   

Johnson & Johnson

    385        25,610   

Merck & Co., Inc.

    430        15,175   

Mylan, Inc.(a)

    55        1,357   

Pfizer, Inc.

    1,120        23,072   
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    15      $ 1,031   
   

 

 

 
      96,478   
   

 

 

 
      198,463   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–1.1%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–0.3%

   

Boeing Co. (The)

    110        8,132   

General Dynamics Corp.

    50        3,726   

Goodrich Corp.

    20        1,910   

Honeywell International, Inc.

    115        6,853   

ITT Corp.

    25        1,473   

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.

    15        1,312   

Lockheed Martin Corp.

    40        3,239   

Northrop Grumman Corp.

    40        2,774   

Precision Castparts Corp.

    20        3,293   

Raytheon Co.

    50        2,492   

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

    20        1,234   

Textron, Inc.

    35        826   

United Technologies Corp.

    135        11,949   
   

 

 

 
      49,213   
   

 

 

 

AIR FREIGHT & LOGISTICS–0.1%

   

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

    25        1,971   

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

    30        1,536   

FedEx Corp.

    45        4,268   

United Parcel Service, Inc.–Class B

    145        10,575   
   

 

 

 
      18,350   
   

 

 

 

AIRLINES–0.0%

   

Southwest Airlines Co.

    105        1,199   
   

 

 

 

BUILDING PRODUCTS–0.0%

   

Masco Corp.

    45        541   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SUPPLIES–0.0%

   

Avery Dennison Corp.

    15        580   

Cintas Corp.

    15        495   

Iron Mountain, Inc.

    25        852   

Pitney Bowes, Inc.

    25        575   

Republic Services, Inc.–Class A

    40        1,234   

RR Donnelley & Sons Co.

    25        490   

Stericycle, Inc.(a)

    10        891   

Waste Management, Inc.

    65        2,423   
   

 

 

 
      7,540   
   

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING–0.0%

   

Fluor Corp.

    25        1,616   

Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.(a)

    15        649   

Quanta Services, Inc.(a)

    25        505   
   

 

 

 
      2,770   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–0.1%

   

Emerson Electric Co.

    110        6,187   

First Solar, Inc.(a)

    10        1,323   

 

6


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

    20      $ 1,735   

Roper Industries, Inc.

    15        1,250   
   

 

 

 
      10,495   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–0.3%

   

3M Co.

    105        9,959   

Danaher Corp.

    80        4,239   

General Electric Co.

    1,490        28,102   

Tyco International Ltd.

    65        3,213   
   

 

 

 
      45,513   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–0.2%

   

Caterpillar, Inc.

    95        10,114   

Cummins, Inc.

    30        3,105   

Deere & Co.

    65        5,359   

Dover Corp.

    25        1,695   

Eaton Corp.

    45        2,315   

Flowserve Corp.

    10        1,099   

Illinois Tool Works, Inc.

    75        4,237   

Ingersoll-Rand PLC

    45        2,043   

Joy Global, Inc.

    15        1,429   

PACCAR, Inc.

    50        2,554   

Pall Corp.

    15        843   

Parker Hannifin Corp.

    25        2,244   

Snap-On, Inc.

    10        625   

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

    25        1,801   
   

 

 

 
      39,463   
   

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES–0.0%

   

Dun & Bradstreet Corp.

    5        378   

Equifax, Inc.

    15        521   

Robert Half International, Inc.

    15        405   
   

 

 

 
      1,304   
   

 

 

 

ROAD & RAIL–0.1%

   

CSX Corp.

    150        3,933   

Norfolk Southern Corp.

    50        3,747   

Ryder System, Inc.

    5        284   

Union Pacific Corp.

    75        7,830   
   

 

 

 
      15,794   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–0.0%

   

Fastenal Co.

    40        1,440   

WW Grainger, Inc.

    10        1,536   
   

 

 

 
      2,976   
   

 

 

 
      195,158   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–1.0%

   

BEVERAGES–0.2%

   

Brown-Forman Corp.–Class B

    15        1,120   

Coca-Cola Co. (The)

    330        22,206   

Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.

    40        1,167   

Constellation Brands, Inc.–Class A(a)

    20        416   

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc.

    30        1,258   

Molson Coors Brewing Co.–
Class B

    20        895   
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

PepsiCo, Inc.

    225      $ 15,847   
   

 

 

 
      42,909   
   

 

 

 

FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING–0.2%

   

Costco Wholesale Corp.

    60        4,874   

CVS Caremark Corp.

    190        7,140   

Kroger Co. (The)

    85        2,108   

Safeway, Inc.

    45        1,052   

SUPERVALU, Inc.

    25        235   

Sysco Corp.

    85        2,650   

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

    275        14,614   

Walgreen Co.

    135        5,732   

Whole Foods Market, Inc.

    20        1,269   
   

 

 

 
      39,674   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–0.2%

   

Archer-Daniels-Midland Co.

    85        2,563   

Campbell Soup Co.

    25        864   

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

    50        1,290   

Dean Foods Co.(a)

    20        245   

General Mills, Inc.

    85        3,164   

Hershey Co. (The)

    20        1,137   

HJ Heinz Co.

    45        2,398   

Hormel Foods Corp.

    15        447   

JM Smucker Co. (The)

    15        1,147   

Kellogg Co.

    35        1,936   

Kraft Foods, Inc.–Class A

    245        8,631   

McCormick & Co., Inc.

    15        744   

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co.–Class A

    30        2,026   

Sara Lee Corp.

    80        1,519   

Tyson Foods, Inc.–Class A

    35        680   
   

 

 

 
      28,791   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS–0.2%

   

Clorox Co.

    20        1,349   

Colgate-Palmolive Co.

    75        6,556   

Kimberly-Clark Corp.

    55        3,661   

Procter & Gamble Co. (The)

    395        25,110   
   

 

 

 
      36,676   
   

 

 

 

PERSONAL PRODUCTS–0.0%

   

Avon Products, Inc.

    55        1,540   

Estee Lauder Cos., Inc. (The)–Class A

    15        1,578   
   

 

 

 
      3,118   
   

 

 

 

TOBACCO–0.2%

   

Altria Group, Inc.

    290        7,659   

Lorillard, Inc.

    20        2,178   

Philip Morris International, Inc.

    260        17,360   

Reynolds American, Inc.

    45        1,667   
   

 

 

 
      28,864   
   

 

 

 
      180,032   
   

 

 

 

 

7


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–1.0%

   

AUTO COMPONENTS–0.0%

   

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (The)(a)

    30      $ 503   

Johnson Controls, Inc.

    90        3,750   
   

 

 

 
      4,253   
   

 

 

 

AUTOMOBILES–0.0%

   

Ford Motor Co.(a)

    525        7,240   

Harley-Davidson, Inc.

    30        1,229   
   

 

 

 
      8,469   
   

 

 

 

DISTRIBUTORS–0.0%

   

Genuine Parts Co.

    20        1,088   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED CONSUMER SERVICES–0.0%

   

Apollo Group, Inc.–Class A(a)

    15        655   

DeVry, Inc.

    10        591   

H&R Block, Inc.

    40        642   
   

 

 

 
      1,888   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–0.2%

   

Carnival Corp.

    65        2,446   

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.–
Class A(a)

    4        1,233   

Darden Restaurants, Inc.

    20        995   

International Game Technology

    40        703   

Marriott International, Inc.–
Class A

    45        1,597   

McDonald’s Corp.

    150        12,648   

Starbucks Corp.

    100        3,949   

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

    25        1,401   

Wyndham Worldwide Corp.

    20        673   

Wynn Resorts Ltd.

    10        1,435   

Yum! Brands, Inc.(a)

    65        3,591   
   

 

 

 
      30,671   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–0.0%

   

DR Horton, Inc.

    35        403   

Fortune Brands, Inc.

    20        1,275   

Harman International Industries, Inc.

    10        456   

Leggett & Platt, Inc.

    15        366   

Lennar Corp.–Class A

    20        363   

Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.

    35        552   

Pulte Group, Inc.(a)

    45        345   

Whirlpool Corp.

    10        813   
   

 

 

 
      4,573   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–0.1%

   

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

    50        10,224   

Expedia, Inc.

    25        725   

NetFlix, Inc.(a)

    6        1,576   

Priceline.com, Inc.(a)

    7        3,584   
   

 

 

 
      16,109   
   

 

 

 
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

LEISURE EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS–0.0%

   

Hasbro, Inc.

    20      $ 879   

Mattel, Inc.

    45        1,237   
   

 

 

 
      2,116   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–0.3%

   

Cablevision Systems Corp.

    30        1,086   

CBS Corp.–Class B

    90        2,564   

Comcast Corp.–Class A

    390        9,883   

DIRECTV(a)

    115        5,844   

Discovery Communications, Inc.–Class A(a)

    35        1,434   

Gannett Co., Inc.

    30        430   

Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (The)

    65        813   

McGraw-Hill Cos., Inc. (The)

    40        1,676   

News Corp.–Class A

    315        5,575   

Omnicom Group, Inc.

    40        1,926   

Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc.–Class A

    10        489   

Time Warner Cable, Inc.–Class A

    55        4,292   

Time Warner, Inc.

    155        5,637   

Viacom, Inc.–Class B

    80        4,080   

Walt Disney Co. (The)

    265        10,346   

Washington Post Co. (The)–
Class B

    1        419   
   

 

 

 
      56,494   
   

 

 

 

MULTILINE RETAIL–0.1%

   

Big Lots, Inc.(a)

    10        332   

Family Dollar Stores, Inc.

    15        788   

JC Penney Co., Inc.

    30        1,036   

Kohl’s Corp.

    40        2,000   

Macy’s, Inc.

    55        1,608   

Nordstrom, Inc.

    20        939   

Sears Holdings Corp.(a)

    5        357   

Target Corp.

    105        4,926   
   

 

 

 
      11,986   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–0.2%

   

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.–Class A

    10        669   

AutoNation, Inc.(a)

    5        183   

AutoZone, Inc.(a)

    5        1,474   

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.(a)

    35        2,043   

Best Buy Co., Inc.

    40        1,256   

CarMax, Inc.(a)

    30        992   

GameStop Corp.–Class A(a)

    15        400   

Gap, Inc. (The)

    55        996   

Home Depot, Inc.

    230        8,331   

Limited Brands, Inc.

    35        1,346   

Lowe’s Cos., Inc.

    190        4,429   

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.(a)

    20        1,310   

Ross Stores, Inc.

    15        1,202   

Staples, Inc.

    95        1,501   

Tiffany & Co.

    15        1,178   

TJX Cos., Inc.

    55        2,889   

Urban Outfitters, Inc.(a)

    15        422   
   

 

 

 
      30,621   
   

 

 

 

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

TEXTILES, APPAREL & LUXURY GOODS–0.1%

   

Coach, Inc.

    40      $ 2,557   

NIKE, Inc.–Class B

    60        5,399   

Polo Ralph Lauren Corp.–Class A

    10        1,326   

VF Corp.

    15        1,628   
   

 

 

 
      10,910   
   

 

 

 
      179,178   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–0.3%

   

CHEMICALS–0.2%

   

Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.

    30        2,867   

Airgas, Inc.

    10        700   

CF Industries Holdings, Inc.

    10        1,417   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)

    165        5,940   

Eastman Chemical Co.

    10        1,021   

Ecolab, Inc.

    30        1,691   

EI du Pont de Nemours & Co.

    135        7,297   

FMC Corp.

    10        860   

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.

    10        642   

Monsanto Co.

    80        5,803   

PPG Industries, Inc.

    30        2,724   

Praxair, Inc.

    50        5,420   

Sherwin-Williams Co. (The)

    15        1,258   

Sigma-Aldrich Corp.

    15        1,101   
   

 

 

 
      38,741   
   

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS–0.0%

   

Vulcan Materials Co.

    15        578   
   

 

 

 

CONTAINERS & PACKAGING–0.0%

   

Ball Corp.

    20        769   

Bemis Co., Inc.

    10        338   

Owens-Illinois, Inc.(a)

    20        516   

Sealed Air Corp.

    20        476   
   

 

 

 
      2,099   
   

 

 

 

METALS & MINING–0.1%

   

AK Steel Holding Corp.

    10        158   

Alcoa, Inc.

    140        2,220   

Allegheny Technologies, Inc.

    15        952   

Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc.

    20        1,849   

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.

    135        7,141   

Newmont Mining Corp.

    75        4,048   

Nucor Corp.

    40        1,649   

Titanium Metals Corp.

    10        183   

United States Steel Corp.

    20        921   
   

 

 

 
      19,121   
   

 

 

 

PAPER & FOREST
PRODUCTS–0.0%

   

International Paper Co.

    65        1,939   

MeadWestvaco Corp.

    20        666   
   

 

 

 
      2,605   
   

 

 

 
      63,144   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

   

U.S. $ Value

 
   

UTILITIES–0.3%

   

ELECTRIC UTILITIES–0.2%

   

American Electric Power Co., Inc.

    65      $ 2,449   

Duke Energy Corp.

    185        3,484   

Edison International

    45        1,744   

Entergy Corp.

    25        1,707   

Exelon Corp.

    90        3,856   

FirstEnergy Corp.

    55        2,428   

NextEra Energy, Inc.

    65        3,735   

Northeast Utilities

    20        703   

Pepco Holdings, Inc.

    30        589   

Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

    15        669   

PPL Corp.

    75        2,087   

Progress Energy, Inc.

    40        1,920   

Southern Co.

    120        4,846   
   

 

 

 
      30,217   
   

 

 

 

GAS UTILITIES–0.0%

   

Nicor, Inc.

    5        274   

Oneok, Inc.

    15        1,110   
   

 

 

 
      1,384   
   

 

 

 

INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS & ENERGY TRADERS–0.0%

   

AES Corp. (The)(a)

    85        1,083   

Constellation Energy Group, Inc.

    25        949   

NRG Energy, Inc.(a)

    30        737   
   

 

 

 
      2,769   
   

 

 

 

MULTI-UTILITIES–0.1%

   

Ameren Corp.

    30        865   

CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

    55        1,064   

CMS Energy Corp.

    30        591   

Consolidated Edison, Inc.

    40        2,130   

Dominion Resources, Inc.

    85        4,103   

DTE Energy Co.

    20        1,000   

Integrys Energy Group, Inc.

    10        518   

NiSource, Inc.

    35        709   

PG&E Corp.

    55        2,312   

Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.

    75        2,448   

SCANA Corp.

    15        591   

Sempra Energy

    40        2,115   

TECO Energy, Inc.

    25        472   

Wisconsin Energy Corp.

    30        940   

Xcel Energy, Inc.

    60        1,458   
   

 

 

 
      21,316   
   

 

 

 
      55,686   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–0.3%

   

DIVERSIFIED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–0.3%

   

AT&T, Inc.

    830        26,070   

CenturyLink, Inc.

    80        3,235   

Frontier Communications Corp.

    140        1,130   

Verizon Communications, Inc.

    400        14,892   

 

9


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

Windstream Corp.

    65      $ 842   
   

 

 

 
      46,169   
   

 

 

 

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–0.0%

   

American Tower Corp.–
Class A(a)

    55        2,878   

MetroPCS Communications, Inc.(a)

    35        602   

Sprint Nextel Corp.(a)

    420        2,264   
   

 

 

 
      5,744   
   

 

 

 
      51,913   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $1,712,583)

      1,696,649   
   

 

 

 

SHORT-TERM
INVESTMENTS–50.8%

   

INVESTMENT
COMPANIES–45.2%

   

AllianceBernstein Fixed-Income Shares, Inc.–Government STIF Portfolio, 0.08%(b)

    8,103,880        8,103,880   
   

 

 

 
Company   Principal
Amount
(000)
   

U.S. $ Value

 
   

U.S. GOVERNMENT & GOVERNMENT SPONSORED AGENCY OBLIGATION–5.6%

   

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Discount Notes

   

Zero Coupon, 7/11/11

  $   1,000      $ 999,975   
   

 

 

 
   

Total Short-Term Investments
(cost $9,103,855)

      9,103,855   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL
INVESTMENTS–100.1%
(cost $17,877,164)

      17,959,642   

Other assets less
liabilities–(0.1)%

      (26,035
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 17,933,607   
   

 

 

 

FUTURES CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Type   

Number of

Contracts

    

Expiration

Month

    

Original

Value

    

Value at

June 30,

2011

    

Unrealized

Appreciation/

(Depreciation)

 

Purchased Contracts

              

German Euro Bund Futures

     1         September 2011       $   182,590       $   181,965       $   (625

JGB MINI 10 Yr Futures

     2         September 2011         350,266         350,587         321   

MSCI EAFE EMini Futures

     26         September 2011           2,189,242           2,230,670         41,428   

MSCI Emerging Market EMini Futures

     8         September 2011         455,573         462,400         6,827   

Russell 2000 Mini Index Futures

     2         September 2011         154,793         165,080         10,287   

S+P 500 E Mini Index Futures

     17         September 2011         1,079,262         1,118,175         38,913   

S+P Midcap 400 EMini Index Futures

     1         September 2011         92,781         97,650         4,869   

U.S. T-Note 10 Yr Futures

     10         September 2011         1,225,813         1,223,281         (2,532

U.S. T-Note 2 Yr Futures

     5         September 2011         1,094,696         1,096,719         2,023   

Ultra Long U.S. T- Bond Futures

     3         September 2011         382,348         378,750         (3,598
              

 

 

 
                 $  97,913   
              

 

 

 

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Counterparty & Description   

Contract

Amount

(000)

    

U.S. $

Value on

Origination Date

    

U.S. $

Value at

June 30, 2011

    

Unrealized

Appreciation/

(Depreciation)

 

Buy Contracts

           

State Street Bank and Trust Co.:

           

Australian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     32       $ 33,386       $ 34,012       $ 626   

Great British Pound settling 9/15/11

     30         47,936         48,106         170   

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     4,440         55,510         55,173         (337

Sale Contracts

           

State Street Bank and Trust Co.:

           

Australian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     66         68,892         70,150         (1,258

Canadian Dollar settling 9/15/11

     43         43,898         44,505         (607

Great British Pound settling 9/15/11

     110         178,400         176,389            2,011   

Great British Pound settling 9/15/11

     306           491,121           490,683         438   

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     14,752         183,853         183,316         537   

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     1,450         18,035         18,019         16   

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     2,207         27,414         27,425         (11

Japanese Yen settling 9/15/11

     2,495         30,769         31,004         (235

TOTAL RETURN SWAP CONTRACTS ON INDICES (see Note D)

 

Receive

Total

Return on

Reference

Index

   Index   

# of Shares

or Units

     Floating Rate   

Notional

Amount

(000)

    

Maturity

Date

     Counterparty   

Unrealized

Appreciation/

(Depreciation)

 

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      17       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*    $   51         6/15/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.    $   1,203   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      11       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      33         6/15/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      779   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      11       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      33         6/15/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      778   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      10       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      30         6/15/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      708   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      13       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      40         6/15/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      475   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      10       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      30         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      773   

 

11


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Receive

Total

Return on

Reference

Index

   Index   

# of Shares

or Units

     Floating Rate   

Notional

Amount

(000)

    

Maturity

Date

     Counterparty   

Unrealized

Appreciation/

(Depreciation)

 

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      9       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*    $ 27         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.    $ 702   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      6       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      18         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      552   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      6       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      18         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      438   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      5       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      15         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      387   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      5       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      15         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      279   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      6       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      18         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      253   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed RealEstate index      6       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      18         7/16/12       JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.      137   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      233       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*        702         4/16/12       UBS AG      16,496   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      18       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      54         5/15/12       UBS AG      1,274   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      11       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      33         6/15/12       UBS AG      779   

Receive

   FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Developed Real Estate index      8       1-Month USD-LIBOR-BBA Plus a specified spread*      24         6/15/12       UBS AG      566   
                    

 

 

 
                     $   26,579   
                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

*   BBA—British Bankers’ Association

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

(b)   Investment in affiliated money market mutual fund. The rate shown represents the 7-day yield as of period end.

Glossary:

LIBOR—London Interbank Offered Rates

REIT—Real Estate Investment Trust

See notes to financial statements.

 

13


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value

  

Unaffiliated issuers (cost $9,773,284)

   $ 9,855,762   

Affiliated issuers (cost $8,103,880)

     8,103,880   

Cash

     297,584 (a) 

Receivable for capital stock sold

     166,598   

Prepaid expenses

     68,302   

Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts

     42,309   

Unrealized appreciation on total return swap contracts

     26,579   

Interest and dividends receivable

     25,923   

Receivable due from Adviser

     17,589   

Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     3,798   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     133   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     18,608,457   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     639,922   

Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     2,448   

Distribution fee payable

     991   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     138   

Accrued expenses

     31,351   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     674,850   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 17,933,607   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 1,782   

Additional paid-in capital

     17,808,457   

Accumulated net investment loss

     (4,316

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (80,636

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     208,320   
  

 

 

 
   $ 17,933,607   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $   10,055,755           999,000         $   10.07   

B

     $   7,877,852           782,721         $   10.06   

 

 

 

(a)   An amount of $297,584 has been segregated to collateralize margin requirements for open futures contracts outstanding at June 30, 2011.

See notes to financial statements.

 

14


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
For the period April 1, 2011(a) to June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Interest

   $ 11,828   

Dividends

  

Unaffiliated issuers (net of foreign taxes withheld of $5)

     8,496   

Affiliated issuers

     1,357   
  

 

 

 
     21,681   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     20,388   

Distribution fee—Class B

     1,240   

Transfer agency—Class A

     2,093   

Transfer agency—Class B

     371   

Amortization of offering expenses

     21,698   

Custodian

     20,057   

Administrative

     20,000   

Audit

     13,728   

Legal

     10,824   

Printing

     3,344   

Directors’ fees

     968   

Miscellaneous

     440   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     115,151   

Less: expenses waived and reimbursed by the Adviser (see Note B)

     (89,154
  

 

 

 

Net expenses

     25,997   
  

 

 

 

Net investment loss

     (4,316
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized loss on:

  

Investment transactions

     (27,963

Futures contracts

     (48,664

Swap contracts

     (4,009

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     82,478   

Futures contracts

     97,913   

Swap contracts

     26,579   

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     1,350   
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     127,684   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 123,368   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

15


 
DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     April 1,
2011(a) to
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

  

Net investment loss

   $ (4,316

Net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (80,636

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency
denominated assets and liabilities

     208,320   
  

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     123,368   

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

  

Net increase

     17,810,239   
  

 

 

 

Total increase

     17,933,607   

NET ASSETS

  

Beginning of period

     –0 – 
  

 

 

 

End of period (including accumulated net investment loss of ($4,316))

   $ 17,933,607   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

16


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is to maximize total return consistent with the Adviser’s determination of reasonable risk. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio commenced operations on April 1, 2011. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security. Investments in money market funds are valued at their net asset value each day.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

17


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Investment Companies

     $ –0 –     $ 3,721,935       $ –0 –     $ 3,721,935   

Governments—Treasuries

       –0 –       3,437,203         –0 –       3,437,203   

Common Stocks

       1,696,649         –0 –       –0 –       1,696,649   

Short-Term Investments

             

Investment Companies

       8,103,880         –0 –       –0 –       8,103,880   

U.S. Government & Government Sponsored Agency Obligation

       –0 –       999,975         –0 –       999,975   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       9,800,529         8,159,113         –0 –       17,959,642   

Other Financial Instruments*:

             

Assets:

             

Futures Contracts

       104,668         –0 –       –0 –       104,668

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       3,798         –0 –       3,798   

Total Return Swap Contracts

       –0 –       26,579         –0 –       26,579   

Liabilities:

             

Futures Contracts

       (6,755      –0 –       –0 –       (6,755 )# 

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       (2,448      –0 –       (2,448
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 9,898,442       $ 8,187,042       $ –0 –     $ 18,085,484   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

 

#   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for the current tax year and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

8. Offering Expenses

Offering expenses of $90,000 have been deferred and are being amortized on a straight line basis over a one year period.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .70% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to .85% and 1.10% of daily average net assets for Class A and Class B shares, respectively (the “Expense Caps”). The Expense Caps will expire on May 1, 2012 and may be extended by the Adviser for additional one-year terms. For the period ended June 30, 2011, the amount of such fees waived was $69,154, that is subject to repayment.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the period ended June 30, 2011, the Adviser voluntarily agreed to waive the entire amount of such fees of $20,000.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $321 for the period ended June 30, 2011.

The Portfolio may invest in the AllianceBernstein Fixed-Income Shares, Inc.–Government STIF Portfolio, an open-end management investment company managed by the Adviser. The Government STIF Portfolio is offered as a cash management option to mutual funds and other institutional accounts of the Adviser, and is not available for direct purchase by

 

19


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

members of the public. The Government STIF Portfolio pays no investment management fees but does bear its own expenses. A summary of the Portfolio’s transactions in shares of the Government STIF Portfolio for the period ended June 30, 2011 is as follows:

 

Market Value

April 1, 2011(a)

(000)

 

Purchases

at Cost

(000)

   

Sales

Proceeds

(000)

   

Market Value

June 30, 2011

(000)

   

Dividend

Income

(000)

 
$0   $ 15,391      $ 7,287      $ 8,104      $ 1   

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the period ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $1,476, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the period ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases        Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 6,072,977         $ 678,738   

U.S. government securities

       3,466,461           55,601   

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation (excluding futures, foreign currency and swap transactions) are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $  147,413   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (64,935
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 82,478   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The principal types of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Futures Contracts

The Portfolio may buy or sell futures contracts for the purpose of hedging its portfolio against adverse effects of anticipated movements in the market. The Portfolio bears the market risk that arises from changes in the value of these instruments and the imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and movements in the price of the securities hedged or used for cover. The Portfolio may also purchase or sell futures contracts for foreign currencies or options thereon for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investment in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

At the time the Portfolio enters into a futures contract, the Portfolio deposits and maintains as collateral an initial margin with the broker, as required by the exchange on which the transaction is effected. Pursuant to the contract, the Portfolio agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the contract. Such receipts or payments are known as variation margin and are recorded by the Portfolio as unrealized gains or losses. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of the contract. The credit/counterparty risk for exchange-traded futures contracts is generally less than privately negotiated futures contracts, since the clearinghouse, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded future, provides a guarantee of performance. This guarantee is supported by a daily payment system (i.e., margin requirements). When the contract is closed, the Portfolio records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the time it was closed.

Use of long futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to risk of loss in excess of the amounts shown on the statement of assets and liabilities, up to the notional value of the futures contracts. Use of short futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to unlimited risk of loss. Under some circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day’s settlement price, which could effectively prevent liquidation of unfavorable positions.

During the period ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held futures contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

 

   

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

The Portfolio may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign portfolio holdings, to hedge certain firm purchase and sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies and for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

A forward currency exchange contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated forward rate. The gain or loss arising from the difference between the original contract and the closing of such contract would be included in net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions. Fluctuations in the value of open forward currency exchange contracts are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized appreciation and/or depreciation by the Portfolio. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of a contract and from unanticipated movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The face or contract amount, in U.S. dollars reflects the total exposure the Portfolio has in that particular currency contract.

During the period ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held foreign currency exchange contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

 

   

Swap Agreements

The Portfolio may enter into swaps to hedge its exposure to interest rates, credit risk, equity markets and currencies. The Portfolio may also enter into swaps for non-hedging purposes as a means of gaining market exposures including by making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions” or in order to take a “long” or “short” position with respect to an underlying referenced asset described below under “Total Return Swaps”. A swap is an agreement that obligates two parties to exchange a series of cash flows at specified intervals based upon or calculated by reference to changes in specified prices or rates for a specified amount of an underlying asset. The payment flows are usually netted against each other, with the difference being paid by one party to the other. In addition, collateral may be pledged or received by the Portfolio in accordance with the terms of the

 

21


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

respective swap agreements to provide value and recourse to the Portfolio or its counterparties in the event of default, bankruptcy or insolvency by one of the parties to the swap agreement.

Risks may arise as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the swap contract to comply with the terms of the swap contract. The loss incurred by the failure of a counterparty is generally limited to the net interim payment to be received by the Portfolio, and/or the termination value at the end of the contract. Therefore, the Portfolio considers the creditworthiness of each counterparty to a swap contract in evaluating potential counterparty risk. This risk is mitigated by having a netting arrangement between the Portfolio and the counterparty and by the posting of collateral by the counterparty to the Portfolio to cover the Portfolio’s exposure to the counterparty. Additionally, risks may arise from unanticipated movements in interest rates or in the value of the underlying securities. The Portfolio accrues for the interim payments on swap contracts on a daily basis, with the net amount recorded within unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts on the statement of assets and liabilities, where applicable. Once the interim payments are settled in cash, the net amount is recorded as realized gain/(loss) on swaps on the statement of operations, in addition to any realized gain/(loss) recorded upon the termination of swap contracts. Fluctuations in the value of swap contracts are recorded as a component of net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts on the statement of operations.

Total Return Swaps:

The Portfolio may enter into total return swaps in order take a “long” or “short” position with respect to an underlying referenced asset. The Portfolio is subject to market price volatility of the underlying referenced asset. A total return swap involves commitments to pay interest in exchange for a market linked return based on a notional amount. To the extent that the total return of the security, group of securities or index underlying the transaction exceeds or falls short of the offsetting interest obligation, the Portfolio will receive a payment from or make a payment to the counterparty.

During the period ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held total return swaps for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

Documentation governing the Portfolio’s swap transactions may contain provisions for early termination of a swap in the event the net assets of the Portfolio decline below specific levels set forth in the documentation (“net asset contingent features”). If these levels are triggered, the Portfolio’s counterparty has the right to terminate the swap and require the Portfolio to pay or receive a settlement amount in connection with the terminated swap transaction. As of June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had no swap contracts in liability positions with net asset contingent features.

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

    

Asset Derivatives

   

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

  

Statement of

Assets and Liabilities

Location

   Fair Value    

Statement of

Assets and Liabilities

Location

   Fair Value  

Foreign exchange contracts

   Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 3,798      Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 2,448   

Equity contracts

   Receivable/Payable for variation margin on futures contracts      102,324     

Interest rate contracts

        Receivable/Payable for variation margin on futures contracts      4,411

Equity contracts

   Unrealized appreciation on total return swap contracts      26,579        
     

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total

      $ 132,701         $ 6,859   
     

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

*   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the period ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
    Change in Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Foreign exchange contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities    $ 0      $ 1,350   

Equity contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts      (102,775     102,324   

Interest rate contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts      54,111        (4,411

Equity contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on swap contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts      (4,009     26,579   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ (52,673   $ 125,842   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the period ended June 30, 2011, the average monthly original value of futures contracts was $6,092,225 and the average monthly notional amount of total return swap contracts was $916,740. For one month of the period the average monthly principal amount of foreign currency exchange contracts was $1,179,214.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    April 1, 2011(a) to
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
        April 1, 2011(a) to
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
 

Class A

     

Shares sold

    999,000        $ 9,990,000   
 

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase

    999,000        $ 9,990,000   
 

 

 

     

 

 

 

Class B

     

Shares sold

    787,106        $ 7,863,618   

Shares redeemed

    (4,385       (43,379
 

 

 

     

 

 

 

Net increase

    782,721        $ 7,820,239   
 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

 

23


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk—Interest rate risk is the risk that changes in interest rates will affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments in fixed-income debt securities such as bonds or notes. Increases in interest rates may cause the value of the Portfolio’s investments to decline. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. The degree of risk for a particular security may be reflected in its credit risk rating. Credit risk is greater for medium quality and lower-rated securities. Lower-rated debt securities and similar unrated securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) have speculative elements or are predominantly speculative risks.

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio was included as a part of the Facility on July 14, 2011.

NOTE H: Tax Information

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses.

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

24


 
DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    April 1, 2011(a) to
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $10.00   
 

 

 

 
 

Income From Investment Operations

 

Net investment loss (b)(c)

    (.00 )(d) 

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .07   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    .07   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $10.07   
 

 

 

 
 

Total Return

 

Total investment return based on net asset value (e)

    .70
 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $10,056   

Ratio to average net assets of:

 

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements (f)

    .85

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements (f)

    3.91

Net investment loss (c)(f)

    (.11 )% 

Portfolio turnover rate

    12

 

 

  

 

See footnote summary on page 26.

 

25


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    April 1, 2011(a) to
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $10.00   
 

 

 

 
 

Income From Investment Operations

 

Net investment loss (b)(c)

    (.00 )(d) 

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .06   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    .06   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $10.06   
 

 

 

 
 

Total Return

 

Total investment return based on net asset value (e)

    .60
 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $7,878   

Ratio to average net assets of:

 

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements (f)

    1.10

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements (f)

    4.14

Net investment loss (c)(f)

    (.35 )% 

Portfolio turnover rate

    12

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

 

(b)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(c)   Net of fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Adviser.

 

(d)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(e)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(f)   Annualized.

See notes to financial statements.

 

26


 
DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the application of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) for an initial two-year period at a meeting held on February 1-2, 2011.

Prior to approval of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the proposed advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed approval in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services to be provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, including the Fund, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the AllianceBernstein Funds and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services To Be Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services to be provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the AllianceBernstein Funds. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements will require the directors’ approval on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, will result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services to be provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services To Be Provided and Profitability

Because the Portfolio had not yet commenced operations, the directors were unable to consider historical information about the profitability of the Portfolio. However, the Adviser agreed to provide the directors with profitability information in connection with future proposed continuances of the Advisory Agreement. They also considered the costs to be borne by the Adviser in providing services to the Portfolio and that the Portfolio was unlikely to be profitable to the Adviser unless it achieves a material level of net assets.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their proposed relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits

 

27


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges to be received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees to be paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions to be paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s future profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

Since the Portfolio had not yet commenced operations and there were no existing AllianceBernstein funds with the same investment style as the Portfolio, no performance or other historical information for the Portfolio was available. Based on the Adviser’s written and oral presentations regarding the management of the Portfolio, and their general knowledge and confidence in the Adviser’s expertise in managing mutual funds, the directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser was capable of providing high quality portfolio management services to the Portfolio.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the proposed advisory fee rate payable by the Portfolio to the Adviser. The directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a hypothetical common asset level of $100 million. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the Adviser is in the process of launching a new service for institutional clients that will provide a similar investment style as the Portfolio. The directors noted that the proposed institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the hypothetical asset level of $100 million of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio would pay the Adviser a higher fee rate than a registered investment company pursuing an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that is sub-advised by the Adviser.

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the AllianceBernstein Funds relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the estimated total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio assuming $100 million in assets under management in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. Because of the small number of funds in the Lipper category for the Portfolio, Lipper had expanded the Portfolio’s Expense Group and Expense Universe to include peers with or without a shareholder service fee.

The estimated total expense ratio of the Portfolio reflected fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements as a result of an expense limitation agreement between the Adviser and the Fund in respect of the Portfolio. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some of the other funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category also were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the estimated expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

 

28


 
    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The information reviewed by the directors showed that, at the Portfolio’s hypothetical size of $100 million, its anticipated contractual effective advisory fee rate of 70 basis points was close to the Expense Group median. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s total compensation from the Portfolio pursuant to the Advisory Agreement would be increased by amounts paid pursuant to the expense reimbursement provision in the Advisory Agreement, and that the impact of such expense reimbursement would depend on the size of the Portfolio and the extent to which the Adviser requests reimbursements pursuant to this provision. The Lipper analysis reflected the Adviser’s agreement to cap the Portfolio’s expense ratio for an initial period ending May 1, 2012. The information reviewed by the directors showed that the Portfolio’s anticipated total expense ratio, which reflected a cap, was higher than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors recognized that, based on estimated expenses, actual expenses of the Portfolio were likely to be less than the expense cap at portfolio asset levels in excess of approximately $500 million. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s anticipated expense ratio was acceptable.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the proposed advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio does not contain breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. They considered the Adviser’s position that the proposed fee was appropriate given the novelty and complexity involved in advising the Portfolio and comparisons with the fees paid by other funds in the Expense Group, and that, accordingly, it was appropriate not to incorporate breakpoints into the fee schedule. The directors also considered presentations it had received at prior meetings by an independent consultant discussing economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, as well as a presentation by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to the fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. The directors noted that the Portfolio’s anticipated contractual effective advisory fee rate was close to the median of the Lipper Expense Group. The directors informed the Adviser that they anticipated revisiting the question of breakpoints in the future if the Portfolio attracted substantial assets.

 

29


 
DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), with respect to AllianceBernstein Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2

The Portfolio’s investment objective is to maximize total return consistent with the Adviser’s determination of reasonable risk. The Portfolio is designed as a balanced fund, seeking exposure to a blend of asset classes. The Portfolio’s neutral asset allocation will be a blend of 60% equity and 40% fixed-income exposure. Within these larger allocation bands, the Portfolio will have the ability to invest in a wide variety of securities, including U.S., non-U.S. and emerging market equity and fixed-income securities, commodities, real estate-related securities and inflation securities.

The Portfolio will have the ability to invest without limit in derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards, options and swaps. The Portfolio may use derivatives and physical securities in different combinations to achieve exposure in the most efficient way.

Through the use of derivatives, the Portfolio will be able to respond to market volatility by altering its risk profile and deviate from its target asset allocation without necessarily altering its physical securities asset mix. When the Adviser determines the equity volatility is low and the equity markets present reasonable return opportunities, the Adviser may increase the Portfolio’s equity exposure by entering into equity index futures or swap agreements. This equity exposure is expected to not exceed 80%. Conversely, during periods of severe equity market volatility, when the Adviser determines that the risks in the equity markets are disproportional to the potential returns offered, the Adviser expects to use derivatives to reduce the Portfolio’s overall equity exposure. In this extreme risk-averse exposure, the Portfolio could reduce its equity exposure to 0% and increase its fixed-income exposure to 100%.

The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by the September 1, 2004 Assurance of Discontinuance (“AoD”) between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. The first factor is an additional factor required to be considered by the AoD. The Supreme Court recently held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what Section 36(b) of the 40 Act requires: to face liability under Section 36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the

 

1   It should be noted that the Senior Officer’s fee evaluation was completed on January 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on February 1-3. 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratios refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

30


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (1210). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of Section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS & RATIOS

The Adviser proposes that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement:

 

Portfolio    Advisory Fee

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

   0.70% of Average Daily Net Assets

As shown above, the advisory fee schedule of the Portfolio has no breakpoint. The Portfolio would fall in the Specialty Category, which has a fee beginning at 0.75% but is subject to breakpoints.3

In addition to paying the advisory fee, the Investment Advisory Agreement provides for the Adviser to be reimbursed for providing administrative and accounting services.

The Adviser proposed to set expense caps set forth below for an initial period. The Expense Limitation Undertaking will terminate three years after the Portfolio commences operations. During the period between the initial period and the termination of the agreements, the Adviser may be able to recoup all or a portion of the Portfolio’s operating expenses,4 which will be paid initially by the Adviser. If at any time, after the expiration of the initial period, the Portfolio’s expenses fall below the expense cap, the Adviser will be able to recoup offering costs previously paid by it to the extent that the reimbursement does not cause the expense ratios of the Portfolio’s share classes to exceed the expense caps. The Adviser’s ability to recoup offering expenses will terminate with the agreement, three years following the commencement of operations. After the initial period, the Adviser or the Portfolio may terminate the agreement on sixty days’ notice.

 

Portfolio   Expense Cap Pursuant
to Expense Limitation
Undertaking
  Estimated
Gross
Expense
Ratio
  Fiscal Year End

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

  Class A    0.85%   1.15%   December 31
  Class B    1.10%   1.40%  

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services to be provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio will be more costly than those for institutional accounts due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors will be more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for

 

3   The NYAG related fee schedule, implemented in January 2004 in connection with the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplate eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule. The advisory fee schedule for the Specialty Category is as follows: 0.75% on the first $2.5 billion, 0.65% on the next $2.5 billion, and 0.60% on the balance.

 

4   Offering expenses consist principally of the legal, accounting and federal and states securities registration fees paid by the Portfolio.

 

31


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. Finally, in recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although arguably still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts with similar investment styles as the Portfolio.5

The Adviser is in the process of launching a new service for institutional clients that will provide for a similar investment style as the anticipated Portfolio. The advisory fee schedule contemplated for the institutional account is set forth in the table below.

 

Portfolio   

Initial
Estimated

Net Assets

($MIL)

  

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

 

Effective
AB Inst.

Adv. Fee (%)

   

Portfolio

Adv. Fee (%)

 

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

   $100.0    Dynamic Asset Allocation Strategy     0.500        0.700   
      0.50% on first $500 million    
      0.40% on the balance    
      Minimum: $    million    

The Adviser manages other investment companies that have a somewhat similar investment strategy as the Portfolio. The Portfolio’s neutral asset allocation is the same as another series of the Fund, Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio, and the retail mutual fund, The AllianceBernstein Portfolios—Balanced Wealth Strategy (“TAP—Balanced Wealth Strategy”). The advisory fee schedules of Balanced Wealth Strategy Portfolio and TAP—Balanced Wealth Strategy are set forth in the table below:6

 

Portfolio   ABMF/AVPS
Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF/AVPS
Effective

Fee (%)

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee (%)

 

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

 

TAP—Balanced

Wealth Strategy

 

0.55% on first $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

    0.550        0.700   
 

AVPS—Balanced

Wealth Strategy Portfolio

 

0.55% on first $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

    0.550        0.700   

 

5   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

6   Both funds were affected by Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG.

 

32


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser manages the Sanford C. Bernstein Fund, Inc. Overlay Portfolios (the “Overlay Portfolios”). The Overlay Portfolios are designed to reduce portfolio volatility, reduce the probability of large losses and maintain returns of Private Client portfolios over time. Unlike the Portfolio, the Overlay Portfolios are not designed as stand-alone investments and are used in conjunction with globally diversified Private Client portfolios.7 The advisory fee schedule of the Overlay Portfolios is set forth in the table below. Also shown are what would have been the effective advisory fees of the Portfolio had the advisory fee schedules of the Overlay Portfolios been applicable to the Portfolio based on the initial estimate of the Portfolio’s net assets at $100 million:

 

Portfolio   Overlay Portfolio  

Advisory Fee

Based on % of

Average Daily

Net Assets8

 

Overlay
Portfolios
Effective

Fee (%)

   

Portfolio

Advisory Fee (%)

 

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

 

Overlay A Portfolio

Tax-Aware Overlay A Portfolio

  0.90%     0.900        0.700   
 

Overlay B Portfolio

Tax-Aware Overlay B Portfolio

Tax-Aware Overlay C Portfolio

Tax-Aware Overlay N Portfolio

  0.65%     0.650        0.700   

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Volatility Management Pooling Portfolio (“Volatility Portfolio”). Unlike the Portfolio, Volatility Portfolio is not designed as a stand-alone portfolio. Volatility Portfolio is utilized in conjunction with other asset class-pure Pooling Portfolios to reduce the overall portfolio volatility and mitigate the effects of extreme market environments without sacrificing long-term returns for the AllianceBernstein Blended Style Series, Inc.—Retirement Strategies (“Retirement Strategies”). The Adviser is not directly paid an advisory fee by Volatility Portfolio.9 The Adviser is directly compensated by the Retirement Strategies for managing its portfolios invested in Volatility Portfolio as well as other Pooling Portfolios.

The Adviser recently agreed to provide a sub-advisory service with a similar investment strategy to an investment company managed by another fund family. The fee schedule contemplated for the sub-advised fund is set forth in the table below.

 

Portfolio     

Sub-advised

Fund

    

Sub-advised Fund

Fee Schedule

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

     Client # 1      AB Sub-Advisory Fee Schedule:
          0.40% on first $100 million
          0.35% on next $100 million
          0.30% on the balance

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationship will be paying a lower fee than the investment companies managed by the Adviser, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such fee due to the differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the investment companies and the sub-advisory relationship. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to provide a sub-advised relationship investment related services at a different fee level than an investment company it is sponsoring where the investment adviser is provided all the services, not just investment services, generally required by a registered investment company.

 

7   Overlay A Portfolio and Tax-Aware Overlay A Portfolio are intended for use in Private Client accounts that have a higher equity weighting (e.g. 80% equity and 20% fixed-income). The other Overlay Portfolios are intended for use in Private Client accounts that have a higher fixed income weighting (e.g. 70% fixed-income and 30% equity). The Overlay Portfolios will gain exposure to various asset classes through direct investments in equity and debt securities as well as derivatives.

 

8   The advisory fees of each Overlay Portfolio are based on the percentage of each Portfolio’s average daily net assets, not an aggregate of the assets in the Portfolios shown.

 

9   Although Volatility Portfolio does not directly pay the Adviser an advisory fee for providing investment advisory services, Volatility Portfolio does reimburse the Adviser the cost for providing administrative and accounting services.

 

33


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services by other investment advisers.10 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)11 at the approximate current asset level of the subject Portfolio.12

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, and expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

The Portfolio’s original EG had an insufficient number of peers. Consequently, Lipper expanded the Portfolio’s EG to include peers with or without a 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fee. Because Lipper had expanded the EG of the Portfolio, under Lipper’s standard guidelines, the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”)13 was also expanded to include the universes of those peers with or without a 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fee.

 

Portfolio   

Contractual
Management

Fee14

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median

     Rank  

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

     0.700         0.695         5/8   

Set forth below is a comparison of the Portfolio’s anticipated total expense ratio excluding 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fee, and the medians of the Portfolio’s EG and EU. The Portfolio’s total expense ratio, excluding 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fee, rankings are also shown.

 

Portfolio   

Exp. Ratio
ex-12b-1

Fee (%)15

    

Lipper Exp.

Group
Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Dynamic Asset Allocation Portfolio

     0.850         0.796         6/8         0.790         9/12   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than it does on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser will utilize two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services to be provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems. See Section IV for additional discussion.

 

10   In considering this section, it should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

11   It should be noted that Lipper does not consider average account size when constructing EGs. Funds with relatively small average account sizes tend to have higher transfer agent expense ratios than comparable sized funds that have relatively large average account sizes. Note that there are limitations on Lipper expense category data because different funds categorize expenses differently.

 

12   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” means that the Portfolio has the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

13   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund. Due to a limited number of comparable peers available, at the request of the Senior Officer and the Adviser, Lipper allowed for the inclusion of a second peer managed by the same investment adviser in the Portfolio’s EG.

 

14   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative, and other services.

 

15   The total expense ratio excluding 12b-1/non 12b-1 service fee shown are for the Portfolio’s Class A shares.

 

34


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio has not yet commenced operations. Therefore, there is no historic profitability data with respect to the Adviser’s investment services to the Portfolio.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates will have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that they should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolios and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship. These affiliates will provide transfer agent and distribution related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments and brokerage commissions.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter and distributor, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), an affiliate of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees it 0.25%.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, will market and sell shares of the Portfolio and will normally receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries will receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio will be AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”).16 During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, ABIS was paid a fee of $18,000 by the existing Portfolios of the Fund.17

The Portfolio may effect in the future brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and pay commissions for such transactions. The Adviser has represented that SCB’s profitability from any future business conducted with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other comparable third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for its clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures,18 subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems, can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms have made such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

 

16   It should be noted that the insurance companies, linked to the variable products, provide additional shareholder services, including record keeping, administration and customer service for contract holders.

 

17   ABIS receives an annual fee of $18,000 from the Fund, which is allocated equally among the Fund’s Portfolios.

 

18   Fee structures include fee reductions, pricing at scale and breakpoints in advisory fee schedules.

 

 

35


DYNAMIC ASSET ALLOCATION PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

An independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli19 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.20 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.21 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund assets under management (“AUM”), family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of fund size and the large asset manager’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $486 billion as of December 31, 2010, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

Since the Portfolio has not yet commenced operations, the Portfolio has no performance history.

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. However, the Senior Officer recommended that the Directors discuss with the Adviser the proposed advisory fee schedule of the Portfolio, which lack potential for sharing economies of scale through breakpoints. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: March 4, 2011

 

19   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

20   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

21   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

36


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Growth Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June  30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,066.00       $   5.07         0.99

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.89       $ 4.96         0.99
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,064.70       $ 6.35         1.24

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,018.65       $ 6.21         1.24

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


GROWTH PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Apple, Inc.

   $ 6,981,936           7.3

Oracle Corp.

     3,478,587           3.6   

QUALCOMM, Inc.

     3,141,623           3.3   

Danaher Corp.

     2,387,730           2.5   

Google, Inc.—Class A

     2,293,901           2.4   

McDonald’s Corp.

     2,227,734           2.3   

United Technologies Corp.

     2,076,444           2.2   

United Parcel Service, Inc.—Class B

     1,962,546           2.1   

EOG Resources, Inc.

     1,932,084           2.0   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     1,866,672           2.0   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   28,349,257           29.7

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Information Technology

   $   27,925,866           29.3

Consumer Discretionary

     16,045,709           16.9   

Health Care

     13,277,375           13.9   

Industrials

     12,939,305           13.6   

Energy

     11,584,154           12.2   

Financials

     4,661,534           4.9   

Materials

     4,010,727           4.2   

Consumer Staples

     3,847,680           4.0   

Short-Term Investments

     933,128           1.0   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $ 95,225,478           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–98.9%

   
   

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–29.3%

   

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–4.0%

   

Juniper Networks, Inc.(a)

    22,790      $ 717,885   

QUALCOMM, Inc.

    55,320        3,141,623   
   

 

 

 
      3,859,508   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–10.4%

   

Apple, Inc.(a)

    20,800        6,981,936   

EMC Corp.(a)

    52,350        1,442,242   

NetApp, Inc.(a)

    27,420        1,447,228   
   

 

 

 
      9,871,406   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES–2.4%

   

Google, Inc.–Class A(a)

    4,530        2,293,901   
   

 

 

 

IT SERVICES–3.5%

   

Accenture PLC

    29,140        1,760,639   

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.–Class A(a)

    8,040        589,654   

Visa, Inc.–Class A

    12,050        1,015,405   
   

 

 

 
      3,365,698   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–2.1%

   

Broadcom Corp.–Class A(a)

    39,860        1,340,890   

NVIDIA Corp.(a)

    39,300        626,246   
   

 

 

 
      1,967,136   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–6.9%

   

Citrix Systems, Inc.(a)

    16,600        1,328,000   

Intuit, Inc.(a)

    17,480        906,513   

Oracle Corp.

    105,700        3,478,587   

Red Hat, Inc.(a)

    18,630        855,117   
   

 

 

 
      6,568,217   
   

 

 

 
      27,925,866   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–16.8%

   

AUTO COMPONENTS–0.7%

   

Johnson Controls, Inc. 

    14,900        620,734   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–4.6%

   

Carnival Corp. 

    25,300        952,039   

McDonald’s Corp.

    26,420        2,227,734   

Starbucks Corp.

    31,320        1,236,827   
   

 

 

 
      4,416,600   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–1.6%

   

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

    7,330        1,498,912   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–1.0%

   

Walt Disney Co. (The)

    25,460        993,958   
   

 

 

 

MULTILINE RETAIL–0.9%

   

Macy’s, Inc.

    30,450        890,358   
   

 

 

 
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

SPECIALTY RETAIL–5.3%

   

Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc.(a)

    14,310      $ 835,275   

CarMax, Inc.(a)

    19,680        650,818   

Home Depot, Inc.

    47,260        1,711,757   

Limited Brands, Inc. 

    17,395        668,838   

Lowe’s Cos., Inc. 

    21,040        490,442   

TJX Cos., Inc.

    12,900        677,637   
   

 

 

 
      5,034,767   
   

 

 

 

TEXTILES, APPAREL & LUXURY GOODS–2.7%

   

Coach, Inc.

    16,800        1,074,024   

NIKE, Inc.–Class B

    10,180        915,996   

Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. 

    9,170        600,360   
   

 

 

 
      2,590,380   
   

 

 

 
      16,045,709   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–13.9%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–3.2%

   

Amarin Corp. PLC (ADR)(a)

    17,700        256,119   

Dendreon Corp.(a)

    10,000        394,400   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

    35,280        1,460,945   

Human Genome Sciences, Inc.(a)

    15,940        391,168   

Pharmasset, Inc.(a)

    5,240        587,928   
   

 

 

 
      3,090,560   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES–2.9%

   

Covidien PLC

    27,810        1,480,326   

NxStage Medical, Inc.(a)

    17,800        370,596   

Varian Medical Systems, Inc.(a)

    7,690        538,454   

Volcano Corp.(a)

    10,190        329,035   
   

 

 

 
      2,718,411   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–4.7%

   

Express Scripts, Inc.–Class A(a)

    25,370        1,369,473   

HCA Holdings, Inc.(a)

    33,709        1,112,397   

Healthspring, Inc.(a)

    7,410        341,675   

McKesson Corp.

    12,320        1,030,568   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

    12,080        623,086   
   

 

 

 
      4,477,199   
   

 

 

 

LIFE SCIENCES TOOLS & SERVICES–0.4%

   

Illumina, Inc.(a)

    5,000        375,750   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–2.7%

   

Allergan, Inc.

    14,340        1,193,805   

Shire PLC (ADR)

    5,350        504,023   

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Sponsored ADR)

    19,030        917,627   
   

 

 

 
      2,615,455   
   

 

 

 
      13,277,375   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–13.6%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–3.2%

   

Boeing Co. (The)

    13,290        982,530   

United Technologies Corp.

    23,460        2,076,444   
   

 

 

 
      3,058,974   
   

 

 

 

 

3


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

AIR FREIGHT & LOGISTICS–2.1%

   

United Parcel Service, Inc.–Class B

    26,910      $ 1,962,546   
   

 

 

 

AIRLINES–0.5%

   

United Continental Holdings, Inc.(a)

    22,050        498,992   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–2.2%

   

AMETEK, Inc. 

    13,600        610,640   

Cooper Industries PLC 

    6,470        386,065   

Emerson Electric Co. 

    19,430        1,092,937   
   

 

 

 
      2,089,642   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–2.5%

   

Danaher Corp.

    45,060        2,387,730   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–3.1%

   

Deere & Co. 

    11,840        976,208   

Flowserve Corp. 

    11,990        1,317,581   

Joy Global, Inc. 

    6,800        647,632   
   

 

 

 
      2,941,421   
   

 

 

 
      12,939,305   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–12.2%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–4.1%

   

Cameron International Corp.(a)

    12,700        638,683   

Halliburton Co. 

    5,900        300,900   

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. 

    14,390        1,125,442   

Schlumberger Ltd.

    21,605        1,866,672   
   

 

 

 
      3,931,697   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–8.1%

   

Chevron Corp. 

    8,310        854,600   

EOG Resources, Inc. 

    18,480        1,932,084   

Noble Energy, Inc.

    19,990        1,791,704   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

    15,980        1,662,559   

Suncor Energy, Inc. (New York)

    36,100        1,411,510   
   

 

 

 
      7,652,457   
   

 

 

 
      11,584,154   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIALS–4.9%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–1.1%

   

Franklin Resources, Inc.

    3,350        439,822   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

    4,770        634,839   
   

 

 

 
      1,074,661   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–0.5%

   

Wells Fargo & Co.

    17,360        487,121   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–1.9%

   

CME Group, Inc.–Class A

    1,690        492,787   

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.(a)

    5,160        643,504   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    15,730        643,986   
   

 

 

 
      1,780,277   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–1.4%

   

AON Corp.

    7,610        390,393   
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. 

    4,330      $ 134,057   

MetLife, Inc. 

    10,150        445,280   

Prudential Financial, Inc. 

    5,500        349,745   
   

 

 

 
      1,319,475   
   

 

 

 
      4,661,534   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–4.2%

   

CHEMICALS–2.8%

   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)

    13,620        490,320   

Monsanto Co. 

    12,210        885,713   

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc. 

    22,960        1,308,491   
   

 

 

 
      2,684,524   
   

 

 

 

METALS & MINING–1.4%

   

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.

    25,070        1,326,203   
   

 

 

 
      4,010,727   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–4.0%

   

BEVERAGES–1.9%

   

PepsiCo, Inc.

    25,300        1,781,879   
   

 

 

 

FOOD & STAPLES
RETAILING–0.6%

   

Kroger Co. (The)

    25,120        622,976   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–0.5%

   

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.(a)

    5,500        490,930   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD
PRODUCTS–1.0%

   

Colgate-Palmolive Co.

    10,890        951,895   
   

 

 

 
      3,847,680   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $77,057,274)

      94,292,350   
   

 

 

 
    Principal
Amount
(000)
       

SHORT-TERM
INVESTMENTS –1.0%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–1.0%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $933,128)

  $   933        933,128   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL
INVESTMENTS–99.9%
(cost $77,990,402)

      95,225,478   

Other assets less
liabilities–0.1%

      134,218   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 95,359,696   
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

4


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $77,990,402)

   $ 95,225,478   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     657,933   

Dividends and interest receivable

     64,309   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     13,337   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     95,961,057   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     379,296   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     73,532   

Advisory fee payable

     57,574   

Administrative fee payable

     22,095   

Distribution fee payable

     11,966   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     138   

Accrued expenses

     56,760   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     601,361   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 95,359,696   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 4,518   

Additional paid-in capital

     100,943,188   

Accumulated net investment loss

     (61,743

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (22,761,343

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     17,235,076   
  

 

 

 
   $ 95,359,696   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class    Net Assets      Shares
Outstanding
     Net Asset
Value
 

A

   $   35,939,152         1,673,016       $   21.48   

B

   $ 59,420,544         2,844,712       $ 20.89   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $2,530)

   $ 500,523   

Interest

     31   
  

 

 

 
     500,554   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     367,079   

Distribution fee—Class B

     76,279   

Transfer agency—Class A

     603   

Transfer agency—Class B

     997   

Administrative

     37,661   

Custodian

     36,910   

Audit

     17,376   

Legal

     17,033   

Printing

     4,217   

Directors’ fees

     2,124   

Miscellaneous

     2,018   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     562,297   
  

 

 

 

Net investment loss

     (61,743
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain (loss) on:

  

Investment transactions

     9,739,762   

Foreign currency transactions

     (66

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     (3,385,214
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     6,354,482   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 6,292,739   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment loss

   $ (61,743   $ (5,560

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     9,739,696        10,809,093   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     (3,385,214     2,375,881   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     6,292,739        13,179,414   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     –0 –      (100,364

Class B

     –0 –      (31,535

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (9,455,976     (15,840,326
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (3,163,237     (2,792,811

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     98,522,933        101,315,744   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including accumulated net investment loss of ($61,743) and undistributed net investment income of $0, respectively)

   $ 95,359,696      $ 98,522,933   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

     $ 94,292,350       $ –0 –     $             –0 –     $ 94,292,350   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       933,128         –0 –       933,128   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       94,292,350         933,128         –0 –       95,225,478   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 94,292,350       $ 933,128       $ –0 –     $ 95,225,478   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

 

9


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion and .60% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $37,661.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $40,326, of which $107 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

 

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 40,573,737       $ 50,497,117   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $  17,905,087   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (670,011
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 17,235,076   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The Portfolio did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    13,458        17,596        $ 286,284      $ 315,037   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    –0 –      5,493          –0 –      100,364   

Shares redeemed

    (186,340     (338,612       (3,954,795     (6,105,636
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (172,882     (315,523     $ (3,668,511   $ (5,690,235
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    65,651        72,251        $ 1,348,844      $ 1,262,052   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    –0 –      1,770          –0 –      31,535   

Shares redeemed

    (346,734     (654,114       (7,136,309     (11,443,678
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (281,083     (580,093     $ (5,787,465   $ (10,150,091
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

 

11


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 131,899         $             –0 – 
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

       131,899           –0 – 
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 131,899         $ –0 – 
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ –0 – 

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (31,990,154 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     20,109,406  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (11,880,748
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward of $31,990,154 of which $14,915,472 expires in the year 2011, $4,526,627 expires in the year 2016 and $12,548,055 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year the Portfolio utilized $9,710,821 of capital loss carryforwards, and capital loss carryforwards of $23,345,915 expired at December 31, 2010.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

12


 

GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $20.15        $17.56        $13.19        $22.91        $20.27        $20.49   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (loss) (a)

    .00 (b)      .03        .04        (.04     (.05     (.04

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    1.33        2.61        4.33        (9.68     2.69        (.18
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.33        2.64        4.37        (9.72     2.64        (.22
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    –0 –      (.05     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $21.48        $20.15        $17.56        $13.19        $22.91        $20.27   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    6.60     15.06 %*      33.13 %*      (42.43 )%*      13.02     (1.07 )% 
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $35,939        $37,198        $37,948        $33,992        $75,834        $93,459   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .99 %(d)      1.00 %(e)      1.06     .94     .90     .90 %(e) 

Net investment income (loss)

    .03 %(d)      .15 %(e)      .28     (.22 )%      (.23 )%      (.22 )%(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    41     121     197     103     60     55

 

 

See footnote summary on page 14.

 

13


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $19.62        $17.10        $12.88        $22.42        $19.90        $20.15   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (loss) (a)

    (.02     (.02     .01        (.08     (.10     (.09

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    1.29        2.55        4.21        (9.46     2.62        (.16
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.27        2.53        4.22        (9.54     2.52        (.25
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    –0 –      (.01     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $20.89        $19.62        $17.10        $12.88        $22.42        $19.90   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    6.47     14.80 %*      32.76 %*      (42.55 )%*      12.66     (1.24 )% 
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $59,421        $61,325        $63,368        $53,248        $121,521        $131,337   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.24 %(d)      1.25 %(e)      1.31     1.19     1.15     1.15 %(e) 

Net investment income (loss)

    (.22 )%(d)      (.10 )%(e)      .04     (.47 )%      (.49 )%      (.47 )%(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    41     121     197     103     60     55

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.22%, 0.41% and 0.03%, respectively.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

14


 
GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

15


GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the “Index”) (the Fund’s benchmark since May 1, 2009), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the Index) the since inception period (September 1994 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and 3rd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1- and 3-year periods, in the 5th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 5-year period, and in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio almost matched the Index in the 1-year period and outperformed the Index in the since inception period but lagged the Index in the 3-, 5- and 10-year periods. The directors also reviewed performance information for periods ended March 31, 2011 (for which the data was not limited to Class A Shares), and noted that in the 3-month period the Portfolio had outperformed the Lipper VA Large Cap Growth Fund Average and the Index. The directors also took into account the Adviser’s recently implemented organizational and investment process changes that are intended to improve the investment performance of its equity services. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s performance was acceptable, but they determined to continue to monitor it closely. The directors also noted that at their February 2009 meetings they had approved a broadening of the number of stocks in the Portfolio’s portfolio, a new benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index, and that the Adviser expected that the Portfolio’s more diversified investment approach would result in improved risk adjusted performance.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

 

16


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points was the same as the Expense Group median. The directors noted that the administrative expense reimbursement was 7 basis points in the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year, and that as a result the rate of total compensation received by the Adviser from the Portfolio pursuant to the Advisory Agreement was higher than the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was higher than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors noted that several funds in the Expense Group have expense caps. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s small asset base of $95 million impacted the expense ratio. The directors also noted that the Adviser had reviewed with them steps being taken that are intended to reduce the expenses of the AllianceBernstein Funds generally. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was acceptable.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

17


GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category    Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
  

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

     Portfolio

Growth

  

75 bp on 1st $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion

60 bp on the balance

   $ 99.8       Growth Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $70,235 (0.07% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio   Fiscal Year  

Growth Portfolio

 

Class A    1.00%

Class B    1.25%

    December 31   

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Growth Portfolio

   $ 99.8      

U.S. Growth Schedule

80 bp on 1st $25m

50 bp on next $25m

40 bp on next $50m

30 bp on next $100m

25 bp on the balance

Minimum account size $25m

     0.525      0.750

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Growth Fund, Inc. (“Growth Fund, Inc.”), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of Growth Fund, Inc. and what

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.
4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

19


GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio   AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Growth Portfolio

  Growth Fund, Inc.  

0.75% on first $2.5 billion

0.65% on next $2.5 billion

0.60% on the balance

    0.750%        0.750%   

The AllianceBernstein Investment Trust Management mutual funds (“ITM”), which are offered to investors in Japan, have an “all-in” fee to compensate the Adviser for investment advisory as well as fund accounting and administrative related services. The fee schedule of the ITM mutual fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio is as follows:

 

Portfolio      ITM Mutual Fund      Fee (%)

Growth Portfolio

     AllianceBernstein U.S. Growth Stock Fund A, B-Hedged/Unhedged      0.750

The Adviser represented that it does not sub-advise any registered investment company with a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.6 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.7

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee8
    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

     Rank  

Growth Portfolio

     0.750         0.750         5/13   

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU9 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)10

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Growth Portfolio

     1.003         0.887         12/13         0.805         78/82   

 

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.
6   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.
7   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.
8   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.
9   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.
10   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than it does on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $148,965 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $462,708 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.11

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

 

 

 

11   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

21


GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli12 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.13 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.14 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio15 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)16 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.17

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     24.89           26.50           23.53           8/13           35/82   

3 year

     3.67           4.23           4.01           9/12           42/79   

5 year

     0.83           3.22           3.76           11/11           72/73   

10 year

     1.34           2.14           1.77           7/10           35/58   

 

12   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

13   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

14   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

15   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

16   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG and EU.

 

17   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)18 versus its benchmarks.19 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.20

 

     

Periods Ending February 28, 2011

Annualized Performance

 
    

1

Year
(%)

    

3

Year
(%)

    

5

Year
(%)

     10
Year
(%)
     Since
Inception
(%)
     Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
                     Volatility
(%)
     Sharpe
(%)
    

Growth Portfolio21

     24.89         3.67         0.83         1.34         7.76         18.61         0.04         10   

Russell 1000 Growth Index

     24.94         4.11         4.62         1.80         7.51         17.34         0.06         10   

Inception Date: September 15, 1994

                       

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

18   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

19   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

20   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

21   On May 1, 2009, the Portfolio’s benchmark changed from Russell 3000 Index to Russell 1000 Index.

 

23


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Growth & Income Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,097.30       $   3.17         0.61

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,021.77       $   3.06         0.61
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,095.70       $   4.47         0.86

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,020.53       $   4.31         0.86

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Amgen, Inc.

   $ 39,006,975           4.0

Chevron Corp.

     38,739,828           4.0   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     38,536,003           4.0   

Microsoft Corp.

     36,285,860           3.7   

Lorillard, Inc.

     32,314,902           3.3   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

     32,278,764           3.3   

Exxon Mobil Corp.

     26,993,746           2.8   

BP PLC (Sponsored ADR)

     26,711,299           2.8   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

     26,220,812           2.7   

Comcast Corp.—Class A

     25,516,367           2.6   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   322,604,556           33.2

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Health Care

   $ 188,060,935           19.5

Financials

     167,773,109           17.4   

Energy

     144,247,316           14.9   

Information Technology

     141,469,017           14.6   

Industrials

     97,009,591           10.0   

Consumer Discretionary

     84,146,743           8.7   

Consumer Staples

     80,756,844           8.4   

Telecommunication Services

     40,730,868           4.2   

Materials

     3,861,650           0.4   

Utilities

     3,661,464           0.4   

Short-Term Investments

     14,737,999           1.5   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   966,455,536           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–97.9%

   
   

HEALTH CARE–19.3%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–6.7%

   

Amgen, Inc.(a)

    668,500      $ 39,006,975   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

    633,200        26,220,812   
   

 

 

 
      65,227,787   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–6.1%

   

AmerisourceBergen Corp.–Class A

    196,110        8,118,954   

Cardinal Health, Inc.

    84,180        3,823,456   

HCA Holdings, Inc.(a)

    473,977        15,641,241   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

    625,800        32,278,764   
   

 

 

 
      59,862,415   
   

 

 

 

LIFE SCIENCES TOOLS & SERVICES–1.2%

   

Covance, Inc.(a)

    195,249        11,591,933   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–5.3%

   

Abbott Laboratories

    162,800        8,566,536   

Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Inc.(a)

    95,175        3,823,180   

Forest Laboratories, Inc.(a)

    137,574        5,412,161   

Merck & Co., Inc.

    515,489        18,191,607   

Pfizer, Inc.

    746,860        15,385,316   
   

 

 

 
      51,378,800   
   

 

 

 
      188,060,935   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIALS–17.3%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–3.8%

   

BlackRock, Inc.–Class A

    63,350        12,151,163   

Franklin Resources, Inc.

    56,900        7,470,401   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

    81,300        10,820,217   

State Street Corp.

    143,020        6,448,772   
   

 

 

 
      36,890,553   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–1.3%

   

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

    93,770        5,589,630   

Wells Fargo & Co.

    257,600        7,228,256   
   

 

 

 
      12,817,886   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–5.4%

   

IntercontinentalExchange, Inc.(a)

    111,700        13,930,107   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    941,280        38,536,003   
   

 

 

 
      52,466,110   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–6.8%

   

ACE Ltd.

    242,670        15,972,539   

Axis Capital Holdings Ltd.

    387,901        12,009,415   

Loews Corp.

    166,920        7,025,663   

MetLife, Inc.

    501,702        22,009,667   

Travelers Cos., Inc. (The)

    146,990        8,581,276   
   

 

 

 
      65,598,560   
   

 

 

 
      167,773,109   
   

 

 

 

 

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

ENERGY–14.8%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–2.1%

   

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

    124,700      $ 8,245,164   

Oceaneering International, Inc.

    296,140        11,993,670   
   

 

 

 
      20,238,834   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–12.7%

   

BP PLC (Sponsored ADR)

    603,100        26,711,299   

Chevron Corp.

    376,700        38,739,828   

Devon Energy Corp.

    190,500        15,013,305   

Energen Corp.

    136,700        7,723,550   

Exxon Mobil Corp.

    331,700        26,993,746   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

    84,840        8,826,754   
   

 

 

 
      124,008,482   
   

 

 

 
      144,247,316   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–14.5%

   

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–1.9%

   

Apple, Inc.(a)

    57,300        19,233,891   
   

 

 

 

IT SERVICES–3.2%

   

Accenture PLC

    126,773        7,659,625   

Amdocs Ltd.(a)

    202,800        6,163,092   

International Business Machines Corp.

    99,600        17,086,380   
   

 

 

 
      30,909,097   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–2.9%

   

Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc.(a)

    325,900        5,445,789   

Marvell Technology Group Ltd.(a)

    1,546,258        22,830,499   
   

 

 

 
      28,276,288   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–6.5%

   

Activision Blizzard, Inc.

    771,513        9,011,272   

MICROS Systems, Inc.(a)

    76,220        3,788,896   

Microsoft Corp.

    1,395,610        36,285,860   

Oracle Corp.

    424,300        13,963,713   
   

 

 

 
      63,049,741   
   

 

 

 
      141,469,017   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–10.0%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–3.4%

   

Honeywell International, Inc.

    134,605        8,021,112   

L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.

    75,960        6,642,702   

Raytheon Co.

    370,970        18,492,854   
   

 

 

 
      33,156,668   
   

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING–0.8%

   

URS Corp.(a)

    170,600        7,632,644   
   

 

 

 

 

3


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–1.2%

   

AMETEK, Inc.

    173,700      $ 7,799,130   

Hubbell, Inc.–Class B

    60,920        3,956,754   
   

 

 

 
      11,755,884   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–2.0%

   

General Electric Co.

    1,015,900        19,159,874   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–1.3%

   

Dover Corp.

    133,100        9,024,180   

Joy Global, Inc.

    38,985        3,712,931   
   

 

 

 
      12,737,111   
   

 

 

 

ROAD & RAIL–1.3%

   

Norfolk Southern Corp.

    167,722        12,567,410   
   

 

 

 
      97,009,591   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–8.7%

   

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–0.6%

   

Harman International Industries, Inc.

    127,500        5,810,175   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–1.4%

   

Liberty Media Corp.–Interactive(a)

    802,695        13,461,195   
   

 

 

 

LEISURE EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS–0.7%

   

Mattel, Inc.

    263,119        7,233,141   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–4.0%

   

Comcast Corp.–Class A

    1,006,960        25,516,367   

Interpublic Group of Cos., Inc. (The)

    727,738        9,096,725   

Time Warner, Inc.

    103,406        3,760,876   
   

 

 

 
      38,373,968   
   

 

 

 

MULTILINE RETAIL–0.4%

   

Kohl’s Corp.

    74,110        3,706,241   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–1.6%

   

GameStop Corp.–Class A(a)

    225,300        6,008,751   

Lowe’s Cos., Inc.

    164,200        3,827,502   

TJX Cos., Inc.

    109,000        5,725,770   
   

 

 

 
      15,562,023   
   

 

 

 
      84,146,743   
   

 

 

 
Company       
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
   

CONSUMER STAPLES–8.3%

   

FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING–3.3%

   

CVS Caremark Corp.

    432,917      $ 16,269,021   

Kroger Co. (The)

    643,628        15,961,974   
   

 

 

 
      32,230,995   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–0.4%

   

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

    161,655        4,172,316   
   

 

 

 

TOBACCO–4.6%

   

Lorillard, Inc.

    296,821        32,314,902   

Philip Morris International, Inc.

    180,300        12,038,631   
   

 

 

 
      44,353,533   
   

 

 

 
      80,756,844   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–4.2%

   

DIVERSIFIED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–4.2%

   

AT&T, Inc.

    755,900        23,742,819   

Verizon Communications, Inc.

    456,300        16,988,049   
   

 

 

 
      40,730,868   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–0.4%

   

CHEMICALS–0.4%

   

Solutia, Inc.(a)

    169,000        3,861,650   
   

 

 

 

UTILITIES–0.4%

   

MULTI-UTILITIES–0.4%

   

DTE Energy Co.

    73,200        3,661,464   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $816,708,638)

      951,717,537   
   

 

 

 
    Principal
Amount
(000)
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–1.5%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–1.5%

   

State Street Time Deposit 0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $14,737,999)

    $  14,738        14,737,999   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–99.4%
(cost $831,446,637)

      966,455,536   

Other assets less
liabilities–0.6%

      5,880,288   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 972,335,824   
   

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

4


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $831,446,637)

   $ 966,455,536   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     10,897,956   

Dividends and interest receivable

     865,499   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     136,053   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     978,355,044   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     4,064,248   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     1,003,968   

Advisory fee payable

     444,714   

Distribution fee payable

     164,678   

Administrative fee payable

     20,710   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     130   

Accrued expenses

     320,772   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     6,019,220   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 972,335,824   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 52,611   

Additional paid-in capital

     1,149,687,583   

Undistributed net investment income

     6,071,727   

Accumulated net realized loss on investment transactions

     (318,484,996

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     135,008,899   
  

 

 

 
   $ 972,335,824   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $   157,206,259           8,440,242         $   18.63   

B

     $   815,129,565           44,170,823         $   18.45   

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends

   $ 10,253,469   

Interest

     68,775   
  

 

 

 
     10,322,244   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     2,792,662   

Distribution fee—Class B

     1,020,252   

Transfer agency—Class A

     912   

Transfer agency—Class B

     3,740   

Printing

     116,071   

Custodian

     75,691   

Administrative

     36,279   

Legal

     18,229   

Audit

     17,355   

Directors’ fees

     1,817   

Miscellaneous

     12,334   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     4,095,342   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     6,226,902   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     81,786,507   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     4,345,748   
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment transactions

     86,132,255   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 92,359,157   
  

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


 
GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 6,226,902      $ 10,942,467   

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     81,786,507        96,916,273   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     4,345,748        9,255,997   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     92,359,157        117,114,737   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (2,574,136     –0 – 

Class B

     (8,523,506     –0 – 

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (116,161,023     (162,497,663
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (34,899,508     (45,382,926

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     1,007,235,332        1,052,618,258   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $6,071,727 and $10,942,467, respectively)

   $ 972,335,824      $ 1,007,235,332   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Growth & Income Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

        Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

     $ 951,717,537       $ –0 –     $ –0 –     $ 951,717,537   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       14,737,999         –0 –       14,737,999   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       951,717,537         14,737,999         –0 –       966,455,536   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 951,717,537       $ 14,737,999       $ –0 –     $ 966,455,536   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

 

9


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .55% of the first $2.5 billion, .45% of the next $2.5 billion and .40% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,279.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $521,585, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 264,139,680       $ 377,350,777   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 146,956,580   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (11,947,681
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 135,008,899   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The Portfolio did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    235,162        629,632        $ 4,282,023      $ 9,952,979   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    136,486        –0 –        2,574,137        –0 – 

Shares redeemed

    (3,653,998     (3,055,947       (65,978,713     (46,792,122
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (3,282,350     (2,426,315     $ (59,122,553   $ (36,839,143
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    996,870        1,401,841        $ 18,012,324      $ 21,636,957   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    456,046        –0 –        8,523,506        –0 – 

Shares redeemed

    (4,636,442     (9,574,652       (83,574,300     (147,295,477
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (3,183,526     (8,172,811     $ (57,038,470   $ (125,658,520
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

11


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010      2009  

Distributions paid from:

       

Ordinary income

     $ –0 –     $ 36,230,334   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

       –0 –       36,230,334   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ –0 –     $ 36,230,334   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 10,942,467   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (394,968,493 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     125,360,141  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (258,665,885
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $394,968,493 of which $157,399,309 expires in the year 2016 and $237,569,184 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year, the Portfolio utilized capital loss carryforwards of $84,929,373.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales.

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

13


 
GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $17.19        $15.20        $13.10        $26.82        $27.19        $24.88   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .13        .20        .21        .30        .39        .36   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions

    1.55        1.79        2.47        (9.77     .97        3.66   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      .06        –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.68        1.99        2.68        (9.47     1.42        4.02   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Less: Dividends and Distributions

  

         

Dividends from net investment income

    (.24     –0 –      (.58     (.45     (.41     (.37

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (3.80     (1.38     (1.34
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.24     –0 –      (.58     (4.25     (1.79     (1.71
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.63        $17.19        $15.20        $13.10        $26.82        $27.19   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Total Return

  

         

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    9.73 %*      13.09 %*      20.82 %*      (40.60 )%*      5.12 %**      17.29
           
Ratios/Supplemental Data

  

         

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $157,206        $201,521        $215,085        $211,920        $456,159        $529,732   

Ratio to average net assets of:

  

         

Expenses

    .61 %(d)      .63 %(e)      .63     .62     .59     .61 %(e) 

Net investment income

    1.43 %(d)      1.30 %(e)      1.58     1.61     1.43     1.42 %(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    27     66     125     184     74     60

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 15.

 

14


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $17.01        $15.08        $12.97        $26.55        $26.93        $24.65   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .11        .16        .18        .25        .32        .29   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions

    1.52        1.77        2.42        (9.66     .96        3.63   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      .06        –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.63        1.93        2.60        (9.41     1.34        3.92   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Less: Dividends and Distributions

  

         

Dividends from net investment income

    (.19     –0 –      (.49     (.37     (.34     (.30

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (3.80     (1.38     (1.34
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.19     –0 –      (.49     (4.17     (1.72     (1.64
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.45        $17.01        $15.08        $12.97        $26.55        $26.93   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Total Return

  

         

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    9.57 %*      12.80 %*      20.35 %*      (40.69 )%*      4.86 %**      16.98
           
Ratios/Supplemental Data

  

         

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $815,130        $805,714        $837,533        $819,994        $1,758,210        $2,013,964   

Ratio to average net assets of:

  

         

Expenses

    .86 %(d)      .88 %(e)      .88     .87     .84     .86 %(e) 

Net investment income

    1.18 %(d)      1.05 %(e)      1.33     1.36     1.18     1.17 %(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    27     66     125     184     74     60

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.10%, 0.27% 0.54% and 0.46%, respectively.

 

**   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio in connection with an error made by the Adviser in processing a class action settlement claim, which enhanced the performance of each share class for the year ended December 31, 2007 by 0.19%.

See notes to financial statements.

 

15


 
GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Growth and Income Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

 

16


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Russell 1000 Value Index (the “Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the Index) the since inception period (January 1991 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 3rd quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, in the 5th quintile of the Performance Group and 4th quintile of the Performance Universe for the 3- and 5-year periods, and in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio lagged the Index in all periods. The directors also reviewed performance information for periods ended March 31, 2011 (for which the data was not limited to Class A Shares), and noted that in the 3-month period the Portfolio had outperformed the Lipper VA Large Cap Value Funds Average and the Index. The directors also took into account the Adviser’s recently implemented organizational and investment process changes that are intended to improve the investment performance of its equity services. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance was acceptable.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio pays a higher fee rate than a registered investment company with an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that is sub-advised by the Adviser. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively

 

17


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 55 basis points, plus the 1 basis point impact of the administrative expense reimbursement in the latest fiscal year, was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was lower than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

18


 
GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Growth & Income Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2, The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Value

 

55 bp on first $2.5 billion

45 bp on next $2.5 billion

40 bp on the balance

  $ 1,040.0      Growth & Income Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $72,511 (0.01% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

19


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio   Fiscal Year

Growth & Income Portfolio

  Class A    0.63%   December 31
  Class B    0.88%  

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Growth & Income Portfolio

   $ 1,040.0       Relative Value Schedule      0.278      0.550
      65 bp on first $25m      
      50 bp on next $25m      
      40 bp on next $50m      
      30 bp on next $100m      
      25 bp on the balance      
      Minimum account size $25m      

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Growth & Income Fund, Inc. (“Growth & Income Fund, Inc.), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of Growth & Income Fund, Inc. and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio   AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Growth & Income Portfolio

  Growth & Income Fund, Inc.  

0.55% on first $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

    0.550%        0.550%   

The Adviser provides sub-advisory services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The Adviser charges the fees set forth below for the sub-advisory relationship that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown are the Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the sub-advisory relationship been applicable to the Portfolio based on March 31, 2011 net assets.

 

Fund   Sub-Advised
Fund
 

Sub-Advised Fund

Fee Schedule

  Sub-advised
Fund Eff.
Mgmt.
Fee (%)
   

Portfolio

Adv.
Fee (%)

 

Growth & Income Portfolio

  Client #1   0.30% on first $1 billion     0.298%        0.550%   
    0.25% on next $500 million    
    0.20% on the balance    

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolios by the Adviser.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationship is paying a lower fee than the Portfolio, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such a lower fee due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolios and the sub-advisory relationship. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee than it would be willing to manage investment company assets.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.6 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.7

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

6   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

7   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

21


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee8
      

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

       Rank  

Growth & Income Portfolio

     0.550           0.687           3/12   

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU9 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)10

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Growth & Income Portfolio

     0.627         0.712         3/12         0.782         3/36   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has equally favorable rankings on a management fee basis and on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $1,976,988 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $1,530,995 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive

 

8   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.

 

9   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

10   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.11

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli12 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.13 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.14 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

 

11   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

12   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

13   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

14   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

23


GROWTH & INCOME PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio15 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)16 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.17

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     20.29           20.40           19.79           7/12           54/125   

3 year

     –1.32           2.28           0.81           10/10           89/113   

5 year

     0.83           2.85           1.98           9/10           74/100   

10 year

     2.44           3.13           2.97           4/6           33/52   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)18 versus its benchmarks.19 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.20

 

    

Periods Ending February 28, 2011

Annualized Performance

 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year
(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

Growth & Income Portfolio

    20.29        1.32        0.83        2.44        8.69        16.49        0.09         10   

Russell 1000 Value Index

    22.16        –1.17        1.57        4.12        10.55        16.28        0.19         10   

Inception Date: January 14, 1991

  

            

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

15   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

16   The Portfolio’s PG is identical to the Porfolio’s EG. The Portfolio’s PU is not identical to the Porfolio’s EU as the criteria for including/excluding a fund from a PU is somewhat different from that of an EU.

 

17   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

18   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

19   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

20   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

24


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The first line of each class’ table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The second line of each class’ table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

     Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $ 990.20       $ 4.69         0.95

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $   1,020.08       $   4.76         0.95
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 988.80       $ 5.92         1.20

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,018.84       $ 6.01         1.20

 

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Denbury Resources, Inc.

   $ 6,718,000           3.4

Green Dot Corp.

     5,053,778           2.5   

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc.

     4,374,830           2.2   

Barrick Gold Corp.

     4,270,847           2.2   

Juniper Networks, Inc.

     4,254,232           2.1   

Greenhill & Co., Inc.

     4,041,882           2.0   

Netlogic Microsystems, Inc.

     4,034,441           2.0   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

     3,995,136           2.0   

Noble Energy, Inc.

     3,827,201           1.9   

Illumina, Inc.

     3,760,882           1.9   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   44,331,229           22.2

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Information Technology

   $ 39,967,600           20.0

Financials

     36,570,521           18.3   

Energy

     29,008,436           14.5   

Consumer Discretionary

     28,470,899           14.2   

Materials

     24,225,222           12.1   

Industrials

     20,199,037           10.1   

Health Care

     14,874,661           7.4   

Consumer Staples

     4,376,972           2.2   

Options Purchased—Calls

     780,360           0.4   

Short-Term Investments

     1,596,221           0.8   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   200,069,929           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Portfolio 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).

 

    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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
COUNTRY DIVERSIFICATION*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COUNTRY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

United States

   $ 118,292,498           59.1

Japan

     20,992,888           10.5   

China

     13,619,880           6.8   

Canada

     11,330,477           5.7   

Hong Kong

     7,984,612           4.0   

Indonesia

     4,396,351           2.2   

Germany

     3,942,337           2.0   

India

     3,208,996           1.6   

Australia

     2,472,110           1.2   

Mongolia

     2,410,609           1.2   

South Africa

     2,348,445           1.2   

Thailand

     1,910,753           1.0   

Israel

     1,905,350           0.9   

Other

     3,658,402           1.8   

Short-Term Investments

     1,596,221           0.8   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   200,069,929           100.0

 

 

 

*   All data are as of June 30, 2011. The Portfolio’s country breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. “Other” country weightings represent 0.9% or less in the following countries: Argentina and Brazil.

 

3


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company   Shares    

U.S. $ Value

 
   

COMMON STOCKS–99.0%

  

 

INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY–20.0%

   

 

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–3.5%

   

Juniper Networks, Inc.(a)

    135,055      $ 4,254,232   

QUALCOMM, Inc. 

    48,400        2,748,636   
   

 

 

 
      7,002,868   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–3.3%

   

Apple, Inc.(a)

    7,855        2,636,688   

Silicon Graphics International Corp.(a)

    44,841        771,265   

Toshiba Corp. 

    599,000        3,158,135   
   

 

 

 
      6,566,088   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES–4.7%

   

Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.(a)

    131,418        2,319,528   

LinkedIn Corp.(a)

    12,506        1,126,665   

MercadoLibre, Inc. 

    22,800        1,808,952   

Rackspace Hosting, Inc.(a)

    48,519        2,073,702   

Tencent Holdings Ltd. 

    72,800        1,988,766   
   

 

 

 
      9,317,613   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–4.7%

   

Cree, Inc.(a)

    71,250        2,393,288   

Netlogic Microsystems, Inc.(a)

    99,813        4,034,441   

NVIDIA Corp.(a)

    192,800        3,072,268   
   

 

 

 
      9,499,997   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–3.8%

   

Intuit, Inc.(a)

    41,800        2,167,748   

Red Hat, Inc.(a)

    63,700        2,923,830   

Salesforce.com, Inc.(a)

    16,710        2,489,456   
   

 

 

 
      7,581,034   
   

 

 

 
      39,967,600   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIALS–18.3%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–2.0%

   

Greenhill & Co., Inc. 

    75,100        4,041,882   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–3.2%

   

Bank Rakyat Indonesia Persero Tbk PT

    2,665,500        2,027,500   

BOC Hong Kong Holdings Ltd. 

    857,500        2,492,339   

Siam Commercial Bank PCL

    528,900        1,910,753   
   

 

 

 
      6,430,592   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER FINANCE–3.7%

   

Green Dot Corp.(a)

    148,728        5,053,778   

SKS Microfinance Ltd.(a)

    294,769        2,278,256   
   

 

 

 
      7,332,034   
   

 

 

 
Company   Shares    

U.S. $ Value

 
   

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–1.6%

   

CME Group, Inc.–Class A

    10,610      $ 3,093,770   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS)–1.8%

   

Weyerhaeuser Co. 

    165,537        3,618,639   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT–6.0%

   

BR Malls Participacoes SA

    161,700        1,849,450   

Ciputra Development Tbk PT(a)

    47,096,000        2,368,851   

Guangzhou R&F Properties Co., Ltd. 

    1,705,200        2,343,030   

Hang Lung Group Ltd. 

    330,000        2,095,397   

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. 

    233,000        3,396,876   
   

 

 

 
      12,053,604   
   

 

 

 
      36,570,521   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–14.5%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–3.2%

   

Nabors Industries Ltd.(a)

    133,650        3,293,136   

Schlumberger Ltd. 

    35,800        3,093,120   
   

 

 

 
      6,386,256   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–11.3%

   

Cameco Corp. 

    133,643        3,525,199   

Denbury Resources, Inc.(a)

    335,900        6,718,000   

Kinder Morgan, Inc./Delaware(a)

    72,556        2,084,534   

Noble Energy, Inc. 

    42,700        3,827,201   

Occidental Petroleum Corp. 

    38,400        3,995,136   

Paladin Energy Ltd.(a)

    906,900        2,472,110   
   

 

 

 
      22,622,180   
   

 

 

 
      29,008,436   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER
DISCRETIONARY–14.3%

   

 

AUTO COMPONENTS–1.5%

   

Johnson Controls, Inc. 

    72,000        2,999,520   
   

 

 

 

AUTOMOBILES–3.5%

   

Tesla Motors, Inc.(a)

    92,093        2,682,669   

Toyota Motor Corp. (Sponsored ADR)

    26,300        2,167,646   

Volkswagen AG (Preference Shares)

    9,986        2,065,061   
   

 

 

 
      6,915,376   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–2.2%

   

Ajisen China Holdings Ltd. 

    785,000        1,638,381   

Ctrip.com International Ltd. (ADR)(a)

    61,900        2,666,652   
   

 

 

 
      4,305,033   
   

 

 

 

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company   Shares    

U.S. $ Value

 
   

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–1.0%

  

 

Rinnai Corp.

    27,500      $ 1,985,901   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–3.8%

   

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

    14,440        2,952,835   

NetFlix, Inc.(a)

    10,340        2,716,215   

Rakuten, Inc. 

    1,847        1,911,690   
   

 

 

 
      7,580,740   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–1.0%

   

Walt Disney Co. (The)

    51,700        2,018,368   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–1.3%

   

Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd. 

    1,217,000        2,665,961   
   

 

 

 
      28,470,899   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–12.1%

   

CHEMICALS–3.6%

   

Linde AG

    10,700        1,877,276   

Monsanto Co. 

    39,900        2,894,346   

Stella Chemifa Corp. 

    71,000        2,514,438   
   

 

 

 
      7,286,060   
   

 

 

 

METALS & MINING–8.5%

   

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. 

    55,900        3,534,431   

Barrick Gold Corp. 

    94,300        4,270,847   

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. 

    82,700        4,374,830   

Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. 

    87,030        2,348,445   

Mongolian Mining Corp.(a)

    1,949,500        2,410,609   
   

 

 

 
      16,939,162   
   

 

 

 
      24,225,222   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–10.1%

   

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING–1.4%

   

Shaw Group, Inc. (The)(a)

    91,500        2,764,215   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL
EQUIPMENT–5.4%

   

A123 Systems, Inc.(a)

    595,600        3,168,592   

Babcock & Wilcox Co. (The)(a)

    109,700        3,039,787   

Emerson Electric Co. 

    18,500        1,040,625   

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. 

    301,000        3,496,446   
   

 

 

 
      10,745,450   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–0.4%

   

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. 

    512,202        930,740   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–1.9%

   

Fanuc Corp. 

    16,800        2,809,346   

Komatsu Ltd. 

    31,500        983,529   
   

 

 

 
      3,792,875   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–1.0%

   

Mitsubishi Corp. 

    78,700        1,965,757   
   

 

 

 
      20,199,037   
   

 

 

 
Company   Shares    

U.S. $ Value

 
   

HEALTH CARE–7.5%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–2.5%

   

Cepheid, Inc.(a)

    59,600      $ 2,064,544   

Genomic Health, Inc.(a)

    104,412        2,914,139   
   

 

 

 
      4,978,683   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT &
SUPPLIES–1.0%

   

Given Imaging Ltd.(a)

    93,629        1,905,350   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY–1.1%

   

athenahealth, Inc.(a)

    55,822        2,294,284   
   

 

 

 

LIFE SCIENCES TOOLS & SERVICES–2.9%

   

Covance, Inc.(a)

    32,600        1,935,462   

Illumina, Inc.(a)

    50,045        3,760,882   
   

 

 

 
      5,696,344   
   

 

 

 
      14,874,661   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER
STAPLES–2.2%

   

BEVERAGES–1.0%

   

Heckmann Corp.(a)

    341,040        2,059,882   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–1.2%

   

Besunyen Holdings Co. 

    6,659,000        2,317,090   
   

 

 

 
      4,376,972   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $184,394,357)

      197,693,348   
   

 

 

 
    Contracts        

OPTIONS PURCHASED-CALLS–0.4%

   

UTILITIES–0.4%

   

Market Vectors Gold Miners Expiration: Jan ‘12, Exercise Price: $65.0(a)(b)

    2,880        423,360   

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF Expiration: Jan ‘12, Exercise Price: $20.0(a)(b)

    6,000        357,000   
   

 

 

 

Total Options Purchased-Calls
(cost $1,770,285)

      780,360   
   

 

 

 
    Principal
Amount
(000)
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–0.8%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–0.8%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $1,596,221)

  $ 1,596        1,596,221   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL
INVESTMENTS–100.2%
(cost $187,760,863)

      200,069,929   

Other assets less
liabilities–(0.2)%

      (484,098
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $   199,585,831   
   

 

 

 

 

5


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts:

           

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     9,925       $   14,295,176       $   14,388,731       $      93,555   

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     6,943         11,327,227         11,141,808         (185,419

UBS AG:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     4,248         4,431,041         4,403,478         (27,563

Westpack Banking Corp.:

           

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     3,715         3,866,739         3,979,478         112,739   

Sale Contracts:

           

BNP Paribas SA:

           

Japanese Yen settling 7/15/11

     69,323         815,910         861,143         (45,233

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

(b)   One contract relates to 100 shares.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

AMBAC—Ambac Assurance Corporation

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $187,760,863)

   $ 200,069,929   

Foreign currencies, at value (cost $273,550)

     278,827   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     626,695   

Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     206,294   

Dividends and interest receivable

     146,473   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     85,366   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     201,413,584   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     593,378   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     593,189   

Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     258,215   

Advisory fee payable

     121,613   

Printing fee payable

     116,563   

Distribution fee payable

     28,157   

Administrative fee payable

     20,716   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     133   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     95,789   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     1,827,753   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 199,585,831   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 10,585   

Additional paid-in capital

     235,369,304   

Distributions in excess of net investment income

     (272,872

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (47,722,258

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     12,201,072   
  

 

 

 
   $ 199,585,831   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $ 60,529,869           3,156,706         $   19.18   

B

     $   139,055,962           7,427,931         $ 18.72   

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $54,845)

   $ 1,000,789   

Interest

     82   
  

 

 

 
     1,000,871   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     778,333   

Distribution fee—Class B

     178,560   

Transfer agency—Class A

     889   

Transfer agency—Class B

     1,963   

Custodian

     63,285   

Printing

     56,483   

Administrative

     36,309   

Legal

     17,986   

Audit

     17,500   

Directors’ fees

     1,913   

Miscellaneous

     8,767   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     1,161,988   
  

 

 

 

Net investment loss

     (161,117
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on:

  

Investment transactions

     23,841,473 (a) 

Foreign currency transactions

     1,467,599   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (27,716,387 )(b) 

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     286,282   
  

 

 

 

Net loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (2,121,033
  

 

 

 

NET DECREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ (2,282,150
  

 

 

 
  

 

 

 

(a)   Net of foreign capital gains taxes of $36,357.

 

(b)   Net of increase in accrued foreign capital gains taxes of $9,435.

See notes to financial statements.

 

8


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income (loss)

   $ (161,117   $ 990,127   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     25,309,072        29,044,761   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (27,430,105     1,878,531   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net assets from operations

     (2,282,150     31,913,419   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (340,972     (1,299,618

Class B

     (451,814     (2,657,481

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (5,290,497     (26,899,489
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase (decrease)

     (8,365,433     1,056,831   

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     207,951,264        206,894,433   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including distributions in excess of net investment income of ($272,872) and undistributed net investment income of $681,031, respectively)

   $ 199,585,831      $ 207,951,264   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

9


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”), formerly AllianceBernstein Global Technology Portfolio, is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time (see Note A.2).

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. Inputs may be

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

             

Information Technology

     $ 34,820,699       $ 5,146,901       $ –0 –     $ 39,967,600   

Financials

       17,657,519         17,002,249         1,910,753         36,570,521   

Energy

       26,536,326         2,472,110         –0 –       29,008,436   

Consumer Discretionary

       18,203,905         10,266,994         –0 –       28,470,899   

Materials

       15,074,454         9,150,768         –0 –       24,225,222   

Industrials

       10,013,219         10,185,818         –0 –       20,199,037   

Health Care

       14,874,661         –0 –       –0 –       14,874,661   

Consumer Staples

       2,059,882         2,317,090         –0 –       4,376,972   

Options Purchased—Calls

       –0 –       780,360         –0 –       780,360   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       1,596,221         –0 –       1,596,221   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       139,240,665         58,918,511      1,910,753         200,069,929   

Other Financial Instruments*:

             

Assets:

             

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       206,294         –0 –       206,294   

Liabilities:

             

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       (258,215      –0 –       (258,215
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 139,240,665       $ 58,866,590       $ 1,910,753       $ 200,018,008   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

 

+   The earlier close of the foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred between the close of the foreign markets and the time at which the Portfolio values its securities which may materially affect the value of securities trading in such markets. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available. Accordingly, a significant portion of the Portfolio’s investments are categorized as level 2 investments.

 

11


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Following is a reconciliation of investments in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value. The transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy assumes the financial instrument was transferred at the end of the reporting period.

 

     Financials     Total  

Balance as of 12/31/10

   $ 2,085,450      $ 2,085,450   

Accrued discounts/premiums

     –0 –      –0 – 

Realized gain (loss)

     211,299        211,299   

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

     37,950        37,950   

Purchases

     876,004        876,004   

Sales

     (1,299,950     (1,299,950

Transfers into Level 3

     –0 –      –0 – 

Transfers out of Level 3

     –0 –      –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of 6/30/11

   $ 1,910,753      $ 1,910,753   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

   $ 37,950      $ 37,950   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   The unrealized appreciation/depreciation is included in net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments in the accompanying statement of operations.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion and .60% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,309.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $346,248, of which $58 and $29, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 187,479,860       $ 192,807,964   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

 

13


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation (excluding foreign currency transactions) are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 23,401,803   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (11,092,737
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 12,309,066   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The principal types of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

The Portfolio may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign portfolio holdings, to hedge certain firm purchase and sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies and for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

A forward currency exchange contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated forward rate. The gain or loss arising from the difference between the original contract and the closing of such contract would be included in net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions. Fluctuations in the value of open forward currency exchange contracts are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized appreciation and/or depreciation by the Portfolio. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of a contract and from unanticipated movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The face or contract amount, in U.S. dollars reflects the total exposure the Portfolio has in that particular currency contract.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held foreign currency exchange contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

 

   

Option Transactions

For hedging and investment purposes, the Portfolio may purchase and write (sell) put and call options on U.S. and foreign securities and foreign currencies that are traded on U.S. and foreign securities exchanges and over-the-counter markets. The Portfolio may also use options transactions for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

The risk associated with purchasing an option is that the Portfolio pays a premium whether or not the option is exercised. Additionally, the Portfolio bears the risk of loss of the premium and change in market value should the counterparty not perform under the contract. Put and call options purchased are accounted for in the same manner as portfolio securities. The cost of securities acquired through the exercise of call options is increased by premiums paid. The proceeds from securities sold through the exercise of put options are decreased by the premiums paid.

When the Portfolio writes an option, the premium received by the Portfolio is recorded as a liability and is subsequently adjusted to the current market value of the option written. Premiums received from written options which expire unexercised are recorded by the Portfolio on the expiration date as realized gains from options written. The difference between the premium received and the amount paid on effecting a closing purchase transaction, including brokerage commissions, is also treated as a realized gain, or if the premium received is less than the amount paid for the closing purchase transaction, as a realized loss. If a call option is exercised, the premium received is added to the proceeds from the sale of the underlying security or currency in determining whether the Portfolio has realized a gain or loss. If a put option is exercised, the premium received reduces the cost basis of the security or currency purchased by the Portfolio. In writing an option, the Portfolio bears the market risk of an unfavorable change in the price of the security or currency underlying the written option. Exercise of an option written by the Portfolio could result in the Portfolio selling or buying a security or currency at a price different from the current market value. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had no transactions in written options.

 

14


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held purchased options for non-hedging purposes.

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

    

Asset Derivatives

    

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

  

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities
Location

   Fair Value     

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities
Location

   Fair Value  

Foreign exchange contracts

   Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 206,294       Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 258,215   

Equity contracts

   Investments in securities, at value      780,360         
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

Total

      $ 986,654          $ 258,215   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
    Change in Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Foreign exchange contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities    $ 1,528,169      $ 289,862   

Equity contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on investment transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments      (210,301     (1,031,799
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ 1,317,868      $ (741,937
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the average monthly principal amount of foreign currency exchange contracts was $33,064,671 and the average monthly cost of purchased options contracts was $1,441,079.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

 

15


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

     SHARES          AMOUNT  
     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
         Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

           

Shares sold

     150,248        433,517         $ 2,951,083      $ 7,476,983   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

     17,100        79,731           340,972        1,299,618   

Shares redeemed

     (415,633     (1,013,802        (8,134,164     (16,782,505
  

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

     (248,285     (500,554      $ (4,842,109   $ (8,005,904
  

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

           

Shares sold

     767,804        909,999         $ 14,800,488      $ 15,228,144   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

     23,194        166,823           451,814        2,657,481   

Shares redeemed

     (820,677     (2,281,874        (15,700,690     (36,779,210
  

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

     (29,679     (1,205,052      $ (448,388   $ (18,893,585
  

 

 

   

 

 

      

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

 

16


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 3,957,099         $ –0 – 
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

       3,957,099           –0 – 
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 3,957,099         $ –0 – 
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 741,560   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (70,385,943 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     36,925,261  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (32,719,122
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward of $69,983,631 of which $21,233,397 expires in the year 2011, $29,949,674 expires in the year 2016 and $18,800,560 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year the Portfolio utilized $29,683,730 of capital loss carryforwards and $142,624,480 of capital loss carryforwards expired in the current fiscal year. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Portfolio deferred to January 1, 2011 post-October currency losses of $402,312.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales, and the tax treatment of derivatives.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

17


 
GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30,  2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $19.47        $16.73        $10.90        $20.71        $17.23        $15.86   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (loss) (a)

    .00 (b)      .12        .07        .00 (b)      (.03     (.05

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    (.19     2.98        5.76        (9.81     3.51        1.42   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    (.19     3.10        5.83        (9.81     3.48        1.37   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.10     (.36     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $19.18        $19.47        $16.73        $10.90        $20.71        $17.23   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    (.98 )%*      18.93 %*      53.49 %*†      (47.37 )%*      20.20     8.64
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period
(000’s omitted)

    $60,530        $66,302        $65,358        $39,933        $93,919        $86,819   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .95 %(d)      .99 %(e)      1.00     .93     .93     .92 %(e) 

Net investment income (loss)

    .01 %(d)      .69 %(e)      .52     .00 %(f)      (.15 )%      (.30 )%(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    90     117     215     141     132     117

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 19.

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30,  2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.99        $16.34        $10.67        $20.31        $16.94        $15.63   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (loss) (a)

    (.02     .07        .04        (.04     (.07     (.09

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    (.19     2.90        5.63        (9.60     3.44        1.40   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    (.21     2.97        5.67        (9.64     3.37        1.31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.06     (.32     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.72        $18.99        $16.34        $10.67        $20.31        $16.94   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    (1.12 )%*      18.58 %*      53.14 %*†      (47.46 )%*      19.89     8.38
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period
(000’s omitted)

    $139,056        $141,649        $141,536        $84,880        $191,474        $177,350   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.20 %(d)      1.24 %(e)      1.25     1.18     1.17     1.18 %(e) 

Net investment income (loss)

    (.23 )%(d)      .44 %(e)      .27     (.24 )%      (.40 )%      (.55 )%(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    90     117     215     141     132     117

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

(f)   Amount is less than .005%.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.01%, 0.04%, 0.15% and 0.03%, respectively.

 

  Includes the impact of reimbursements from the Adviser, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the year ended December 31, 2009 by 0.01%.

See notes to financial statements.

 

19


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Portfolio (formerly named AllianceBernstein Global Technology Portfolio) (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All Country (AC) World Index (the “MSCI AC World Index”) and the MSCI World Index (Net) (the “MSCI World Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the MSCI World Index) the since inception period (January 1996 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was 2nd out of 3 of the Performance Group and in the 2nd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1- and 5-year periods, 1st out of 3 of the Performance Group and in the 2nd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 3-year period, and 2nd out of 2 of the Performance Group and in the 5th quintile of the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio outperformed the MSCI AC World Index in the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods but lagged that index in the 10-year period, and outperformed the MSCI World Index in the 1-, 3- and 5-year and the since inception periods but lagged that index in the 10-year period. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance was satisfactory. The directors also noted that at the February 2009 meetings, they had approved modifications to the Portfolio’s investment strategy and policies, including a new benchmark, the MSCI AC World Index, and a name change to AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Portfolio from AllianceBernstein Global Technology Portfolio effective May 1, 2009. As a result, the Portfolio’s investment performance prior to May 1, 2009 was not likely to be representative of performance under the new management strategy.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund except that the Portfolio’s fee rate is a monthly fee based on average daily net assets whereas the Corresponding Fund’s fee rate is a quarterly fee based on net asset value at the end of each quarter.

 

21


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The directors noted that because of the small number of funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category, at the request of the Adviser and the Fund’s Senior Officer, Lipper had expanded the Expense Group of the Fund to include peers that had a similar (but not the same) Lipper investment objective/classification. The Expense Universe for the Portfolio had also been expanded by Lipper pursuant to Lipper’s standard guidelines and not at the request of the Adviser or the Fund’s Senior Officer. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points, plus the 4 basis point impact of the administrative expense reimbursement in the latest fiscal year, was essentially the same as the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was lower than the Expense Group median and higher than the Expense Universe median. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

22


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2,3 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category  

Advisory Fee Based on % of

Average Daily Net Assets

 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Specialty

 

75 bp on 1st $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion

60 bp on the balance

  $ 215.8      Global Thematic
Growth Portfolio

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

3   Prior to May 1, 2009, the Portfolio was known as AllianceBernstein Global Technology Portfolio. In addition, the Portfolio’s non-fundamental policy was changed on May 1, 2009 to allow the Portfolio to pursue a broader mandate across multiple sectors worldwide.

 

23


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $70,917 (0.04% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio    Total Expense Ratio        Fiscal Year

Global Thematic Growth Portfolio

  

Class A

Class B

      

 

0.99

1.24


     December 31

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.4 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:5

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

  

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)

Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Global Thematic Growth Portfolio

   $215.8   

Global Thematic Research Schedule

80 bp on 1st $25m

60 bp on next $25m

50 bp on next $50m

40 bp on the balance

Minimum account size $25m

     0.493      0.750

 

4   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

5   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Fund, Inc. (“Global Thematic Growth Fund, Inc.), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of Global Thematic Growth Fund, Inc. and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:6

 

Portfolio  

AllianceBernstein

Mutual Fund

  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective

Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Global Thematic Growth Portfolio7

  Global Thematic Growth Fund, Inc.  

0.75% on first $2.5 billion

0.65% on next $2.5 billion

0.60% on the balance

    0.750%        0.750%   

The Adviser also manages and sponsors retail mutual funds, which are organized in jurisdictions outside the United States, generally Luxembourg and Japan, and sold to non-United States resident investors. The Adviser charges the fees set forth for Global Thematic Research Growth Portfolio, which is a Luxembourg fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio.

 

Fund    Fee8  

Global Thematic Research Growth Portfolio

  

Class A

     1.70

Class I (Institutional)

     0.90

The Adviser represented that it does not sub-advise any registered investment company with a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.9 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.10

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

6   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

7   The advisory fees of AllianceBernstein Global Thematic Growth Fund, Inc. is based on the mutual fund’s net assets at the end of each quarter and is paid to the Adviser quarterly, in contrast to the Portfolio, whose advisory fees is based on the Portfolio’s average daily net assets and is paid on a monthly basis.

 

8   It should be noted that Class A shares of the fund are charged an “all-in” fee, which covers investment advisory services and distribution related services, unlike Class I shares, whose fee is for only investment advisory services.

 

9   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

10   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

 

25


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Portfolio’s original EG had an insufficient number of peers in Lipper’s view. Consequently, Lipper expanded the Portfolio’s EG to include peers that have similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.11

 

Portfolio   

Contractual

Management

Fee12

  

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

   Rank  

Global Thematic Growth Portfolio

   0.750    0.800      3/10   

However, because Lipper had expanded the EG of the Portfolio, under Lipper’s standard guidelines, the Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”) was also expanded to include the universes of those peers that had a similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.13 A “normal” EU will include funds that have the same investment classification/objective as the subject Portfolio.14

Set forth below is a comparison of the Portfolio’s total expense ratio and the medians of the Portfolio’s EG and EU. The Portfolio’s total expense ratio ranking is also shown in the table below.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)15

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Universe

Rank

 

Global Thematic Growth Portfolio

     0.991         1.001         5/10         0.896         22/33   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than it does on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio increased slightly during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010,

 

11   The Portfolio’s EG includes the Portfolio, two other variable insurance product (“VIP”) Global Growth funds (“GLGE”) and seven VIP Global Core funds (“GLCE”).

 

12   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.

 

13   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

14   The Portfolio’s EU includes the Portfolio, EG and all other VIP GLGE and GLCE funds, excluding outliers.

 

15   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

26


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $328,056 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $529,003 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.16

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

An independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli17 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.18 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.19 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

 

16   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

17   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

18   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

19   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

 

27


GLOBAL THEMATIC GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio20 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)21 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.22

 

     

Portfolio

Return

      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     28.08           28.08           22.86           2/3           3/9   

3 year

       5.79             1.90             1.68           1/3           2/9   

5 year

       4.75             4.75             3.90           2/3           3/8   

10 year

       0.30             3.21             3.79           2/2           6/6   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)23 versus its benchmarks.24 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.25

 

    

Periods Ending February 28, 2011

Annualized Performance

 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year
(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized     Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
   

Global Thematic Growth Portfolio26

    28.08        5.79        4.75        0.30        5.85        25.98        0.06        10   

MSCI AC World Index (Net)

    21.54        –0.06        3.39        4.31        N/A        17.30        0.20        10   

MSCI World Index (Net)27

    21.67        –0.42        2.73        3.61        5.81        N/A        N/A        N/A   

Inception Date: January 11, 1996

               

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

20   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

21   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are not identical to the Portfolio’s EG and EU as the criteria for including/ excluding a fund in/from a PG/PU is somewhat different from that of an EG/EU.

 

22   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

23   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

24   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

25   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be viewed as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

26   On May 1, 2009, the Portfolio’s benchmark changed from MSCI World (Net) Index to MSCI AC World Index.

 

27   Benchmark since inception date is the nearest month end after the Portfolio’s inception date.

 

28


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO  

AllianceBernstein Intermediate Bond Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees of other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees of other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,029.80       $   3.37         0.67

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,021.47       $   3.36         0.67
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,028.70       $   4.63         0.92

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,020.23       $   4.61         0.92

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
SECURITY TYPE BREAKDOWN*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

SECURITY TYPE    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Corporates—Investment Grades

   $ 42,915,269           28.3

Mortgage Pass-Thru’s

     31,497,291           20.8   

Governments—Treasuries

     31,037,251           20.5   

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

     13,529,395           8.9   

Agencies

     7,004,528           4.6   

Corporates—Non-Investment Grades

     5,785,991           3.8   

Governments—Sovereign Agencies

     2,303,149           1.5   

Asset-Backed Securities

     1,608,722           1.1   

Quasi-Sovereigns

     1,193,851           0.8   

CMOs

     1,100,002           0.7   

Supranationals

     853,337           0.6   

Local Governments—Municipal Bonds

     466,240           0.3   

Governments—Sovereign Bonds

     388,315           0.3   

Other**

     547,100           0.4   

Short-Term Investments

     11,154,353           7.4   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   151,384,794           100.0

 

 

 

 

*   The Portfolio’s security type breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Portfolio 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” represents less than 0.2% weightings in the following security types: Common Stocks, Emerging Markets—Corporate Bonds and Preferred Stocks.

 

2


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

CORPORATES–INVESTMENT GRADES–29.6%

   

   

INDUSTRIAL–13.1%

     

BASIC–2.0%

     

Alcoa, Inc.
6.75%, 7/15/18

  U.S.$          178      $ 196,855   

Anglo American Capital PLC
9.375%, 4/08/19(a)

      315        414,367   

AngloGold Ashanti Holdings PLC
5.375%, 4/15/20

      250        246,153   

ArcelorMittal
6.125%, 6/01/18

      460        492,696   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)
7.60%, 5/15/14

      81        93,930   

8.55%, 5/15/19

      313        403,596   

Georgia-Pacific LLC
5.40%, 11/01/20(a)

      64        65,224   

International Paper Co.
7.50%, 8/15/21

      208        243,120   

7.95%, 6/15/18

      196        233,376   

Packaging Corp. of America
5.75%, 8/01/13

      155        165,598   

PPG Industries, Inc
5.75%, 3/15/13

      295        316,887   

Teck Resources Ltd.
6.00%, 8/15/40

      27        26,492   
     

 

 

 
        2,898,294   
     

 

 

 

CAPITAL GOODS–0.5%

     

Holcim US Finance Sarl & Cie SCS
6.00%, 12/30/19(a)

      41        43,812   

Owens Corning
6.50%, 12/01/16

      265        288,341   

Republic Services, Inc.
5.25%, 11/15/21

      150        158,486   

5.50%, 9/15/19

      230        250,728   
     

 

 

 
        741,367   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–MEDIA–2.2%

   

   

CBS Corp.
8.875%, 5/15/19

      320        407,924   

Comcast Cable Communications Holdings, Inc.
9.455%, 11/15/22

      280        389,520   

DirecTV Holdings LLC/DirecTV Financing Co., Inc.
4.75%, 10/01/14

      160        175,140   

News America, Inc.
6.55%, 3/15/33

      210        224,444   

9.25%, 2/01/13

      235        264,254   

Reed Elsevier Capital, Inc.
8.625%, 1/15/19

      320        406,798   

TCI Communications, Inc.
7.875%, 2/15/26

      210        269,291   
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Time Warner Cable, Inc.
7.50%, 4/01/14

  U.S.$          145      $ 167,048   

8.375%, 3/15/23

      371        471,002   

WPP Finance UK
8.00%, 9/15/14

      315        369,507   
     

 

 

 
        3,144,928   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–
TELECOMMUNICATIONS–1.4%

   

American Tower Corp.
5.05%, 9/01/20

      340        334,890   

AT&T, Inc.
4.45%, 5/15/21

      177        180,128   

8.00%, 11/15/31

      20        26,466   

Embarq Corp.
7.082%, 6/01/16

      176        195,645   

Qwest Corp.
7.50%, 10/01/14

      400        448,500   

Telecom Italia Capital SA
6.175%, 6/18/14

      355        382,008   

6.375%, 11/15/33

      40        35,670   

United States Cellular Corp.
6.70%, 12/15/33

      380        378,277   
     

 

 

 
        1,981,584   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–AUTOMOTIVE–0.4%

   

   

Daimler Finance North America LLC
5.75%, 9/08/11

      120        121,090   

7.30%, 1/15/12

      121        125,212   

Harley-Davidson Funding Corp.
5.75%, 12/15/14(a)

      300        327,910   
     

 

 

 
        574,212   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–ENTERTAINMENT–0.6%

   

   

Time Warner, Inc.
7.625%, 4/15/31

      390        467,914   

Viacom, Inc.
5.625%, 9/15/19

      375        416,133   
     

 

 

 
        884,047   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–OTHER–0.3%

   

   

Marriott International, Inc.
5.625%, 2/15/13

      372        396,754   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–RETAILERS–0.1%

   

   

CVS Caremark Corp.
6.60%, 3/15/19

      180        208,926   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER
NON-CYCLICAL–1.8%

   

 

Ahold Finance USA LLC
6.875%, 5/01/29

      375        423,595   

Altria Group, Inc.
9.70%, 11/10/18

      230        302,248   

 

3


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Bunge Ltd. Finance Corp.
5.10%, 7/15/15

  U.S.$          206      $ 221,500   

5.875%, 5/15/13

      180        191,788   

Cadbury Schweppes US Finance LLC
5.125%, 10/01/13(a)

      350        379,131   

Delhaize Group SA
5.875%, 2/01/14

      105        115,184   

Fortune Brands, Inc.
4.875%, 12/01/13

      374        397,641   

Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.
5.50%, 4/15/13

      155        165,909   

Reynolds American, Inc.
7.625%, 6/01/16

      280        335,837   

Whirlpool Corp.
8.60%, 5/01/14

      55        64,092   
     

 

 

 
        2,596,925   
     

 

 

 

ENERGY–2.1%

     

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.
5.95%, 9/15/16

      192        216,113   

6.45%, 9/15/36

      124        129,387   

ConocoPhillips Holding Co.
6.95%, 4/15/29

      155        188,259   

Hess Corp.
7.875%, 10/01/29

      165        207,175   

8.125%, 2/15/19

      29        36,694   

Marathon Petroleum Corp.
3.50%, 3/01/16(a)

      50        51,255   

5.125%, 3/01/21(a)

      86        88,412   

Nabors Industries, Inc.
9.25%, 1/15/19

      310        392,938   

Noble Energy, Inc.
8.25%, 3/01/19

      316        404,048   

Noble Holding International Ltd.
4.90%, 8/01/20

      32        33,263   

TNK-BP Finance SA
7.50%, 7/18/16(a)

      100        113,250   

Valero Energy Corp.
6.875%, 4/15/12

      390        407,836   

Weatherford International Ltd./Bermuda
5.15%, 3/15/13

      195        206,033   

6.00%, 3/15/18

      35        38,366   

9.625%, 3/01/19

      190        245,374   

Williams Cos., Inc. (The)
7.875%, 9/01/21

      214        265,244   
     

 

 

 
        3,023,647   
     

 

 

 

OTHER INDUSTRIAL–0.2%

     

Noble Group Ltd.
6.75%, 1/29/20(a)

      335        351,750   
     

 

 

 

TECHNOLOGY–0.6%

     

Agilent Technologies, Inc.
5.00%, 7/15/20

      64        67,179   

Computer Sciences Corp.
5.50%, 3/15/13

      280        297,443   
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Motorola Solutions, Inc.
7.50%, 5/15/25

  U.S.$          25      $ 29,248   

Xerox Corp.
8.25%, 5/15/14

      375        440,012   
     

 

 

 
        833,882   
     

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION–AIRLINES–0.3%

   

   

Southwest Airlines Co.
5.25%, 10/01/14

      210        227,232   

5.75%, 12/15/16

      155        171,195   
     

 

 

 
        398,427   
     

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION–SERVICES–0.6%

   

   

Asciano Finance Ltd.
3.125%, 9/23/15(a)

      420        414,400   

Con-way, Inc.
6.70%, 5/01/34

      271        258,334   

Ryder System, Inc.
5.85%, 11/01/16

      116        130,591   

7.20%, 9/01/15

      108        126,465   
     

 

 

 
        929,790   
     

 

 

 
        18,964,533   
     

 

 

 

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS–12.6%

   

   

BANKING–6.7%

     

American Express Co.
7.25%, 5/20/14

      210        240,174   

Bank of America Corp.
5.625%, 7/01/20

      10        10,325   

Series L
5.65%, 5/01/18

      765        806,563   

BankAmerica Capital II
Series 2
8.00%, 12/15/26

      98        99,715   

Bear Stearns Cos. LLC (The)
5.70%, 11/15/14

      450        497,012   

Citigroup, Inc.
6.50%, 8/19/13

      355        386,083   

8.50%, 5/22/19

      505        626,026   

Compass Bank
5.50%, 4/01/20

      250        244,090   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)
6.00%, 6/15/20

      395        425,015   

7.50%, 2/15/19

      295        343,245   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.
4.40%, 7/22/20

      605        592,699   

M&I Marshall & Ilsley Bank
5.00%, 1/17/17

      175        189,369   

Macquarie Group Ltd.
4.875%, 8/10/17(a)

      425        428,502   

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
6.05%, 5/16/16

      315        330,243   

Morgan Stanley
5.50%, 7/24/20

      670        678,168   

6.625%, 4/01/18

      295        324,970   

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

National Capital Trust II
5.486%, 3/23/15(a)

  U.S.$          122      $ 116,764   

National Westminster Bank PLC
6.50%, 9/07/21

  GBP          50        74,625   

Nationwide Building Society
6.25%, 2/25/20(a)

  U.S.$          330        343,174   

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The)
6.125%, 1/11/21

      240        246,027   

Santander US Debt SA Unipersonal
2.991%, 10/07/13(a)

      400        399,090   

Shinhan Bank
4.125%, 10/04/16(a)

      370        376,777   

Societe Generale SA
2.50%, 1/15/14(a)

      205        204,054   

5.20%, 4/15/21(a)

      205        201,322   

Standard Chartered PLC
6.409%, 1/30/17(a)

      100        95,245   

UFJ Finance Aruba AEC
6.75%, 7/15/13

      240        263,712   

Unicredit Luxembourg Finance SA
6.00%, 10/31/17(a)

      190        182,587   

Union Bank NA
5.95%, 5/11/16

      250        273,380   

VTB Bank OJSC Via VTB Capital SA
6.609%, 10/31/12(a)

      135        142,594   

Wachovia Corp.
5.50%, 5/01/13

      505        543,053   
     

 

 

 
        9,684,603   
     

 

 

 

BROKERAGE–0.3%

     

Jefferies Group, Inc.
5.125%, 4/13/18

      199        199,401   

6.875%, 4/15/21

      164        176,260   
     

 

 

 
        375,661   
     

 

 

 

FINANCE–0.5%

     

HSBC Finance Corp.
7.00%, 5/15/12

      280        294,904   

SLM Corp. Series A
5.375%, 5/15/14

      483        502,865   
     

 

 

 
        797,769   
     

 

 

 

INSURANCE–4.4%

     

Aetna, Inc.
6.00%, 6/15/16

      135        154,624   

Aflac, Inc.
3.45%, 8/15/15

      70        71,488   

Allstate Corp. (The)
6.125%, 5/15/37

      435        431,737   

American International Group, Inc.
6.40%, 12/15/20

      215        231,423   

AON Corp.
3.125%, 5/27/16

      235        234,234   
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

CIGNA Corp.
5.125%, 6/15/20

  U.S.$          165      $ 174,285   

Coventry Health Care, Inc.
6.30%, 8/15/14

      280        301,436   

Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (The)
7.25%, 7/25/21(a)

      120        120,829   

Genworth Financial, Inc.
6.515%, 5/22/18

      405        402,685   

Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
7.375%, 9/30/39(a)

      210        248,414   

Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
4.00%, 3/30/15

      85        87,623   

5.50%, 3/30/20

      390        402,015   

Humana, Inc.
6.30%, 8/01/18

      275        305,946   

6.45%, 6/01/16

      40        45,566   

7.20%, 6/15/18

      85        98,671   

Lincoln National Corp.
8.75%, 7/01/19

      113        142,594   

Markel Corp.
7.125%, 9/30/19

      200        228,404   

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
8.875%, 6/01/39(a)

      225        311,723   

MetLife, Inc.
4.75%, 2/08/21

      115        117,233   

7.717%, 2/15/19

      109        131,936   

10.75%, 8/01/39

      140        197,050   

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
9.375%, 8/15/39(a)

      360        446,649   

Principal Financial Group, Inc.
7.875%, 5/15/14

      325        376,016   

Prudential Financial, Inc.
5.15%, 1/15/13

      195        205,767   

6.20%, 1/15/15

      45        50,379   

8.875%, 6/15/38

      170        198,475   

Series D
7.375%, 6/15/19

      35        41,507   

QBE Capital Funding III Ltd.
7.25%, 5/24/41(a)

      367        368,238   

XL Group PLC
5.25%, 9/15/14

      110        117,856   

6.25%, 5/15/27

      200        202,414   
     

 

 

 
        6,447,217   
     

 

 

 

OTHER FINANCE–0.4%

     

Aviation Capital Group Corp.
7.125%, 10/15/20(a)

      155        157,663   

ORIX Corp.
4.71%, 4/27/15

      397        410,717   
     

 

 

 
        568,380   
     

 

 

 

REITS – 0.3%

     

HCP, Inc.
5.375%, 2/01/21

      132        136,148   

 

5


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

5.95%, 9/15/11

  U.S.$          225      $ 227,188   

Ventas Realty LP/Ventas Capital Corp.
6.75%, 4/01/17

      84        88,472   
     

 

 

 
        451,808   
     

 

 

 
        18,325,438   
     

 

 

 

UTILITY–2.2%

     

ELECTRIC–1.4%

     

Ameren Corp.
8.875%, 5/15/14

      235        272,253   

Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
5.15%, 12/01/20

      325        333,066   

FirstEnergy Corp.
6.45%, 11/15/11

      19        19,355   

Series C
7.375%, 11/15/31

      420        478,226   

Nisource Finance Corp.
6.80%, 1/15/19

      340        394,598   

SPI Electricity & Gas Australia Holdings Pty Ltd.
6.15%, 11/15/13(a)

      235        254,265   

TECO Finance, Inc.
4.00%, 3/15/16

      95        99,478   

5.15%, 3/15/20

      120        127,253   

Union Electric Co.
6.70%, 2/01/19

      45        52,841   
     

 

 

 
        2,031,335   
     

 

 

 

NATURAL GAS–0.8%

     

DCP Midstream LLC
5.35%, 3/15/20(a)

      108        114,473   

Energy Transfer Partners LP
6.70%, 7/01/18

      24        27,046   

7.50%, 7/01/38

      336        380,407   

EQT Corp.
8.125%, 6/01/19

      205        250,769   

TransCanada PipeLines Ltd.
6.35%, 5/15/67

      235        236,237   

Williams Partners LP
5.25%, 3/15/20

      173        182,135   
     

 

 

 
        1,191,067   
     

 

 

 
        3,222,402   
     

 

 

 

NON CORPORATE SECTORS–1.7%

   

   

AGENCIES–NOT
GOVERNMENT GUARANTEED–1.7%

    

   

AK Transneft OJSC Via TransCapitalInvest Ltd.
8.70%, 8/07/18(a)

      345        421,763   

Ecopetrol SA
7.625%, 7/23/19

      143        171,243   

Gazprom OAO Via Gaz Capital SA
6.212%, 11/22/16(a)

      460        496,225   

6.51%, 3/07/22(a)

      217        230,291   
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

MDC-GMTN BV
3.75%, 4/20/16(a)

  U.S.$          365      $ 368,648   

Petrobras International Finance Co.–Pifco
5.75%, 1/20/20

      670        714,726   
     

 

 

 
        2,402,896   
     

 

 

 

Total Corporates–Investment Grades
(cost $39,280,486)

        42,915,269   
     

 

 

 

MORTGAGE PASS-THRU’S–21.7%

   

   

AGENCY FIXED RATE 30-YEAR–16.4%

   

   

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Gold
Series 2005
5.50%, 1/01/35

      4,238        4,599,958   

Series 2007
5.50%, 7/01/35

      160        173,438   

Federal National Mortgage Association
4.00%, 1/01/41

      2,043        2,046,312   

5.50%, 5/01/38–6/01/38

      2,345        2,540,843   

6.00%, 5/01/31–2/01/40

      2,947        3,238,874   

Series 2002
7.00%, 3/01/32

      19        21,094   

Series 2003
5.00%, 11/01/33

      174        186,006   

5.50%, 4/01/33–7/01/33

      615        669,105   

Series 2004
5.50%, 4/01/34–11/01/34

      531        577,448   

6.00%, 9/01/34

      293        324,306   

Series 2005
4.50%, 8/01/35

      533        555,131   

5.00%, 10/01/35

      1,354        1,443,253   

5.50%, 2/01/35

      645        701,781   

Series 2006
5.00%, 2/01/36

      1,160        1,236,845   

Series 2007
4.50%, 9/01/35–8/01/37

      749        780,437   

5.00%, 7/01/36

      196        208,883   

Series 2008
6.00%, 3/01/37–5/01/38

      3,650        4,022,585   

Series 2010
6.00%, 4/01/40

      400        439,673   

Government National Mortgage Association Series 1994
9.00%, 9/15/24

      5        6,080   
     

 

 

 
        23,772,052   
     

 

 

 

AGENCY FIXED RATE 15-YEAR–4.0%

   

   

Federal National Mortgage Association
4.50%, TBA

      5,535        5,867,964   
     

 

 

 

 

6


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

AGENCY ARMS–1.3%

     

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
2.65%, 4/01/36(b)

  U.S.$          650      $ 682,264   

Series 2007
6.067%, 1/01/37(c)

      79        82,793   

Federal National Mortgage Association
Series 2003
2.685%, 12/01/33(b)

      202        211,611   

Series 2006
2.205%, 3/01/36(b)

      137        142,472   

2.308%, 2/01/36(b)

      191        198,815   

5.767%, 11/01/36(c)

      172        180,050   

Series 2007
2.462%, 3/01/34(b)

      343        359,270   
     

 

 

 
        1,857,275   
     

 

 

 

Total Mortgage Pass-Thru’s
(cost $30,303,533)

        31,497,291   
     

 

 

 

GOVERNMENTS–
TREASURIES–21.4%

   

CANADA–2.0%

     

Canadian Government Bond
2.00%, 6/01/16

    CAD        2,890        2,951,279   
     

 

 

 

MEXICO–1.0%

     

Mexican Bonos
Series M 10
7.25%, 12/15/16

    MXN        16,089        1,435,675   
     

 

 

 

UNITED STATES–18.4%

     

U.S. Treasury Bonds
4.50%, 2/15/36

  U.S.$          2,610        2,697,273   

4.625%, 2/15/40

      3,460        3,607,590   

5.375%, 2/15/31

      1,250        1,465,039   

U.S. Treasury Notes
2.125%, 2/29/16

      3,135        3,209,456   

2.625%, 4/30/16–11/15/20

      9,545        9,536,575   

3.625%, 2/15/20

      5,130        5,426,981   

3.75%, 11/15/18

      653        707,383   
     

 

 

 
        26,650,297   
     

 

 

 

Total Governments–Treasuries
(cost $31,078,237)

   

      31,037,251   
     

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES–9.3%

     

NON-AGENCY FIXED RATE CMBS–9.3%

     

Banc of America Commercial Mortgage, Inc.
Series 2006-5, Class A4
5.414%, 9/10/47

      455        486,244   

Credit Suisse Mortgage Capital Certificates
Series 2006-C5, Class A3
5.311%, 12/15/39

      225        240,981   
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Greenwich Capital Commercial Funding Corp.
Series 2005-GG5, Class AJ
5.461%, 4/10/37

  U.S.$          235      $ 187,393   

Series 2007-GG9, Class A4
5.444%, 3/10/39

      680        729,433   

Series 2007-GG11, Class A4
5.736%, 12/10/49

      420        450,681   

GS Mortgage Securities Corp. II
Series 2004-GG2, Class A6
5.396%, 8/10/38

      300        324,491   

JP Morgan Chase Commercial Mortgage Securities Corp.
Series 2006-CB14, Class A4
5.481%, 12/12/44

      545        590,465   

Series 2006-CB15, Class A4
5.814%, 6/12/43

      1,035        1,134,591   

Series 2006-CB17, Class A4
5.429%, 12/12/43

      420        453,261   

Series 2007-LD11, Class A4
6.005%, 6/15/49

      1,105        1,191,741   

Series 2007-LDPX, Class A3
5.42%, 1/15/49

      1,110        1,190,142   

LB-UBS Commercial Mortgage Trust
Series 2004-C4, Class A4
5.499%, 6/15/29

      830        893,897   

Series 2006-C1, Class A4
5.156%, 2/15/31

      1,240        1,341,637   

Series 2006-C6, Class A4
5.372%, 9/15/39

      475        516,640   

Merrill Lynch/Countrywide Commercial Mortgage Trust
Series 2006-4, Class AM
5.204%, 12/12/49

      285        273,192   

Series 2007-9, Class A4
5.70%, 9/12/49

      1,105        1,189,950   

Morgan Stanley Capital I
Series 2011-C2, Class A2
3.476%, 6/15/44(a)

      515        516,621   

Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortgage Trust
Series 2007-C31, Class A4
5.509%, 4/15/47

      1,100        1,156,224   

Series 2007-C32, Class A3
5.932%, 6/15/49

      615        661,811   
     

 

 

 

Total Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities
(cost $11,989,550)

        13,529,395   
     

 

 

 

 

7


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

AGENCIES–4.8%

     

AGENCY DEBENTURES–4.8%

     

Federal Farm Credit Bank
0.216%, 9/20/12(c)

    U.S.$        1,750      $ 1,751,362   

Federal National Mortgage Association
0.215%, 9/17/12(c)

      1,560        1,561,209   

6.25%, 5/15/29

      1,020        1,238,381   

Residual Funding Corp. Principal Strip
Zero Coupon, 7/15/20

      3,365        2,453,576   
     

 

 

 

Total Agencies
(cost $6,975,899)

        7,004,528   
     

 

 

 

CORPORATES–NON-INVESTMENT
GRADES–4.0%

    

   

INDUSTRIAL–3.0%

     

BASIC–0.4%

     

Lyondell Chemical Co.
8.00%, 11/01/17(a)

      121        134,613   

Nalco Co.
6.625%, 1/15/19(a)

      145        148,625   

United States Steel Corp.
5.65%, 6/01/13

      155        161,587   

Westvaco Corp.
8.20%, 1/15/30

      50        54,161   
     

 

 

 
        498,986   
     

 

 

 

CAPITAL GOODS–0.6%

     

Building Materials Corp.
of America
6.75%, 5/01/21(a)

      37        37,185   

Case New Holland, Inc.
7.875%, 12/01/17(a)

      143        157,300   

Griffon Corp.
7.125%, 4/01/18(a)

      130        130,488   

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
6.875%, 3/15/18(a)

      36        36,900   

7.125%, 3/15/21(a)

      36        37,260   

Mohawk Industries, Inc.
6.875%, 1/15/16

      355        386,062   

Textron Financial Corp.
5.40%, 4/28/13

      69        73,125   
     

 

 

 
        858,320   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–MEDIA–0.3%

   

   

EH Holding Corp.
6.50%, 6/15/19(a)

      95        96,662   

RR Donnelley & Sons Co.
5.50%, 5/15/15

      70        70,875   

11.75%, 2/01/19

      255        317,979   
     

 

 

 
        485,516   
     

 

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS–
TELECOMMUNICATIONS–0.2%

   

eAccess Ltd.
8.25%, 4/01/18(a)

      100        100,875   
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Windstream Corp.
7.875%, 11/01/17

    U.S.$        115      $ 122,044   
     

 

 

 
        222,919   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL– AUTOMOTIVE–0.3%

   

   

Delphi Corp.
5.875%, 5/15/19(a)

      31        30,380   

6.125%, 5/15/21(a)

      50        49,375   

Ford Motor Co.
7.45%, 7/16/31

      170        192,718   

Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC
5.75%, 2/01/21

      200        199,754   
     

 

 

 
        472,227   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–ENTERTAINMENT–0.0%

   

 

Greektown Holdings LLC
10.75%, 12/01/13(d)(e)

      55        0   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–OTHER–0.0%

     

Toll Brothers Finance Corp.
5.15%, 5/15/15

      40        41,099   

6.875%, 11/15/12

      7        7,436   
     

 

 

 
        48,535   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER CYCLICAL–
RETAILERS–0.3%

   

 

JC Penney Co., Inc.
5.65%, 6/01/20

      335        331,650   

Limited Brands, Inc.
6.625%, 4/01/21

      105        107,363   

6.90%, 7/15/17

      45        48,206   
     

 

 

 
        487,219   
     

 

 

 

CONSUMER NON-CYCLICAL–0.5%

   

   

Fresenius Medical Care
US Finance, Inc.
5.75%, 2/15/21(a)

      155        151,900   

HCA, Inc.
7.875%, 2/15/20

      125        135,625   

8.50%, 4/15/19

      40        44,200   

Universal Health Services, Inc.
7.125%, 6/30/16

      295        322,796   

Voyager Learning Exchange
8.375%, 12/01/14(d)(e)(f)

      70        0   
     

 

 

 
        654,521   
     

 

 

 

ENERGY–0.4%

     

Chesapeake Energy Corp.
6.125%, 2/15/21

      154        155,925   

Oil States International, Inc.
6.50%, 6/01/19(a)

      99        99,495   

Range Resources Corp.
5.75%, 6/01/21

      110        108,075   

Tesoro Corp.
6.50%, 6/01/17

      190        193,800   
     

 

 

 
        557,295   
     

 

 

 

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

TRANSPORTATION–AIRLINES–0.0%

   

   

Continental Airlines 2003-ERJ1 Pass Through Trust
Series RJ03
7.875%, 7/02/18

  U.S.$          22      $ 21,901   
     

 

 

 
        4,307,439   
     

 

 

 

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS–0.6%

   

   

BANKING–0.2%

     

ABN Amro Bank NV
4.31%, 3/10/16

  EUR          125        146,374   

LBG Capital No.1 PLC
8.00%, 6/15/20(a)

  U.S.$          175        156,625   
     

 

 

 
        302,999   
     

 

 

 

BROKERAGE–0.0%

     

Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.
6.20%, 9/26/14(d)

      75        19,969   

7.875%, 11/01/09(d)

      43        11,234   
     

 

 

 
        31,203   
     

 

 

 

FINANCE–0.1%

     

International Lease Finance Corp.
5.65%, 6/01/14

      65        65,000   
     

 

 

 

INSURANCE–0.3%

     

ING Capital Funding Trust III Series 9
3.846%, 9/30/11(c)

      270        254,982   

XL Group PLC
Series E
6.50%, 4/15/17

      240        220,200   
     

 

 

 
        475,182   
     

 

 

 
        874,384   
     

 

 

 

UTILITY–0.4%

     

ELECTRIC–0.4%

     

CMS Energy Corp.
8.75%, 6/15/19

      145        176,993   

Dynegy Roseton/Danskammer
Pass Through Trust Series B
7.67%, 11/08/16

      195        173,550   

GenOn Energy, Inc.
7.625%, 6/15/14

      95        97,850   

7.875%, 6/15/17

      155        155,775   
     

 

 

 
        604,168   
     

 

 

 

Total Corporates–
Non-Investment Grades
(cost $5,325,063)

        5,785,991   
     

 

 

 

GOVERNMENTS–SOVEREIGN AGENCIES–1.6%

   

   

GERMANY–0.1%

     

Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank
5.125%, 2/01/17

      70        79,970   
     

 

 

 
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

UNITED KINGDOM–1.5%

     

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (The)
1.45%, 10/20/11(a)

  U.S.$          1,307      $ 1,311,278   

2.625%, 5/11/12(a)

      895        911,901   
     

 

 

 
        2,223,179   
     

 

 

 

Total Governments–Sovereign Agencies
(cost $2,273,376)

        2,303,149   
     

 

 

 

ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES–1.1%

   

   

CREDIT CARDS–FLOATING RATE–0.5%

   

   

Discover Card Master Trust
Series 2009-A1, Class A1
1.487%, 12/15/14(c)

      180        182,049   

Series 2009-A2, Class A
1.487%, 2/17/15(c)

      185        186,871   

Series 2010-A1, Class A1
0.837%, 9/15/15(c)

      166        167,455   

MBNA Credit Card Master Note Trust
Series 2006-A2, Class A2
0.247%, 6/15/15(c)

      160        159,839   
     

 

 

 
        696,214   
     

 

 

 

OTHER ABS–FIXED RATE–0.2%

  

   

CNH Equipment Trust
Series 2010-C, Class A3
1.17%, 5/15/15

      353        353,624   
     

 

 

 

HOME EQUITY LOANS–FIXED RATE–0.2%

   

   

Asset Backed Funding Certificates
Series 2003-WF1, Class A2
1.319%, 12/25/32

      80        69,962   

Citifinancial Mortgage Securities, Inc.
Series 2003-1, Class AFPT
3.36%, 1/25/33

      68        61,102   

Credit-Based Asset Servicing and Securitization LLC Series 2003-CB1, Class AF
3.95%, 1/25/33

      173        148,994   
     

 

 

 
        280,058   
     

 

 

 

HOME EQUITY LOANS–FLOATING RATE–0.2%

     

HSBC Home Equity Loan Trust
Series 2005-3, Class A1
0.446%, 1/20/35(c)

      102        89,863   

Indymac Residential Asset Backed Trust
Series 2006-D, Class 2A2
0.296%, 11/25/36(c)

      266        187,742   

 

9


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

Option One Mortgage Loan Trust
Series 2007-2, Class M1
0.546%, 3/25/37(c)(e)

    U.S.$        160      $ 1,221   
     

 

 

 
        278,826   
     

 

 

 

Total Asset-Backed Securities
(cost $1,895,230)

        1,608,722   
     

 

 

 

QUASI-SOVEREIGNS–0.8%

     
     

QUASI-SOVEREIGN BONDS–0.8%

   

   

KAZAKHSTAN–0.2%

     

KazMunayGas National Co.
7.00%, 5/05/20(a)

      212        233,497   
     

 

 

 

MALAYSIA–0.3%

     

Petronas Capital Ltd.
5.25%, 8/12/19(a)

      420        450,354   
     

 

 

 

RUSSIA–0.3%

     

Russian Agricultural Bank OJSC Via RSHB Capital SA
6.299%, 5/15/17(a)

      480        510,000   
     

 

 

 

Total Quasi-Sovereigns
(cost $1,106,022)

        1,193,851   
     

 

 

 

CMOs–0.7%

     

NON-AGENCY FIXED RATE–0.4%

   

   

Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust
Series 2007-1, Class 21A1
5.168%, 1/25/47

      193        110,894   

Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, Inc.
Series 2005-2, Class 1A4
5.083%, 5/25/35

      219        202,051   

Indymac Index Mortgage Loan Trust
Series 2006-AR7, Class 4A1
5.508%, 5/25/36

      167        93,411   

JP Morgan Alternative Loan Trust
Series 2006-A3, Class 2A1
2.71%, 7/25/36

      341        190,668   
     

 

 

 
        597,024   
     

 

 

 

NON-AGENCY ARMS–0.2%

     

Citigroup Mortgage Loan Trust, Inc.
Series 2006-AR1, Class 3A1
2.69%, 3/25/36(c)

      337        236,614   
     

 

 

 
        
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
     

NON-AGENCY FLOATING RATE–0.1%

   

   

Countrywide Alternative Loan Trust
Series 2005-62, Class 2A1
1.278%, 12/25/35(c)

    U.S.$        92      $ 58,769   

Series 2007-OA3, Class M1
0.496%, 4/25/47(c)(e)

      145        798   

WaMu Mortgage Pass Through Certificates
Series 2007-OA1, Class A1A
0.978%, 2/25/47(c)

      280        165,491   

Series 2007-OA3, Class B1
0.636%, 4/25/47(c)(e)

      69        2   
     

 

 

 
        225,060   
     

 

 

 

AGENCY FIXED RATE–0.0%

  

   

Fannie Mae Grantor Trust
Series 2004-T5, Class AB4
0.807%, 5/28/35

      50        41,304   
     

 

 

 

Total CMOs
(cost $1,893,808)

        1,100,002   
     

 

 

 

SUPRANATIONALS–0.6%

     

European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
Series G
9.25%, 9/10/12

    BRL        1,150        739,953   

European Investment Bank 4.875%, 2/15/36

    U.S.$        110        113,384   
     

 

 

 

Total Supranationals
(cost $769,339)

        853,337   
     

 

 

 

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS–MUNICIPAL BONDS–0.3%

     

UNITED STATES–0.3%

     

California State California GO
7.625%, 3/01/40
(cost $413,497)

      405        466,240   
     

 

 

 

GOVERNMENTS-SOVEREIGN BONDS–0.3%

   

   

HUNGARY–0.3%

     

Hungary Government
International Bond
6.375%, 3/29/21
(cost $367,287)

      370        388,315   
     

 

 

 
          Shares        

PREFERRED STOCKS–0.2%

  

   
     

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS–0.2%

  

 

FINANCE–0.1%

     

Citigroup Capital XII
8.50%

      7,000        179,594   
     

 

 

 

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

              
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
     

REITS–0.1%

     

Sovereign Real Estate
Investment Trust
12.00%(a)

      93      $ 107,974   
     

 

 

 

Total Preferred Stocks
(cost $262,659)

        287,568   
     

 

 

 
          Principal
Amount
(000)
       

EMERGING MARKETS–CORPORATE BONDS–0.2%

   

   
     

INDUSTRIAL–0.2%

  

   

BASIC–0.2%

     

Severstal OAO Via
Steel Capital SA
9.25%, 4/19/14(a)
(cost $229,553)

    U.S.$        228        256,785   
     

 

 

 
              
    
    
Shares
    U.S. $ Value  
     

COMMON STOCKS–0.0%

  

   

Greektown Superholdings, Inc.(e)(f)(g)
(cost $4)

      41      $ 2,747   
     

 

 

 
          Principal
Amount
(000)
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–7.7%

   

   

TIME DEPOSIT–7.7%

  

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $11,154,353)

  U.S.$          11,154        11,154,353   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–104.3%
(cost $145,317,896)

        151,384,794   

Other assets less liabilities–(4.3)%

        (6,297,531
     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

      $ 145,087,263   
     

 

 

 

FUTURES CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Type    Number of
Contracts
    

Expiration

Month

     Original
Value
    

Value at
June 30,

2011

     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Sold Contracts

              

U.S. T-Note 2 Yr Futures

     40         September 2011       $   8,786,183       $   8,773,750       $   12,433   

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts:

           

Barclays Bank PLC Wholesale:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 8/18/11

     7,947       $   1,447,533       $   1,468,925       $   21,392   

Citibank N.A.:

           

Mexican Peso settling 8/18/11

     2,740         230,444         233,129         2,685   

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Euro settling 7/14/11

     1,025         1,444,339         1,485,737         41,398   

Euro settling 7/14/11

     2,103         3,010,400         3,049,559         39,159   

Goldman Sachs International:

           

Swedish Krona settling 8/18/11

     9,104         1,436,499         1,435,631         (868

Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc.:

           

Brazilian Real settling 7/05/11

     1,241         786,539         795,283         8,744   

Brazilian Real settling 7/05/11

     1,241         795,053         795,282         229   

State Street Bank and Trust Co.:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/25/11

     138         142,665         143,509         844   

Canadian Dollar settling 7/25/11

     30         30,933         31,401         468   

 

11


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts (continued)

           

Euro settling 7/14/11

     72       $ 104,529       $ 104,169       $ (360

Mexican Peso settling 8/18/11

     590         49,825         50,173         348   

UBS AG:

           

Japanese Yen settling 7/27/11

     152,194         1,896,369         1,890,697         (5,672

Sale Contracts:

           

Barclays Bank PLC Wholesale:

           

Japanese Yen settling 7/27/11

     152,163         1,864,355         1,890,308         (25,953

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Norwegian Krone settling 8/18/11

     7,916         1,423,901         1,463,128         (39,227

Swedish Krona settling 8/18/11

     9,073         1,414,004         1,430,787         (16,783

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Mexican Peso settling 8/18/11

     9,953         835,465         846,789         (11,324

HSBC BANKUSA:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/25/11

     2,981         3,044,224         3,089,295         (45,071

HSBC BankUSA:

           

Euro settling 7/14/11

     3,245         4,652,723         4,705,125         (52,402

Morgan Stanley and Co., Inc.:

           

Brazilian Real settling 7/05/11

     1,241         795,054         795,283         (229

Brazilian Real settling 7/05/11

     1,241         778,736         795,281         (16,545

Brazilian Real settling 8/02/11

     1,241         780,922         790,047         (9,125

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

Mexican Peso settling 8/18/11

     10,163         848,701         864,631         (15,930

State Street Bank and Trust Co.:

           

Euro settling 7/14/11

     58         81,941         83,892         (1,951

Great British Pound settling 8/09/11

     46         75,462         73,672         1,790   

CREDIT DEFAULT SWAP CONTRACTS ON INDICES (see Note D)

 

Swap Counterparty &
Referenced Obligation
   Fixed
Deal
(Pay)
Receive
Rate
     Implied
Credit
Spread at
June 30,
2011
     Notional
Amount
(000)
     Market
Value
     Upfront
Premiums
Paid
(Received)
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts

                 

Bank of America:

                 

CDX-NAIGS16V1-5 Year, 6/20/16*

     1.00      0.92    $ 2,930       $ (11,906    $ (687    $ (11,219

 

 

 

*   Termination date

 

(a)   Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities are considered liquid and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2011, the aggregate market value of these securities amounted to $13,944,894 or 9.6% of net assets.

 

(b)   Variable rate coupon, rate shown as of June 30, 2011.

 

(c)   Floating Rate Security. Stated interest rate was in effect at June 30, 2011.

 

(d)   Security is in default and is non-income producing.

 

(e)   Illiquid security.

 

(f)   Fair valued.

 

(g)   Non-income producing security.

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Currency Abbreviations:

BRL—Brazilian Real

CAD—Canadian Dollar

EUR—Euro

GBP—Great British Pound

MXN—Mexican Peso

Glossary:

ABS—Asset-Backed Securities

ARMs—Adjustable Rate Mortgages

CMBS—Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

CMOs—Collateralized Mortgage Obligations

GO—General Obligation

OJSC—Open Joint Stock Company

REIT—Real Estate Investment Trust

TBA—To Be Announced

See notes to financial statements.

 

13


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $145,317,896)

   $ 151,384,794   

Cash

     20,000 (a) 

Foreign currencies, at value (cost $49,740)

     50,367   

Interest receivable

     1,251,796   

Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     117,057   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     46,507   

Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts

     625   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     597   

Other assets

     339,523   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     153,211,266   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased and foreign currency transactions

     7,578,658   

Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     241,440   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     113,645   

Advisory fee payable

     54,153   

Administrative fee payable

     19,007   

Unrealized depreciation on credit default swap contracts

     11,219   

Distribution fee payable

     7,045   

Premium received on credit default swap contracts

     687   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     132   

Accrued expenses

     98,017   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     8,124,003   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 145,087,263   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 12,010   

Additional paid-in capital

     134,932,161   

Undistributed net investment income

     2,509,871   

Accumulated net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     1,412,385   

Net unrealized appreciation on investments, foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities and other assets

     6,220,836   
  

 

 

 
   $ 145,087,263   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $   110,921,458           9,162,630         $   12.11   

B

     $ 34,165,805           2,846,982         $ 12.00   

 

 

 

(a)   An amount of $20,000 has been segregated to collateralize margin requirements for open futures contracts outstanding at June 30, 2011.

See notes to financial statements.

 

14


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Interest

   $ 3,334,790   

Dividends

     13,018   

Other income

     599   
  

 

 

 
     3,348,407   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     333,792   

Distribution fee—Class B

     43,886   

Transfer agency—Class A

     1,219   

Transfer agency—Class B

     378   

Custodian

     69,470   

Administrative

     36,362   

Audit

     20,844   

Legal

     18,068   

Printing

     5,600   

Directors’ fees

     1,815   

Miscellaneous

     8,838   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     540,272   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     2,808,135   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain (loss) on:

  

Investment transactions

     1,654,402   

Swap contracts

     (80,770

Foreign currency transactions

     10,747   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     287,834   

Futures contracts

     12,433   

Swap contracts

     (50,733

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities and other assets

     (322,619
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     1,511,294   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 4,319,429   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

15


 
INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 2,808,135      $ 6,448,632   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     1,584,379        3,177,853   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities and other assets

     (73,085     5,260,540   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     4,319,429        14,887,025   

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (5,325,732     (6,728,638

Class B

     (1,547,372     (2,087,520

Net realized gain on investment transactions

    

Class A

     (406,275     –0 – 

Class B

     (125,758     –0 – 

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (10,450,555     (18,434,992
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (13,536,263     (12,364,125

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     158,623,526        170,987,651   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $2,509,871 and $6,574,840, respectively)

   $ 145,087,263      $ 158,623,526   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

16


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Intermediate Bond Portfolio (the “Portfolio”), is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is to generate income and price appreciation without assuming what the Adviser considers undue risk. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

17


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Corporates—Investment Grades

     $ –0 –     $ 42,915,269       $ –0 –     $ 42,915,269   

Mortgage Pass-Thru’s

       –0 –       31,497,291         –0 –       31,497,291   

Governments—Treasuries

       –0 –       31,037,251         –0 –       31,037,251   

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities

       –0 –       7,447,989         6,081,406         13,529,395   

Agencies

       –0 –       7,004,528         –0 –       7,004,528   

Corporates—Non-Investment Grades

       –0 –       5,785,991         –0 –       5,785,991   

Governments—Sovereign Agencies

       –0 –       2,303,149         –0 –       2,303,149   

Asset-Backed Securities

       –0 –       696,214         912,508         1,608,722   

Quasi-Sovereigns

       –0 –       1,193,851         –0 –       1,193,851   

CMOs

       –0 –       41,304         1,058,698         1,100,002   

Supranationals

       –0 –       853,337         –0 –       853,337   

Local Governments—Municipal Bonds

       –0 –       466,240         –0 –       466,240   

Governments—Sovereign Bonds

       –0 –       388,315         –0 –       388,315   

Preferred Stocks

       179,594         107,974         –0 –       287,568   

Emerging Markets—Corporate Bonds

       –0 –       256,785         –0 –       256,785   

Common Stocks

       –0 –       –0 –       2,747         2,747   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       11,154,353         –0 –       11,154,353   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       179,594         143,149,841         8,055,359         151,384,794   

Other Financial Instruments*:

             

Assets:

             

Futures Contracts

       12,433         –0 –       –0 –       12,433

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       117,057         –0 –       117,057   

Liabilities:

             

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       (241,440      –0 –       (241,440

Credit Default Swap Contracts

       –0 –       (11,219      –0 –       (11,219
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 192,027       $ 143,014,239       $ 8,055,359       $ 151,261,625   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

 

#   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Following is a reconciliation of investments in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value. The transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy assumes the financial instrument was transferred at the end of the reporting period.

 

       Commercial
Mortgage-Backed
Securities
     Asset-Backed
Securities
     CMOs  

Balance as of 12/31/10

     $ 5,004,541       $ 1,034,307       $ 1,221,568   

Accrued discounts/(premiums)

       23,630         79         4   

Realized gain (loss)

       –0 –       327         (62,543

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

       82,821         (28,417      438,790   

Purchases

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 

Sales

       –0 –       (93,788      (539,121

Transfers in to Level 3

       970,414         –0 –       –0 – 

Transfers out of Level 3

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Balance as of 6/30/11

     $ 6,081,406       $ 912,508       $ 1,058,698   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

     $ 82,821       $ (28,417    $ 374,240   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
       Common
Stocks
     Warrants      Total  

Balance as of 12/31/10

     $ 2,870       $ 8,827       $ 7,272,113   

Accrued discounts/(premiums)

       –0 –       –0 –       23,713   

Realized gain (loss)

       44,153         9,277         (8,786

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

       (123      (6,687      486,384   

Purchases

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 

Sales

       (44,153      (11,417      (688,479

Transfers in to Level 3

       –0 –       –0 –       970,414   

Transfers out of Level 3

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Balance as of 6/30/11

     $ 2,747       $ –0 –     $ 8,055,359   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

     $ (123    $ –0 –     $ 428,521   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   The unrealized appreciation/depreciation is included in net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments in the accompanying statement of operations.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in

 

19


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .45% of the first $2.5 billion, .40% of the next $2.5 billion and .35% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,362.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $121, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases        Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 12,382,693         $ 21,086,408   

U.S. government securities

       40,665,228           46,857,300   

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation (excluding futures, swap contracts and foreign currency transactions) are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 7,805,000   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (1,738,102
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 6,066,898   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The principal types of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Futures Contracts

The Portfolio may buy or sell futures contracts for the purpose of hedging its portfolio against adverse effects of anticipated movements in the market or for investment purposes. The Portfolio bears the market risk that arises from changes in the value of these instruments and the imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and movements in the price of the securities hedged or used for cover. The Portfolio may also purchase or sell futures contracts for foreign currencies or options thereon for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investment in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

At the time the Portfolio enters into a futures contract, the Portfolio deposits and maintains as collateral an initial margin with the broker, as required by the exchange on which the transaction is effected. Pursuant to the contract, the Portfolio agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the contract. Such receipts or payments are known as variation margin and are recorded by the Portfolio as unrealized gains or losses. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of the contract. The credit/counterparty risk for exchange-traded futures contracts is generally less than privately negotiated futures contracts, since the clearinghouse, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded future, provides a guarantee of performance. This guarantee is supported by a daily payment system (i.e., margin requirements). When the contract is closed, the Portfolio records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the time it was closed.

Use of long futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to risk of loss in excess of the amounts shown on the statement of assets and liabilities, up to the notional value of the futures contracts. Use of short futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to unlimited risk of loss. Under some circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day’s settlement price, which could effectively prevent liquidation of unfavorable positions.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held futures contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

 

   

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

The Portfolio may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign portfolio holdings, to hedge certain firm purchase and sale

 

21


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

commitments denominated in foreign currencies and for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

A forward currency exchange contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated forward rate. The gain or loss arising from the difference between the original contract and the closing of such contract would be included in net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions. Fluctuations in the value of open forward currency exchange contracts are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized appreciation and/or depreciation by the Portfolio. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of a contract and from unanticipated movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The face or contract amount, in U.S. dollars reflects the total exposure the Portfolio has in that particular currency contract.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held foreign currency exchange contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

 

   

Swap Agreements

The Portfolio may enter into swaps to hedge its exposure to interest rates, credit risk, or currencies. The Portfolio may also enter into swaps for non-hedging purposes as a means of gaining market exposures including by making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”. A swap is an agreement that obligates two parties to exchange a series of cash flows at specified intervals based upon or calculated by reference to changes in specified prices or rates for a specified amount of an underlying asset. The payment flows are usually netted against each other, with the difference being paid by one party to the other. In addition, collateral may be pledged or received by the Portfolio in accordance with the terms of the respective swap agreements to provide value and recourse to the Portfolio or its counterparties in the event of default, bankruptcy or insolvency by one of the parties to the swap agreement.

Risks may arise as a result of the failure of the counterparty to the swap contract to comply with the terms of the swap contract. The loss incurred by the failure of a counterparty is generally limited to the net interim payment to be received by the Portfolio, and/or the termination value at the end of the contract. Therefore, the Portfolio considers the creditworthiness of each counterparty to a swap contract in evaluating potential counterparty risk. This risk is mitigated by having a netting arrangement between the Portfolio and the counterparty and by the posting of collateral by the counterparty to the Portfolio to cover the Portfolio exposure to the counterparty. Additionally, risks may arise from unanticipated movements in interest rates or in the value of the underlying securities. The Portfolio accrues for the interim payments on swap contracts on a daily basis, with the net amount recorded within unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts on the statement of assets and liabilities, where applicable. Once the interim payments are settled in cash, the net amount is recorded as realized gain/(loss) on swaps on the statement of operations, in addition to any realized gain/(loss) recorded upon the termination of swap contracts. Fluctuations in the value of swap contracts are recorded as a component of net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts on the statement of operations.

Interest Rate Swaps:

The Portfolio is subject to interest rate risk exposure in the normal course of pursuing its investment objectives. Because the Portfolio holds fixed rate bonds, the value of these bonds may decrease if interest rates rise. To help hedge against this risk and to maintain its ability to generate income at prevailing market rates, the Portfolio may enter into interest rate swap contracts. Interest rate swaps are agreements between two parties to exchange cash flows based on a notional amount. The Portfolio may elect to pay a fixed rate and receive a floating rate, or, receive a fixed rate and pay a floating rate on a notional amount.

In addition, the Portfolio may also enter into interest rate swap transactions to preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio, or protecting against an increase in the price of securities the Portfolio anticipates purchasing at a later date. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by a Portfolio with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest (e.g., an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed rate payments) computed based on a contractually-based principal (or “notional”) amount. Interest rate swaps are entered into on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out, with the Portfolio receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments).

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held interest rate swap contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

Credit Default Swaps:

The Portfolio may enter into credit default swaps, including to manage its exposure to the market or certain sectors of the market, to reduce its risk exposure to defaults by corporate and sovereign issuers held by the Portfolio, or to create exposure to corporate or sovereign issuers to which it is not otherwise exposed. The Portfolio may purchase credit protection (“Buy Contract”) or provide credit protection (“Sale Contract”) on the referenced obligation of the credit default swap. During the term of the swap agreement, the Portfolio receives/(pays) fixed payments from/(to) the respective counterparty, calculated at the agreed upon rate applied to the notional amount. The accrual for these interim payments is recorded within unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts on the statement of assets and liabilities. Upfront premiums paid or received in connection with credit default swap contracts are recognized as cost or proceeds on the statement of assets and liabilities and are amortized on a straight line basis over the life of the contract. Amortized upfront premiums are included in net realized gain/(loss) from swaps on the statement of operations. If the Portfolio is a buyer/(seller) of protection and a credit event occurs, as defined under the terms of the swap agreement, the Portfolio will either (i) receive from the seller/(pay to the buyer) of protection an amount equal to the notional amount of the swap contract (the “Maximum Payout Amount”) and deliver/(take delivery of) the referenced obligation or (ii) receive/(pay) a net settlement amount in the form of cash or securities equal to the notional amount of the swap less the recovery value of the referenced obligation.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held credit default swap contracts for non-hedging purposes.

Credit default swaps may involve greater risks than if a Portfolio had invested in the referenced obligation directly. Credit default swaps are subject to general market risk, liquidity risk, counterparty risk and credit risk. If the Portfolio is a buyer of protection and no credit event occurs, it will lose the payments it made to its counterparty. If the Portfolio is a seller of protection and a credit event occurs, the value of the referenced obligation received by the Portfolio coupled with the periodic payments previously received, may be less than the Maximum Payout Amount it pays to the buyer, resulting in a net loss to the Portfolio.

Implied credit spreads utilized in determining the market value of credit default swaps on issuers as of period end are disclosed in the portfolio of investments. The implied spreads serve as an indicator of the current status of the payment/performance risk and typically reflect the likelihood of default by the issuer of the referenced obligation. The implied credit spread of a particular reference obligation also reflects the cost of buying/selling protection and may reflect upfront payments required to be made to enter into the agreement. Widening credit spreads typically represent a deterioration of the referenced obligation’s credit soundness and greater likelihood of default or other credit event occurring as defined under the terms of the agreement. A credit spread identified as “Defaulted” indicates a credit event has occurred for the referenced obligation.

Documentation governing the Portfolio’s swap transactions may contain provisions for early termination of a swap in the event the net assets of the Portfolio decline below specific levels set forth in the documentation (“net asset contingent features”). If these levels are triggered, the Portfolio’s counterparty has the right to terminate the swap and require the Portfolio to pay or receive a settlement amount in connection with the terminated swap transaction. As of June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had credit default swap contracts in liability positions with net asset contingent features. The fair value of such contracts amounted to $11,219 at June 30, 2011.

 

23


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

   

Asset Derivatives

   

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

 

Statement of

Assets and Liabilities

Location

  Fair Value    

Statement of

Assets and Liabilities

Location

  Fair Value  

Foreign exchange contracts

  Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts   $ 117,057      Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts   $ 241,440   

Credit contracts

      Unrealized depreciation on credit default swap contracts     11,219   

Interest rate contracts

  Receivable/Payable for variation margin on futures contracts     12,433    
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total

    $ 129,490        $ 252,659   
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

*   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
    Change in  Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Foreign exchange contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities and other assets    $ 38,877      $ (341,327

Credit contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on swap contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts      81        (11,219

Interest rate contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on swap contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of swap contracts      (80,851     (39,514

Interest rate contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts      –0 –      12,433   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ (41,893   $ (379,627
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the average monthly principal amount of foreign currency exchange contracts was $23,883,415 and the average monthly notional amount of interest rate swaps was $7,990,000. For one month of the period, the average monthly original value of futures contracts was $8,786,183 and the average monthly notional amount of credit default swaps was $2,930,000.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

3. Dollar Rolls

The Portfolio may enter into dollar rolls. Dollar rolls involve sales by the Portfolio of securities for delivery in the current month and the Portfolio’s simultaneously contracting to repurchase substantially similar (same type and coupon) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, the Portfolio forgoes principal and interest paid on the securities. The Portfolio is compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the “drop”) as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale. Dollar rolls involve the risk that the market value of the securities the Portfolio is obligated to repurchase under the agreement may decline below the repurchase price. Dollar rolls are speculative techniques and may be considered to be borrowings by the Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio earned drop income of $2,473 which is included in interest income in the accompanying statement of operations.

4. Reverse Repurchase Agreements

Under a reverse repurchase agreement, the Portfolio sells securities and agrees to repurchase them at a mutually agreed upon date and price. At the time the Portfolio enters into a reverse repurchase agreement, it will establish a segregated account with the custodian containing liquid assets having a value at least equal to the repurchase price. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had no transactions in reverse repurchase agreements.

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December  31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    69,825        599,897        $ 861,805      $ 7,276,914   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends and distributions

    473,329        563,537          5,732,006        6,728,638   

Shares redeemed

    (1,036,591     (2,333,787       (12,880,905     (28,659,381
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (493,437     (1,170,353     $ (6,287,094   $ (14,653,829
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    89,366        427,400        $ 1,088,063      $ 5,172,836   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends and distributions

    139,311        176,311          1,673,131        2,087,520   

Shares redeemed

    (564,170     (906,628       (6,924,655     (11,041,519
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (335,493     (302,917     $ (4,163,461   $ (3,781,163
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk—Interest rate risk is the risk that changes in interest rates will affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments in fixed-income debt securities such as bonds or notes. Increases in interest rates may cause the value of the Portfolio’s investments to decline. Credit risk is the risk that the issuer or guarantor of a debt security, or the counterparty to a derivative contract, will be unable or unwilling to make timely principal and/or interest payments, or to otherwise honor its obligations. The degree of risk for a particular security may be reflected in its credit risk rating. Credit risk is greater for medium quality and lower-rated securities. Lower-rated debt securities and similar unrated securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) have speculative elements or are predominantly speculative risks.

Prior to September 15, 2008, the Portfolio had swap counterparty exposure to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (“Lehman Brothers”), as a guarantor for Lehman Brothers Special Financing Inc. (“LBSF”), which filed for bankruptcy on September 15, 2008. As a result, on September 15, 2008, the Portfolio terminated all outstanding swap contracts with LBSF prior to their scheduled maturity dates in accordance with the terms of the swap agreements. Upon the termination of the

 

25


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

swap contracts, Lehman Brothers’ obligations to the Portfolio amounted to $920,116. The Portfolio’s claim to these obligations is subject to the pending bankruptcy proceeding against the Lehman Brothers estate (the “Bankruptcy Claim”). As of June 30, 2011, the Bankruptcy Claim, based upon the estimated recovery value, was being valued at $339,523 (36.90% of the Bankruptcy Claim). The estimated recovery value may change over time. The Adviser has agreed to make the Portfolio whole in respect of the amount of the recovery that would be paid on the Bankruptcy Claim in the event the Bankruptcy Claim is not honored by the Lehman Brothers estate, or with respect to any diminution in value upon the sale of the Bankruptcy Claim, in either case resulting from the manner in which the Bankruptcy Claim was processed by the Adviser.

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Leverage Risk—When the Portfolio borrows money or otherwise leverages its investments, its performance may be volatile because leverage tends to exaggerate the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the Portfolio’s investments. The Portfolio may create leverage through the use of reverse repurchase arrangements, forward currency exchange contracts, forward commitments, dollar rolls or futures contracts or by borrowing money. The use of derivative instruments by the Portfolio, such as forwards, futures, options and swaps, may also result in a form of leverage. Leverage may result in higher returns to the Portfolio than if the Portfolio were not leveraged, but may also adversely affect returns, particularly if the market is declining.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

 

26


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 8,816,158         $ 6,001,322   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

       8,816,158           6,001,322   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 8,816,158         $ 6,001,322   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 6,898,411   

Undistributed long-term capital gains

     400,990   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (11,435 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     5,962,323  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 13,250,289  (c) 
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   During the fiscal year, the Portfolio utilized net capital loss carryforwards for federal income tax purposes of $2,235,491. As of December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had deferred straddle losses of $11,435.

 

(b)   The differences between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) are attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales, the difference between book and tax treatment of swap income, and the realization for tax purposes of gains/losses on certain derivative instruments.

 

(c)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) is attributable primarily to the tax treatment of interest on defaulted securities.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

27


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $12.39        $11.98        $10.50        $11.78        $11.78        $11.82   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .24        .48        .52        .51        .54        .50   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .13        .60        1.37        (1.22     .01        (.06

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .37        1.08        1.89        (.71     .55        .44   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.60     (.67     (.41     (.57     (.55     (.48

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (.05     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.65     (.67     (.41     (.57     (.55     (.48
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.11        $12.39        $11.98        $10.50        $11.78        $11.78   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    2.98     9.20 %*      18.51 %*      (6.38 )%*      4.85     3.93
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $110,921        $119,599        $129,647        $129,111        $66,305        $71,655   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .67 %(d)      .68 %(e)      .69     .64     .78     .77 %(e) 

Net investment income

    3.84 %(d)      3.90 %(e)      4.69     4.72     4.58     4.25 %(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    37     94     102     106     90     327

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 29.

 

28


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $12.26        $11.86        $10.40        $11.67        $11.67        $11.72   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .22        .44        .49        .48        .50        .46   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .13        .60        1.36        (1.21     .02        (.06

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .35        1.04        1.85        (.73     .52        .40   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.56     (.64     (.39     (.54     (.52     (.45

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (.05     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.61     (.64     (.39     (.54     (.52     (.45
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $12.00        $12.26        $11.86        $10.40        $11.67        $11.67   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    2.87     8.93 %*      18.20 %*      (6.59 )%*      4.60     3.59
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $34,166        $39,025        $41,341        $40,929        $20,289        $22,340   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .92 %(d)      .93 %(e)      .94     .89     1.03     1.02 %(e) 

Net investment income

    3.60 %(d)      3.64 %(e)      4.44     4.47     4.32     4.01 %(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    37     94     102     106     90     327

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.04%, 0.01% and 0.09%, respectively.

See notes to financial statements.

 

29


 
INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), with respect to AllianceBernstein Intermediate Bond Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by the September 1, 2004 Assurance of Discontinuance (“AoD”) between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. The first factor is an additional factor required to be considered by the AoD. The Supreme Court recently held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what Section 36(b) of the 40 Act requires: to face liability under Section 36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), slip op. at 9, 559 U.S.              2010. In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of Section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS & RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.3

 

Category  

Net Assets

09/30/10

($MIL)

  Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
  Portfolio

Low Risk Income

  $169.3  

45 bp on 1st $2.5 billion

40 bp on next $2.5 billion

35 bp on the balance

  Intermediate Bond Portfolio

 

 

1   It should be noted that the Senior Officer’s fee evaluation was completed on October 21, 2010 and discussed with the Board of Directors on November 2-4, 2010.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratios refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

3   The AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds, which the Adviser manages, were also affected by the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG.

 

30


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $86,950 (0.051 % of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio    Total Expense Ratio      Fiscal Year

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

   Class A    0.69%      December 31
   Class B    0.94%     

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolios are more costly than those for institutional accounts due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. Finally, in recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although arguably still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts with similar investment styles as the Portfolio.4 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on September 30, 2009 net assets:

 

Portfolio    Net Assets
09/30/10
($MIL)
     AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)
Fee Schedule
   Effective
AB Inst.
Adv. Fee
     Fund
Advisory
Fee
 

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

   $ 169.3      

U.S. Strategic Core Plus

0.50% on the first $30 million

0.20% on the balance

Minimum account size: $25 million

     0.253      0.450

The Adviser manages Sanford C. Bernstein Fund, Inc. (“SCB Fund”), an open-end management investment company. Intermediate Duration Portfolio of SCB Fund has a similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth in the table below is Intermediate Duration Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the

 

4   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 13.

 

31


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

fee schedule on Intermediate Duration Portfolio been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fees based on September 30, 2010 net assets:

 

Portfolio    SCB Fund
Portfolio
   Fee Schedule    SCB Fund
Effective
Fee
     Portfolio
Advisory
Fee
 

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

  

Intermediate Duration Portfolio

  

50 bp on 1st $1 billion

45 bp on next $2 billion

40 bp on next $2 billion

35 bp on next $2 billion
30 on the balance

     0.500      0.450

Certain of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds (“ABMF”), which the Adviser manages, have a similar investment style as the Portfolio and their fee schedules are set forth below. ABMF was also affected by the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints as AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc.–Intermediate Bond Portfolio. Sanford C. Bernstein Fund II, Inc.–Intermediate Duration Institutional Portfolio was not affected by the settlement since the fund has lower breakpoints than the NYAG related fee schedule. Also shown are what would have been the effective advisory fees of the Portfolio had the ABMF fee schedules been applicable to the Portfolio and the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on September 30, 2010 net assets:

 

Portfolio   ABMF Fund   Fee Schedule   ABMF
Effective
Fee
   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

 

Bond Fund, Inc.–Intermediate Bond Portfolio

 

0.45% on first $2.5 billion

0.40% on next $2.5 billion

0.35% on the balance

    0.450%        0.450%   

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

 

Intermediate Duration Institutional Portfolio5

 

0.50% on first $1 billion

0.45% on the balance

    0.500%        0.450%   

The Adviser provides sub-advisory investment services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families. The Adviser charges the fee set forth below for the sub-advisory relationship that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown is effective management fee of the sub-advisory relationship based on the Portfolio’s September 30, 2010 net assets:

 

Fund  

Sub-advised

Fund

 

Sub-advised Fund

Fee Schedule

   Sub-Advised
Fund
Management
Effective Fee (%)
 

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

  Client #1  

0.29% on first $100 million

0.20% thereafter

     0.253   

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolios by the Adviser. In addition to the extent that this is only sub-advisory relationship and it is with an affiliate of the Adviser, the fee schedule may not reflect arms-length bargaining or negotiations.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationship is paying a lower fee the Intermediate Bond Portfolio, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such lower fees due to differences in terms of the service provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolio and sub-advisory relationships. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee level than an investment company it is sponsoring where the investment adviser is providing all the services, not just investment services, generally required by a registered investment company.

 

5   Intermediate Duration Institutional Portfolio has an expense cap of 0.45%, which effectively reduces the advisory fee of the fund.

 

32


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services by other investment advisers.6 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)7 at the approximate current asset level of the subject Portfolio.8

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, and expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

The Portfolio’s original EG had an insufficient number of peers. Consequently, Lipper expanded the Portfolio’s EG to include peers that have a similar but not the same Lipper classification/objective as the Portfolio. However, because Lipper had expanded the Portfolio’s EG, under Lipper’s standard guidelines, the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”) was also expanded to include universes of those peers that had a similar but not the same Lipper investment objective/classification. A “normal” EU will include funds that have the same investment objective/classification as the subject portfolio.9

Portfolio   

Contractual
Management

Fee10

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median

     Rank  

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

     0.450         0.500         2/17   

Set forth below is a comparison of the Portfolio’s total expense ratio and the medians of the Portfolio’s EG and EU. The Portfolio’s total expense ratio ranking is also shown.

It should be noted that Lipper uses expense ratio data from financial statements of the most current fiscal year in their database. This has several implications: the total expense ratio of each fund that Lipper uses in their report is based on each fund’s average net assets during its fiscal year. Since funds have different fiscal year ends, the total expense ratios of the funds may cover different twelve month periods, depending on the funds’ fiscal year ends. This is the process that Lipper always follows but given the volatile market conditions during 2008 and 2009, notably the last three months of 2008 through the first three months of 2009 when equity markets declined substantially, and conversely through the remainder of 2009 when equity markets rallied, the effects on the funds’ total expense ratios caused by the differences in fiscal year ends may be more pronounced in 2008 and 2009 compared to other years under more normal market conditions.11

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)12

    

Lipper Exp.

Group
Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

     0.691         0.659         12/17         0.605         29/35   

  

 

6   In considering this section, it should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 13.

 

7   It should be noted that Lipper does not consider average account size when constructing EGs. Funds with relatively small average account sizes tend to have higher transfer agent expense ratios than comparable sized funds that have relatively large average account sizes. Note that there are limitations on Lipper expense category data because different funds categorize expenses differently.

 

8   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” means that the Portfolio has the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

9   Except for asset size comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

10   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative, and other services.

 

11   To cite an example, the average net assets and total expense ratio of a fund with a fiscal year end of March 31, 2009 will not be reflective of the market rally that occurred post March 2009, in contrast to a fund with a fiscal year end of December 31, 2009.

 

12   Most recently completed fiscal year Class A share total expense ratio.

 

33


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than it does on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems. See Section IV for additional discussion.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2009, relative to 2008.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent and distribution services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees and Rule 12b-1 payments.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter and distributor, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), an affiliate of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees it 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, ABI received $100,575 in Rule 12b-1 fees from the Portfolio.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $308,774 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Adviser and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”).13 During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,250 from the Portfolio.14

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures,15 subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems, can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms have made such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

 

13   It should be noted that the insurance companies, linked to the variable products, provide additional shareholder services for the Portfolios, including record keeping, administration and customer service for contract holders.

 

14   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other series of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2009.

 

15   Fee structures include fee reductions, pricing at scale and breakpoints in advisory fee schedules.

 

34


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

An independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli16 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.17 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.18 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund assets under management (“AUM”), family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of fund size and the large asset manager’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $484 billion as of September 30, 2010, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information below, prepared by Lipper, shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance returns and rankings of the Portfolio19 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”)20 and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”) for the periods ended July 31, 2010.21

 

Portfolio      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

       14.38           13.01           11.75           3/9           5/19   

3 year

       7.28           6.60           7.25           3/9           9/19   

5 year

       5.57           5.13           5.61           3/9           11/19   

10 year

       5.87           5.44           5.94           3/9           10/18   

 

16   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

17   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 14.

 

18   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

19   The performance returns and rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio were provided by Lipper. Lipper maintains its own database that includes the Portfolio’s performance returns. However, differences in the distribution price (ex-date versus payable date) and rounding differences may cause the Adviser’s own performance returns of the Portfolio to be different from Lipper.

 

20   The Portfolio’s PG/PU are not identical to the Portfolio’s EG/EU, as the criteria for including/excluding a fund in/from a PG/PU are somewhat different from that of an EG/EU.

 

21   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the Portfolio even if the Portfolio may have had a different investment classification/objective at different points in time.

 

35


INTERMEDIATE BOND PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)22 versus its benchmark.23 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information for the Portfolio is also shown.24

 

    

Periods Ending July 31, 2010

Annualized Performance

 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year
(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

   

10

Year
(%)

    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized     Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
   

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

    14.38        7.28        5.57        5.87        5.70        4.65        0.68        10   

Barclays Capital U.S. Government Bond Index

    6.67        7.32        5.77        6.18        6.42        4.60        0.77        10   

Inception Date: September 17, 1992

  

           

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: November 22, 2010

 

22   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

23   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for the periods through July 31, 2010.

 

24   Portfolio volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be seen as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be viewed as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

36


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein International Growth Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,018.90       $   4.56         0.91

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.28       $ 4.56         0.91
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,017.80       $ 5.80         1.16

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.04       $ 5.81         1.16

 

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Investimentos Itau SA (Preference Shares)

   $ 5,120,625           2.7

British American Tobacco PLC

     4,834,068           2.5   

Partners Group Holding AG

     4,077,144           2.1   

Nestle SA

     3,828,359           2.0   

BG Group PLC

     3,818,432           2.0   

iShares MSCI ACWI ex US Index Fund

     3,679,768           1.9   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     3,646,080           1.9   

Tesco PLC

     3,510,723           1.8   

Standard Chartered PLC

     3,369,012           1.7   

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

     3,124,461           1.6   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   39,008,672           20.2

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Financials

   $ 45,774,670           24.0

Energy

     25,278,846           13.2   

Consumer Discretionary

     23,278,606           12.2   

Industrials

     21,529,798           11.3   

Consumer Staples

     20,262,321           10.6   

Information Technology

     18,770,820           9.8   

Materials

     13,758,351           7.2   

Health Care

     11,665,326           6.1   

Funds and Investment Trusts

     3,679,768           1.9   

Telecommunication Services

     2,989,976           1.6   

Utilities

     1,593,233           0.8   

Short-Term Investments

     2,373,406           1.3   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   190,955,121           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Portfolio 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).

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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
COUNTRY DIVERSIFICATION*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COUNTRY    U.S.$ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

United Kingdom

   $ 47,238,212           24.7

Switzerland

     17,821,128           9.3   

Japan

     14,523,490           7.6   

China

     14,161,326           7.4   

Brazil

     13,263,997           7.0   

France

     11,967,872           6.3   

Germany

     10,820,818           5.7   

United States

     7,325,848           3.8   

South Africa

     6,352,414           3.3   

Hong Kong

     4,358,318           2.3   

Russia

     4,294,874           2.3   

Sweden

     4,119,217           2.2   

Indonesia

     3,616,576           1.9   

Other

     28,717,625           15.0   

Short-Term Investments

     2,373,406           1.2   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   190,955,121           100.0

 

 

 

 

*   All data are as of June 30, 2011. The Portfolio’s country breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. “Other” country weightings represent 1.6% or less in the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Guernsey (Channel Islands), India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey.

 

3


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–94.6%

   
   

FINANCIALS–22.7%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–4.9%

   

Azimut Holding SpA

    61,305      $ 572,341   

Credit Suisse Group AG(a)

    50,755        1,978,035   

GAM Holding AG(a)

    60,159        989,820   

Man Group PLC

    472,862        1,798,653   

Partners Group Holding AG

    23,033        4,077,144   
   

 

 

 
      9,415,993   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–13.0%

   

Banco Santander Brasil SA

    69,800        818,467   

Bank Central Asia Tbk PT

    1,795,000        1,605,277   

BNP Paribas

    27,265        2,102,375   

Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank(a)

    943,000        558,516   

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd

    459,000        1,359,504   

HDFC Bank Ltd.

    12,900        725,150   

HSBC Holdings PLC

    147,441        1,461,838   

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China–Class H

    3,459,255        2,638,533   

Investimentos Itau SA (Preference Shares)

    666,514        5,120,625   

NOMOS-BANK (GDR)(a)(b)

    17,204        299,866   

Societe Generale

    23,816        1,410,527   

Standard Chartered PLC

    128,257        3,369,012   

Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS

    222,100        1,665,998   

United Overseas Bank Ltd.

    125,000        2,006,894   
   

 

 

 
      25,142,582   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–1.2%

   

FirstRand Ltd.

    236,100        693,935   

IG Group Holdings PLC

    231,738        1,621,239   
   

 

 

 
      2,315,174   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–3.1%

  

AIA Group Ltd.(a)

    879,400        3,066,894   

Prudential PLC

    253,800        2,930,580   
   

 

 

 
      5,997,474   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT–0.5%

   

BR Malls Participacoes SA

    52,900        605,046   

Etalon Group Ltd. (GDR)(a)(b)

    53,835        370,923   
   

 

 

 
      975,969   
   

 

 

 
      43,847,192   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–13.1%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–3.1%

   

Saipem SpA

    46,275        2,389,655   

Schlumberger Ltd.

    42,200        3,646,080   
   

 

 

 
      6,035,735   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–10.0%

   

Adaro Energy Tbk PT

    6,440,000        1,845,764   

Afren PLC(a)

    811,644        2,056,215   
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

Alliance Oil Co., Ltd. (GDR)(a)

    112,284      $ 1,951,736   

BG Group PLC

    168,169        3,818,432   

China Shenhua Energy Co., Ltd.–Class H

    347,000        1,667,280   

Exillon Energy PLC(a)

    71,018        495,587   

Gulf Keystone Petroleum Ltd.(a)

    812,813        1,796,727   

Inpex Corp.

    258        1,907,440   

Karoon Gas Australia Ltd.(a)

    42,573        239,994   

Oando PLC

    2,091,324        773,213   

Tullow Oil PLC

    68,836        1,370,808   

Ultrapar Participacoes SA (Preference Shares)

    74,500        1,319,915   
   

 

 

 
      19,243,111   
   

 

 

 
      25,278,846   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–12.1%

   

AUTOMOBILES–2.4%

   

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

    225,000        2,364,573   

Volkswagen AG (Preference Shares)

    10,668        2,206,095   
   

 

 

 
      4,570,668   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED CONSUMER SERVICES– 0.2%

   

Estacio Participacoes SA

    28,600        366,514   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–1.7%

   

Ajisen China Holdings Ltd.

    365,500        762,839   

Carnival PLC

    55,935        2,167,364   

Shangri-La Asia Ltd.

    162,500        399,778   
   

 

 

 
      3,329,981   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–0.5%

   

Rakuten, Inc.

    993        1,027,779   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–2.6%

   

Eutelsat Communications

    51,030        2,297,396   

Informa PLC

    129,733        900,492   

Naspers Ltd.

    17,840        1,007,499   

SES SA (FDR)

    26,264        737,801   
   

 

 

 
      4,943,188   
   

 

 

 

MULTILINE RETAIL–0.3%

   

Golden Eagle Retail Group Ltd.

    233,000        595,026   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–3.0%

   

Belle International Holdings Ltd.

    606,000        1,280,288   

Dunelm Group PLC

    41,400        258,471   

Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.

    6,100        986,543   

Yamada Denki Co., Ltd.

    19,590        1,596,184   

Zhongsheng Group Holdings Ltd.

    741,500        1,624,330   
   

 

 

 
      5,745,816   
   

 

 

 

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

TEXTILES, APPAREL & LUXURY GOODS–1.4%

   

Cie Financiere Richemont SA

    41,195      $ 2,699,634   
   

 

 

 
      23,278,606   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–11.2%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–1.0%

   

Safran SA

    46,100        1,967,123   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SUPPLIES–1.1%

   

Secom Co., Ltd.

    20,000        958,931   

Serco Group PLC

    121,900        1,081,319   
   

 

 

 
      2,040,250   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–1.0%

   

Schneider Electric SA

    11,900        1,986,963   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–2.8%

   

Bidvest Group Ltd.

    61,128        1,361,573   

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV

    28,274        726,643   

Siemens AG

    14,500        1,992,601   

Smiths Group PLC

    65,733        1,267,936   
   

 

 

 
      5,348,753   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–2.3%

   

Atlas Copco AB–Class A

    82,300        2,167,481   

China Rongsheng Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd.

    441,500        268,205   

Fanuc Corp.

    11,600        1,939,787   
   

 

 

 
      4,375,473   
   

 

 

 

MARINE–0.5%

   

Orient Overseas International Ltd.

    137,500        891,646   
   

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES–0.3%

   

Qualicorp SA(a)

    64,900        619,620   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–1.6%

   

Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

    108,500        1,875,978   

Wolseley PLC

    38,700        1,263,226   
   

 

 

 
      3,139,204   
   

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE–0.6%

   

Cia de Concessoes Rodoviarias

    39,000        1,160,766   
   

 

 

 
      21,529,798   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–10.5%

   

BEVERAGES–1.7%

   

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV

    39,162        2,272,859   

Cia de Bebidas das Americas(a)

    148        4,874   

Cia de Bebidas das Americas (Preference Shares)

    32,500        1,068,930   
   

 

 

 
      3,346,663   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING–2.9%

   

Bizim Toptan Satis
Magazalari AS

    15,829      $ 254,094   

Olam International Ltd.

    479,500        1,065,931   

Tesco PLC

    543,373        3,510,723   

X5 Retail Group NV (GDR)(a)(b)

    16,750        654,925   
   

 

 

 
      5,485,673   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–2.7%

   

Danone

    18,576        1,386,756   

Nestle SA

    61,521        3,828,359   
   

 

 

 
      5,215,115   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS–0.7%

   

Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC

    25,000        1,380,802   
   

 

 

 

TOBACCO–2.5%

   

British American Tobacco PLC

    110,237        4,834,068   
   

 

 

 
      20,262,321   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–9.4%

   

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–1.2%

   

HTC Corp.

    56,500        1,910,335   

ZTE Corp.–Class H

    108,000        391,444   
   

 

 

 
      2,301,779   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, INSTRUMENTS & COMPONENTS–0.6%

   

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

    17,400        1,163,337   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES–2.0%

   

Baidu, Inc./China (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    10,000        1,401,300   

Mail.ru Group Ltd. (GDR)(a)(b)

    9,400        312,818   

Tencent Holdings Ltd.

    79,200        2,163,603   
   

 

 

 
      3,877,721   
   

 

 

 

IT SERVICES–0.6%

   

Infosys Ltd. (Sponsored ADR)

    18,100        1,180,663   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–2.8%

   

ARM Holdings PLC

    137,255        1,290,692   

ASML Holding NV

    28,167        1,038,933   

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

    4,020        3,124,461   
   

 

 

 
      5,454,086   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–2.2%

   

SAP AG

    37,847        2,294,598   

Temenos Group AG(a)

    58,809        1,813,812   
   

 

 

 
      4,108,410   
   

 

 

 
      18,085,996   
   

 

 

 

 

5


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

MATERIALS–7.1%

   

CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS–1.4%

   

CRH PLC (London)

    63,407      $ 1,413,464   

HeidelbergCement AG

    19,390        1,240,101   
   

 

 

 
      2,653,565   
   

 

 

 

METALS & MINING–5.7%

   

African Rainbow Minerals Ltd.

    29,300        817,958   

Aquarius Platinum Ltd.

    168,200        854,988   

Centamin Egypt Ltd.(a)

    702,100        1,418,095   

Northam Platinum Ltd.

    120,100        756,321   

Rio Tinto PLC

    35,241        2,544,603   

Vale SA (Sponsored ADR) (Local Preference Shares)

    75,250        2,179,240   

Xstrata PLC

    115,030        2,533,581   
   

 

 

 
      11,104,786   
   

 

 

 
      13,758,351   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–6.1%

   

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–0.7%

   

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

    16,165        1,209,060   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–5.4%

   

Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Ltd.(a)

    67,046        833,511   

Bayer AG

    23,387        1,878,363   

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp.

    42,000        702,938   

Novartis AG

    39,720        2,434,324   

Novo Nordisk A/S–Class B

    7,950        995,970   

Pharmstandard OJSC (GDR)(a)(b)

    26,500        604,200   

Shire PLC

    81,983        2,563,336   

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Sponsored ADR)

    9,200        443,624   
   

 

 

 
      10,456,266   
   

 

 

 
      11,665,326   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–1.6%

   

DIVERSIFIED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–0.5%

   

Iliad SA

    6,086        816,732   

XL Axiata Tbk PT

    230,500        165,535   
   

 

 

 
      982,267   
   

 

 

 

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–1.1%

   

America Movil SAB de CV Series L (ADR)

    20,900        1,126,092   

MTN Group Ltd.

    41,383        881,617   
   

 

 

 
      2,007,709   
   

 

 

 
      2,989,976   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

UTILITIES–0.8%

   

INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCERS & ENERGY TRADERS–0.8%

   

China Longyuan Power Group Corp.

    836,000      $ 809,962   

NTPC Ltd.

    186,880        783,271   
   

 

 

 
      1,593,233   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $152,055,935)

      182,289,645   
   

 

 

 

INVESTMENT COMPANIES–1.9%

   

FUNDS AND INVESTMENT TRUSTS–1.9%

   

iShares MSCI ACWI ex US Index Fund
(cost $3,615,495)

    81,700        3,679,768   
   

 

 

 

WARRANTS–1.4%

   

FINANCIALS–1.0%

   

Sberbank of Russia, Merrill Lynch, expiring 11/05/12(a)

    539,200        1,927,478   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–0.4%

   

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, expiring 09/14/29(a)(b)

    200,200        684,824   
   

 

 

 

Total Warrants
(cost $2,334,233)

      2,612,302   
   

 

 

 
    Principal
Amount
(000)
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–1.2%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–1.2%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $2,373,406)

  $ 2,373        2,373,406   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–99.1%
(cost $160,379,069)

      190,955,121   

Other assets less
liabilities–0.9%

      1,769,569   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 192,724,690   
   

 

 

 

 

6


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
    

U.S. $

Value on
Origination Date

    

U.S. $

Value at

June 30, 2011

     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts

           

Barclays Bank PLC Wholselale:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     4,385       $ 4,479,275       $ 4,541,982       $ 62,707   

BNP Paribas SA:

           

New Zealand Dollar settling 8/15/11

     2,371         1,835,960         1,958,965         123,005   

New Zealand Dollar settling 8/15/11

     8,787         7,184,067         7,259,985         75,918   

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     12,477           17,980,729           18,072,810         92,081   

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     5,013         798,606         790,667         (7,939

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     57,208         9,096,084         9,023,032         (73,052

HSBC BankUSA:

           

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     6,115         7,315,906         7,275,026         (40,880

Royal Bank of Canada:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     50,632         9,138,031         9,360,795         222,764   

Societe Generale:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     2,542         3,641,313         3,682,061         40,748   

Standard Chartered Bank:

           

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     509,029         6,315,065         6,324,254         9,189   

UBS AG:

           

Australian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     3,247         3,363,668         3,464,569             100,901   

Australian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     3,167         3,302,833         3,379,208         76,375   

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     2,496         2,821,062         2,969,495         148,433   

Westpac Banking Corp:

           

Australian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     3,909         4,147,214         4,170,927         23,713   

Sale Contracts

           

Bank of America N.A:

           

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     2,049         3,342,328         3,286,891         55,437   

Barclays Bank PLC Wholselale:

           

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     39,018         480,080         484,766         (4,686

BNP Paribas SA:

           

Australian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     715         746,878         762,909         (16,031

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     15,318         25,044,318         24,572,279         472,039   

Canadian imperial Bank of Commerce:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     1,548         1,600,331         1,603,418         (3,087

Citibank N.A:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 8/15/11

     2,837         2,934,757         2,938,564         (3,807

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     7,736         8,821,836         9,203,532         (381,696

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Swiss Franc settling 8/15/11

     8,737         9,788,368         10,394,423         (606,055

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     4,459         7,217,694         7,152,878         64,816   

Norwegian Krone settling 8/15/11

     4,256         792,995         786,845         6,150   

Goldman Sachs International:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     680         960,847         984,973         (24,126

 

7


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
    

U.S. $

Value on
Origination Date

    

U.S. $

Value at

June 30, 2011

     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Sale Contracts (continued)

           

HSBC BankUSA:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     5,356       $ 7,840,220       $ 7,758,112       $ 82,108   

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     327,605           4,086,175           4,070,215         15,960   

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     4,866         747,528         767,481             (19,953

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC

           

Great British Pound settling 8/15/11

     1,209         1,986,762         1,939,410         47,352   

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

Swedish Krona settling 8/15/11

     5,876         952,350         926,782         25,568   

UBS AG:

           

Euro settling 8/15/11

     530         747,740         767,700         (19,960

Westpac Banking Corp:

           

Japanese Yen settling 8/15/11

     142,406         1,762,450         1,769,274         (6,824

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

(b)   Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities are considered liquid and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2011, the aggregate market value of these securities amounted to $2,927,556 or 1.5% of net assets.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

FDR—Fiduciary Depositary Receipt

GDR—Global Depositary Receipt

OJSC—Open Joint Stock Company

See notes to financial statements.

 

8


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $160,379,069)

   $ 190,955,121   

Cash

     19,166   

Foreign currencies, at value (cost $1,678,583)

     1,685,173   

Receivable for investment securities sold and foreign currency transactions

     7,555,391   

Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     1,745,264   

Dividends and interest receivable

     728,905   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     12,027   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     202,701,047   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased and foreign currency transactions

     6,690,586   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     1,850,056   

Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     1,208,096   

Advisory fee payable

     118,563   

Administrative fee payable

     19,457   

Distribution fee payable

     14,840   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     134   

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     74,625   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     9,976,357   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 192,724,690   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 10,589   

Additional paid-in capital

     211,408,229   

Undistributed net investment income

     847,724   

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (50,667,668

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     31,125,816   
  

 

 

 
   $ 192,724,690   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class    Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

   $   120,008,174           6,571,438         $   18.26   

B

   $ 72,716,516           4,017,263         $ 18.10   

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

9


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $242,761)

   $ 3,189,485   

Interest

     325   

Other income

     3,740   
  

 

 

 
     3,193,550   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     737,086   

Distribution fee—Class B

     92,144   

Transfer agency—Class A

     1,105   

Transfer agency—Class B

     663   

Custodian

     65,557   

Administrative

     35,311   

Legal

     17,978   

Audit

     17,456   

Printing

     9,280   

Directors’ fees

     1,923   

Miscellaneous

     7,379   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     985,882   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     2,207,668   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain (loss) on:

  

Investment transactions

     8,675,810   

Foreign currency transactions

     (1,007,011

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (6,847,566 )(a) 

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     520,386   
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     1,341,619   
  

 

 

 

Contributions from Adviser (see Note B)

     23,222   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 3,572,509   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Net of decrease in accrued foreign capital gains taxes of $5,875.

See notes to financial statements.

 

10


 
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 2,207,668      $ 1,851,252   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     7,668,799        14,260,219   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (6,327,180     5,992,202   

Contributions from Adviser (see Note B)

     23,222        –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     3,572,509        22,103,673   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (3,419,977     (2,412,560

Class B

     (1,907,699     (1,333,956

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (6,738,125     (14,078,593
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase (decrease)

     (8,493,292     4,278,564   

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     201,217,982        196,939,418   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $847,724 and $3,967,732, respectively)

   $ 192,724,690      $ 201,217,982   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

11


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein International Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time (see Note A.2).

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

market data obtained from sources independent of the Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

Investments in Securities:

        

Assets:

        

Common Stocks

        

Financials

   $ 6,915,061      $ 36,932,131      $             –0 –    $ 43,847,192   

Energy

     5,461,582        19,817,264        –0 –      25,278,846   

Consumer Discretionary

     624,985        22,653,621        –0 –      23,278,606   

Industrials

     1,780,386        19,749,412        –0 –      21,529,798   

Consumer Staples

     1,728,729        18,533,592        –0 –      20,262,321   

Information Technology

     2,581,963        15,504,033        –0 –      18,085,996   

Materials

     2,179,240        11,579,111        –0 –      13,758,351   

Health Care

     1,047,824        10,617,502        –0 –      11,665,326   

Telecommunication Services

     1,126,092        1,863,884        –0 –      2,989,976   

Utilities

     –0 –      1,593,233        –0 –      1,593,233   

Investment Companies

     –0 –      3,679,768        –0 –      3,679,768   

Warrants

     –0 –      2,612,302        –0 –      2,612,302   

Short-Term Investments

     –0 –      2,373,406        –0 –      2,373,406   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

     23,445,862        167,509,259     –0 –      190,955,121   

Other Financial Instruments*:

        

Assets:

        

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

     –0 –      1,745,264        –0 –      1,745,264   

Liabilities:

        

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

     –0 –      (1,208,096     –0 –      (1,208,096
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   $ 23,445,862      $ 168,046,427      $ –0 –    $ 191,492,289   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

 

+   The earlier close of the foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred between the close of the foreign markets and the time at which the Portfolio values its securities which may materially affect the value of securities trading in such markets. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available. Accordingly, a significant portion of the Portfolio’s investments are categorized as level 2 investments.

 

13


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Following is a reconciliation of investments in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value. The transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy assumes the financial instrument was transferred at the end of the reporting period.

 

     Warrants     Total  

Balance as of 12/31/10

   $ 3,964,949      $ 3,964,949   

Accrued discounts/(premiums)

     –0 –      –0 – 

Realized gain (loss)

     562,769        562,769   

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

     (51,617     (51,617

Purchases

     1,086,388        1,086,388   

Sales

     (2,950,187     (2,950,187

Transfers in to Level 3

     –0 –      –0 – 

Transfers out of Level 3

     (2,612,302     (2,612,302
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of 6/30/11

   $ –0 –    $ –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

   $ –0 –    $ –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   The unrealized appreciation/depreciation is included in net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments in the accompanying statement of operations.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion and .60% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Adviser reimbursed the Portfolio $23,222 for trading losses incurred due to a trade entry error.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $35,311.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $146,631, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

     Purchases     Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

   $ 56,838,319      $ 67,136,323   

U.S. government securities

     –0 –      –0 – 

 

15


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation (excluding foreign currency transactions) are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 35,653,107   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (5,077,055
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 30,576,052   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The principal type of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

The Portfolio may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign portfolio holdings, to hedge certain firm purchase and sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies and for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

A forward currency exchange contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated forward rate. The gain or loss arising from the difference between the original contract and the closing of such contract would be included in net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions. Fluctuations in the value of open forward currency exchange contracts are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized appreciation and/or depreciation by the Portfolio. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of a contract and from unanticipated movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The face or contract amount, in U.S. dollars reflects the total exposure the Portfolio has in that particular currency contract.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held foreign currency exchange contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

    

Asset Derivatives

    

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

  

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities
Location

   Fair Value     

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities
Location

   Fair Value  

Foreign exchange contracts

   Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 1,745,264       Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts    $ 1,208,096   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

Total

      $ 1,745,264          $ 1,208,096   
     

 

 

       

 

 

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
    Change in Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Foreign exchange contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities    $ (3,473,100   $ 532,685   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

      $ (3,473,100   $ 532,685   
     

 

 

   

 

 

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the average monthly principal amount of foreign currency exchange contracts was $143,054,791.

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    171,327        489,235        $ 3,173,871      $ 8,214,244   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    183,771        151,829          3,419,977        2,412,560   

Shares redeemed

    (643,470     (1,243,504       (11,817,353     (20,302,432
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (288,372     (602,440     $ (5,223,505   $ (9,675,628
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    307,129        704,801        $ 5,596,943      $ 11,693,125   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    103,398        84,588          1,907,699        1,333,956   

Shares redeemed

    (498,516     (1,080,822       (9,019,262     (17,430,046
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (87,989     (291,433     $ (1,514,620   $ (4,402,965
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

 

17


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

     2010      2009  

Distributions paid from:

     

Ordinary income

   $ 3,746,516       $ 6,286,620   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

     3,746,516         6,286,620   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

   $ 3,746,516       $ 6,286,620   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 5,274,648   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (57,140,896 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     34,938,414  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (16,927,834
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $57,140,896 of which $14,639,821 expires in the year 2016 and $42,501,075 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year, the Portfolio utilized $9,259,128 of capital loss carryforwards.

 

(b)   The differences between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) are attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales, the realization for tax purposes of gain/losses on certain derivative instruments, and the tax treatment of passive foreign investments companies (PFICs).

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

18


 
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.42        $16.66        $12.52        $24.89        $30.37        $24.27   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .21        .18        .22        .38        .20        .30   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .15        1.92        4.59        (12.35     5.16        6.18   

Contributions from Adviser

    .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .36        2.10        4.81        (11.97     5.36        6.48   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.52     (.34     (.67     –0 –      (.56     (.23

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (.40     (10.28     (.15
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.52     (.34     (.67     (.40     (10.84     (.38
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.26        $18.42        $16.66        $12.52        $24.89        $30.37   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    1.89     12.89     39.58     (48.85 )%*      18.13     27.04
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period
(000’s omitted)

    $120,008        $126,339        $124,335        $80,458        $165,642        $81,655   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .91 %(d)      .93 %(e)      .99     .98     1.21 %(e)      1.23 %(e) 

Net investment income

    2.33 %(d)      1.08 %(e)      1.55     1.93     .66 %(e)      1.11 %(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    29     104     118     90     126     74

 

 

See footnote summary on page 20.

 

19


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $18.24        $16.51        $12.41        $24.73        $30.20        $24.16   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .19        .14        .18        .31        .13        .22   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .14        1.89        4.55        (12.23     5.11        6.16   

Contributions from Adviser

    .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .33        2.03        4.73        (11.92     5.24        6.38   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.47     (.30     (.63     –0 –      (.43     (.19

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (.40     (10.28     (.15
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.47     (.30     (.63     (.40     (10.71     (.34
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.10        $18.24        $16.51        $12.41        $24.73        $30.20   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    1.78     12.61     39.24     (48.96 )%*      17.78     26.70
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $72,717        $74,879        $72,604        $45,309        $57,633        $35,321   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.16 %(d)      1.18 %(e)      1.24     1.23     1.45 %(e)      1.48 %(e) 

Net investment income

    2.10 %(d)      .83 %(e)      1.28     1.63     .45 %(e)      .81 %(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    29     104     118     90     126     74

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the year ended December 31, 2008 by 0.01%.

See notes to financial statements.

 

20


 
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein International Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

21


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers and dealers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) All Country (AC) World (ex US) Index (Net) (the “MSCI AC World Index”) and the MSCI World (ex US) Index (Net) (the “MSCI World Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011, and (in the case of comparisons with the MSCI World Index) the since inception period (September 1994 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and 5th quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1- and 3-year periods, in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 5-year period, and in the 1st quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio lagged the MSCI AC World Index in the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods but outperformed that index in the 10-year period. The Portfolio also lagged the MSCI World Index in the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods but outperformed that index in the 10-year and the since inception periods. The directors also reviewed performance information for periods ended March 31, 2011 (for which the data was not limited to Class A Shares), and noted that in the 3-month period the Portfolio had lagged the Lipper VA International Growth Average and the indices. The directors also took into account the Adviser’s recently implemented organizational and investment process changes that are intended to improve the investment performance of its equity services. Based on their review, and their discussion with the Adviser of the reasons for the Portfolio’s performance, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance over time was acceptable.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The directors noted that because of the small number of funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category, at the request of the Adviser and the Fund’s Senior Officer, Lipper had expanded the Expense Group of the Fund to include peers that had a similar (but not the same) Lipper investment objective/classification. The Expense Universe for the Portfolio had also been expanded by Lipper pursuant to Lipper’s standard guidelines and not at the request of the Adviser or the Fund’s Senior Officer. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points, plus the 4 basis point impact of the administrative expense reimbursement in the latest fiscal year, was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was lower than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

23


 
INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein International Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

International

 

75 bp on 1st $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion

60 bp on the balance

  $ 197.4      International Growth Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $70,886 (0.04% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio   Fiscal Year

International Growth Portfolio

 

Class A    0.93%

Class B    1.18%

  December 31

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

  

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

 

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

International Growth Portfolio

   $197.4   

International Research Growth AC Schedule

85 bp on first $25m

65 bp on next $25m

55 bp on next $50m

45 bp on the balance

Minimum account size $25m

    0.551     0.750

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

25


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein International Growth Fund, Inc. (“International Growth Fund, Inc.”), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of International Growth Fund, Inc. and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio    AllianceBernstein Mutual
Fund
   Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

International Growth Portfolio

   International Growth Fund, Inc.   

0.75% on first $2.5 billion

0.65% on next $2.5 billion

0.60% on the balance

    0.750     0.750

The Adviser represented that it does not sub-advise any registered investment company with a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.6 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.7

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

The Portfolio’s original EG had an insufficient number of peers in Lipper’s view. Consequently, Lipper expanded the Portfolio’s EG to include peers that have similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.8

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee9
      

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

       Rank  

International Growth Portfolio

     0.750           0.920           2/11   

However, because Lipper had expanded the EG of the Portfolio, under Lipper’s standard guidelines, the Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”) was also expanded to include the universes of those peers that had a similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.10 A “normal” EU will include funds that have the same investment classification/objective as the subject Portfolio.11

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)12

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

International Growth Portfolio

     0.929         1.037         2/11         0.977         12/32   

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

6   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

7   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

8   The Portfolio’s EG includes the Portfolio, eight other VIP International Growth funds (“IFGE”) and two VIP International Core funds (“IFCE”).

 

9   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.

 

10   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

11   The Portfolio’s EU includes the Portfolio, EG and all other VIP IFGE and IFCE funds, excluding outliers.

 

12   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

26


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has equally favorable rankings on a management fee basis and on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $175,396 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $377,819 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.13

The Portfolio did not effect brokerage transactions through and pay commissions to the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

 

13   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

27


INTERNATIONAL GROWTH PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli14 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.15 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.16 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio17 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)18 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.19

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     19.71           21.01           23.89           8/11           27/30   

3 year

     –4.38           –2.28           –1.35           8/10           24/28   

5 year

     2.37           3.32           2.77           7/10           18/27   

10 year

     8.04           4.71           5.33           1/10           3/20   

 

14   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

15   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

16   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

17   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

18   The Portfolio’s PG is identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG. The Portfolio’s PU is not identical to the Portfolio’s EU as the criteria for including/excluding a fund from a PU is somewhat different from that of an EU.

 

19   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

28


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)20 versus its benchmarks.21 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.22

 

     Periods Ending February 28, 2011
Annualized Performance
 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year
(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

International Growth Portfolio

    19.71        4.38        2.37        8.05        9.02        20.38        0.37         10   

MSCI AC World ex US Index (Net)

    21.12        –0.56        4.23        6.64        N/A        19.08        0.32         10   

MSCI World ex US Index (Net)23

    21.22        –1.41        3.04        5.43        5.47        N/A        N/A         N/A   

Inception Date: September 23, 1994

  

            

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

20   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

21   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

22   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

23   Benchmark since inception date is the nearest month end after the Portfolio’s inception date.

 

29


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein International Value Portfolio

 

 

June 30, 2011

 

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 

 
INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,021.60       $   4.21         0.84

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,020.63       $   4.21         0.84
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,020.50       $   5.46         1.09

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,019.39       $   5.46         1.09

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Rio Tinto PLC

   $ 40,832,347           3.0

AstraZeneca PLC

     36,546,319           2.6   

Vodafone Group PLC

     32,360,555           2.3   

Societe Generale SA

     32,235,771           2.3   

Allianz SE

     31,431,303           2.3   

ING Groep NV

     29,787,141           2.2   

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (Euronext Amsterdam)—Class A

     29,015,598           2.1   

Novartis AG

     28,416,383           2.1   

Japan Tobacco, Inc.

     25,545,950           1.9   

Toyota Motor Corp.

     24,793,989           1.8   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $     310,965,356           22.6

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF
TOTAL INVESTMENTS
 

Financials

   $ 340,098,367           25.1

Consumer Discretionary

     194,554,917           14.3   

Materials

     162,346,827           12.0   

Energy

     150,348,777           11.1   

Industrials

     117,812,924           8.7   

Health Care

     110,147,470           8.1   

Telecommunication Services

     96,629,246           7.1   

Information Technology

     72,410,520           5.3   

Consumer Staples

     61,226,944           4.5   

Utilities

     44,561,002           3.3   

Short-Term Investments

     7,426,632           0.5   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   1,357,563,626           100.0

 

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   All data are as of June 30, 2011. The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. The Portfolio 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).

 

    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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
COUNTRY DIVERSIFICATION*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COUNTRY    U.S.$ VALUE        PERCENT OF
TOTAL INVESTMENTS
 

Japan

   $ 343,340,482           25.3

United Kingdom

     282,905,432           20.8   

France

     139,136,965           10.3   

Germany

     93,119,004           6.9   

Switzerland

     59,369,362           4.4   

Netherlands

     58,888,619           4.3   

Italy

     54,806,712           4.0   

South Korea

     41,414,271           3.1   

Canada

     37,079,100           2.7   

Brazil

     34,804,413           2.6   

Russia

     28,055,245           2.1   

Australia

     27,804,257           2.0   

Belgium

     21,723,996           1.6   

Other

     127,689,136           9.4   

Short-Term Investments

     7,426,632           0.5   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   1,357,563,626           100.0

 

 

 

 

 

*   All data are as of June 30, 2011. The Portfolio’s country breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time. “Other” country weightings represent 1.3% or less in the following countries: Austria, China, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.

 

3


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–98.0%

  

 
   

FINANCIALS–24.7%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–1.2%

   

Deutsche Bank AG

    203,900      $ 12,034,280   

UBS AG(a)

    245,463        4,479,593   
   

 

 

 
      16,513,873   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL
BANKS–14.7%

   

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

    284,200        6,736,910   

Banco do Brasil SA

    514,700        9,234,357   

Bank of China Ltd.

    9,343,400        4,585,266   

Barclays PLC

    4,151,200        17,029,679   

BNP Paribas

    242,529        18,701,156   

Danske Bank A/S(a)

    273,668        5,065,014   

Hana Financial Group, Inc.

    153,720        5,394,006   

KB Financial Group, Inc.

    150,611        7,159,756   

KBC Groep NV

    283,500        11,124,258   

Lloyds Banking Group PLC(a)

    20,471,800        16,087,431   

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.

    1,334,100        6,501,517   

National Australia Bank Ltd.

    762,000        21,067,347   

Societe Generale

    544,284        32,235,771   

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

    469,400        14,473,802   

Turkiye Is Bankasi–Class C

    1,198,100        3,677,442   

Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi Tao–Class D

    3,495,600        7,903,726   

UniCredit SpA

    7,068,740        14,962,510   
   

 

 

 
      201,939,948   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–2.9%

   

ING Groep NV(a)

    2,417,100        29,787,141   

ORIX Corp.

    104,910        10,204,784   
   

 

 

 
      39,991,925   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–5.4%

   

Aegon NV(a)

    2,017,300        13,745,922   

Allianz SE

    225,400        31,431,303   

Aviva PLC

    2,279,400        16,044,789   

Muenchener Rueckversicherungs AG

    89,000        13,586,291   
   

 

 

 
      74,808,305   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT–0.5%

   

Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd. 

    3,863,000        2,544,718   

New World Development Ltd. 

    2,832,000        4,299,598   
   

 

 

 
      6,844,316   
   

 

 

 
      340,098,367   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–14.1%

   

AUTO COMPONENTS–4.3%

   

Bridgestone Corp.

    719,200      $ 16,570,745   

Faurecia

    183,425        7,866,203   

GKN PLC

    3,679,100        13,716,692   

Magna International, Inc.–
Class A

    194,700        10,527,871   

NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd.

    414,000        5,720,433   

Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.

    345,500        4,180,935   
   

 

 

 
      58,582,879   
   

 

 

 

AUTOMOBILES–5.0%

   

Mazda Motor Corp.(a)

    83,000        218,722   

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

    2,151,200        22,607,417   

Renault SA

    355,700        21,103,801   

Toyota Motor Corp.

    602,100        24,793,989   
   

 

 

 
      68,723,929   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–0.3%

   

Thomas Cook Group PLC

    2,017,000        4,310,368   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–2.3%

   

LG Electronics, Inc.

    102,050        7,956,936   

Sharp Corp.

    1,503,000        13,716,419   

Sony Corp.

    404,500        10,672,835   
   

 

 

 
      32,346,190   
   

 

 

 

LEISURE EQUIPMENT & PRODUCTS–0.2%

   

Namco Bandai Holdings, Inc.

    276,300        3,325,931   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–1.0%

   

Vivendi SA

    486,444        13,558,624   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–0.5%

   

Esprit Holdings Ltd.

    2,188,900        6,839,221   
   

 

 

 

TEXTILES, APPAREL & LUXURY GOODS–0.5%

   

Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Ltd.

    2,159,000        6,867,775   
   

 

 

 
      194,554,917   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–11.8%

   

CHEMICALS–1.9%

   

Air Water, Inc. 

    112,000        1,349,224   

Clariant AG(a)

    254,000        4,859,374   

Koninklijke DSM NV

    164,849        10,698,115   

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc.

    733,000        5,370,352   

Ube Industries Ltd/Japan

    1,168,000        3,516,427   
   

 

 

 
      25,793,492   
   

 

 

 

CONTAINERS & PACKAGING–0.3%

   

Smurfit Kappa Group PLC(a)

    358,600        4,281,955   
   

 

 

 

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

METALS & MINING–9.6%

   

Hindalco Industries Ltd.

    1,409,300      $ 5,705,382   

JFE Holdings, Inc.

    421,300        11,586,440   

KGHM Polska Miedz SA(a)

    167,900        12,058,957   

New Gold, Inc.(a)

    231,739        2,390,796   

Rio Tinto PLC

    565,500        40,832,347   

Tata Steel Ltd.

    714,400        9,809,528   

ThyssenKrupp AG

    256,400        13,321,939   

Vale SA (Sponsored ADR) (Local Preference Shares)

    680,600        19,710,176   

Xstrata PLC

    765,290        16,855,815   
   

 

 

 
      132,271,380   
   

 

 

 
      162,346,827   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–10.9%

   

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–10.9%

   

BP PLC

    3,184,200        23,445,238   

China Petroleum & Chemical Corp.–Class H

    5,438,000        5,534,174   

ENI SpA

    637,800        15,115,181   

Gazprom OAO (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    1,084,600        15,780,930   

JX Holdings, Inc.

    1,426,000        9,591,335   

Lukoil OAO (London) (Sponsored ADR)

    141,900        9,046,125   

Nexen, Inc. (Toronto)

    782,380        17,635,897   

OMV AG

    219,100        9,571,693   

Penn West Petroleum Ltd. 

    282,559        6,524,536   

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Sponsored ADR)

    191,000        5,859,880   

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (Euronext Amsterdam)–Class A

    817,141        29,015,598   

Tatneft (Sponsored ADR)

    74,900        3,228,190   
   

 

 

 
      150,348,777   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–8.6%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–1.3%

   

BAE Systems PLC

    3,380,600        17,293,992   
   

 

 

 

BUILDING PRODUCTS–1.5%

   

Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. 

    1,273,000        14,896,994   

Cie de St-Gobain

    90,000        5,833,621   
   

 

 

 
      20,730,615   
   

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING–1.7%

   

Bouygues SA

    540,000        23,746,050   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–1.8%

   

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. 

    615,000        7,143,901   

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd. 

    1,218,300        17,769,682   
   

 

 

 
      24,913,583   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–0.5%

   

Bidvest Group Ltd. 

    153,300      $ 3,414,623   

Cookson Group PLC

    256,400        2,769,831   
   

 

 

 
      6,184,454   
   

 

 

 

ROAD & RAIL–0.6%

   

East Japan Railway Co. 

    65,900        3,774,145   

Firstgroup PLC

    89,896        492,331   

Nippon Express Co., Ltd. 

    875,000        3,545,604   
   

 

 

 
      7,812,080   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–1.2%

   

Mitsubishi Corp.

    398,900        9,963,665   

Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

    414,600        7,168,485   
   

 

 

 
      17,132,150   
   

 

 

 
      117,812,924   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–8.0%

   

PHARMACEUTICALS–8.0%

   

AstraZeneca PLC

    731,200        36,546,319   

GlaxoSmithKline PLC

    253,995        5,444,195   

Novartis AG

    463,660        28,416,383   

Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd.

    76,900        2,034,822   

Roche Holding AG

    129,100        21,614,012   

Sanofi

    200,045        16,091,739   
   

 

 

 
      110,147,470   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–7.0%

   

DIVERSIFIED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–4.7%

   

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.

    500,700        24,149,672   

Telecom Corp. of New Zealand Ltd. 

    3,166,224        6,407,091   

Telecom Italia SpA (ordinary shares)

    11,258,700        15,660,732   

Telecom Italia SpA (savings shares)

    7,794,800        9,068,289   

Telenor ASA

    548,900        8,982,907   
   

 

 

 
      64,268,691   
   

 

 

 

WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–2.3%

   

Vodafone Group PLC

    12,203,975        32,360,555   
   

 

 

 
      96,629,246   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–5.3%

   

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–1.7%

   

Fujitsu Ltd. 

    1,705,000        9,745,600   

Pegatron Corp.(a)

    1,621,000        1,684,184   

Toshiba Corp. 

    2,136,000        11,261,729   
   

 

 

 
      22,691,513   
   

 

 

 

 

5


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT,
INSTRUMENTS &
COMPONENTS–0.9%

    

 

AU Optronics Corp.(a)

    10,198,990      $ 6,993,594   

LG Display Co., Ltd.

    206,200        5,755,377   
   

 

 

 
      12,748,971   
   

 

 

 

OFFICE ELECTRONICS–0.8%

  

 

Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. 

    1,368,000        11,426,196   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–1.5%

   

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 

    19,490        15,148,196   

Sumco Corp.(a)

    274,900        4,654,164   
   

 

 

 
      19,802,360   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–0.4%

   

Konami Corp.

    242,400        5,741,480   
   

 

 

 
      72,410,520   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–4.4%

   

BEVERAGES–0.7%

   

Asahi Breweries Ltd. 

    484,700        9,763,563   
   

 

 

 

FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING–1.1%

   

Delhaize Group SA

    141,263        10,599,738   

Koninklijke Ahold NV

    346,400        4,657,441   
   

 

 

 
      15,257,179   
   

 

 

 

TOBACCO–2.6%

   

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC

    320,200        10,660,252   

Japan Tobacco, Inc.

    6,618        25,545,950   
   

 

 

 
      36,206,202   
   

 

 

 
      61,226,944   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

UTILITIES–3.2%

   

ELECTRIC UTILITIES–2.7%

   

E.ON AG

    800,200      $ 22,745,191   

EDP–Energias de Portugal SA

    2,752,400        9,767,822   

Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (The)

    1,257,600        5,090,949   
   

 

 

 
      37,603,962   
   

 

 

 

GAS UTILITIES–0.5%

   

Gas Natural SDG SA

    80,900        1,694,466   

Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

    1,166,000        5,262,574   
   

 

 

 
      6,957,040   
   

 

 

 
      44,561,002   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $1,262,686,489)

      1,350,136,994   
   

 

 

 
    Principal
Amount
(000)
       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–0.5%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–0.5%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $7,426,632)

  $   7,427        7,426,632   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–98.5%
(cost $1,270,113,121)

      1,357,563,626   

Other assets less liabilities–1.5%

      19,975,143   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 1,377,538,769   
   

 

 

 

 

6

FUTURES CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Type    Number of
Contracts
     Expiration
Month
     Original
Value
     Value at
June 30,
2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Purchased Contracts

              

EURO STOXX 50

     291         September 2011       $   11,651,794       $   12,018,376       $   366,582   


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

FORWARD CURRENCY EXCHANGE CONTRACTS (see Note D)

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Buy Contracts:

           

Bank of America N.A:

           

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     18,832       $   21,249,323       $   22,400,338       $   1,151,015   

BNP Paribas SA:

           

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     11,638         11,527,847         12,466,534         938,687   

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     34,044         35,975,163         36,467,664         492,501   

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     18,736         30,460,239         30,066,673         (393,566

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     7,229         7,393,506         7,493,584         100,078   

Citibank N.A:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     27,425         5,051,668         5,080,162         28,494   

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     74,410         107,331,960         107,875,614         543,654   

Euro settling 7/15/11

     15,761         22,734,297         22,849,450         115,153   

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     340,850         62,545,381         63,138,493         593,112   

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     34,474         6,325,919         6,385,907         59,988   

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     4,128         4,278,119         4,279,086         967   

Swedish Krona settling 7/15/11

     291,184         46,474,258         46,009,002         (465,256

Goldman Sachs International:

           

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     9,954         16,123,390         15,973,723         (149,667

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     10,445         16,918,707         16,761,657         (157,050

HSBC BankUSA:

           

Japanese Yen settling 7/15/11

     369,073         4,564,887         4,584,694         19,807   

Morgan Stanley And Co Inc:

           

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     17,285         17,236,083         18,515,555         1,279,472   

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     6,572         10,687,386         10,546,444         (140,942

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     9,030         14,657,135         14,490,930         (166,205

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

Canadian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     5,487         5,732,165         5,687,826         (44,339

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     34,715         38,159,254         41,292,891         3,133,637   

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     11,879         13,373,337         14,129,865         756,528   

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     10,896         12,266,678         12,960,603         693,925   

Societe Generale:

           

Japanese Yen settling 7/15/11

     1,773,259         22,007,832         22,027,758         19,926   

Standard Chartered Bank:

           

Japanese Yen settling 7/15/11

     2,137,759         26,465,831         26,555,645         89,814   

State Street Bank and Trust Co:

           

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     8,533         13,951,796         13,693,367         (258,429

UBS AG:

           

Swedish Krona settling 7/15/11

     154,575         24,706,385         24,423,875         (282,510

Westpac Banking Corp:

           

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     24,749         24,620,305         26,510,933         1,890,628   

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     34,738         36,590,578         37,211,071         620,493   

 

7


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Counterparty & Description    Contract
Amount
(000)
     U.S. $
Value on
Origination Date
     U.S. $
Value at
June 30, 2011
     Unrealized
Appreciation/
(Depreciation)
 

Sale Contracts:

           

Bank of America N.A:

           

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     28,690       $   46,822,654       $   46,040,396       $   782,258   

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     10,969         17,901,627         17,602,548         299,079   

Barclays Bank PLC Wholesale:

           

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     28,922         5,211,695         5,357,464         (145,769

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     144,169         25,979,008         26,705,628         (726,620

BNP Paribas SA:

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     41,673         59,045,765         60,415,273           (1,369,508

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     4,400         7,046,292         7,060,918         (14,626

Japanese Yen settling 7/15/11

     4,388,629         52,916,489         54,516,377         (1,599,888

Japanese Yen settling 7/15/11

     6,628,566         79,651,740         82,341,297         (2,689,557

Credit Suisse London Branch (GFX):

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     5,875         8,320,939         8,517,259         (196,320

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     11,879         13,307,269         14,129,864         (822,595

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     28,346         31,754,176         33,717,076         (1,962,900

Deutsche Bank AG London:

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     4,805         6,773,464         6,966,030         (192,566

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     4,391         7,089,708         7,046,475         43,233   

Swedish Krona settling 7/15/11

     30,721         4,851,160         4,854,121         (2,961

Swedish Krona settling 7/15/11

     126,292         19,881,929         19,954,973         (73,044

Swedish Krona settling 7/15/11

     128,922         20,269,799         20,370,531         (100,732

Goldman Sachs International:

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     5,081         7,196,017         7,366,160         (170,143

Euro settling 7/15/11

     16,852         23,893,608         24,431,123         (537,515

Euro settling 7/15/11

     26,732         37,901,966         38,754,615         (852,649

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC:

           

Euro settling 7/15/11

     6,005         8,909,619         8,705,726         203,893   

Great British Pound settling 7/15/11

     4,375         7,137,637         7,020,799         116,838   

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     61,899         11,002,115         11,466,069         (463,954

Swiss Franc settling 7/15/11

     6,369         7,102,948         7,575,816         (472,868

UBS AG:

           

Australian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     53,672         55,818,934         57,493,022         (1,674,088

Canadian Dollar settling 7/15/11

     45,812         47,785,992         47,488,736         297,256   

Norwegian Krone settling 7/15/11

     196,681         35,553,133         36,432,865         (879,732

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

8


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $1,270,113,121)

   $ 1,357,563,626   

Cash

     880,996 (a) 

Foreign currencies, at value (cost $11,074,178)

     11,154,440   

Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     14,270,436   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     14,174,526   

Dividends and interest receivable

     5,069,386   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     613,721   

Receivable for variation margin on futures contracts

     186,639   

Other asset

     37,567   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     1,403,951,337   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts

     17,005,999   

Payable for investment securities purchased and foreign currency transactions

     5,893,231   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     1,698,464   

Advisory fee payable

     834,657   

Distribution fee payable

     260,048   

Administrative fee payable

     20,179   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     131   

Accrued expenses

     699,859   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     26,412,568   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 1,377,538,769   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 92,440   

Additional paid-in capital

     2,261,676,471   

Undistributed net investment income

     5,833,628   

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (975,273,973

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     85,210,203   
  

 

 

 
   $ 1,377,538,769   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class    Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

   $ 83,025,869           5,518,748         $   15.04   

B

   $   1,294,512,900           86,921,493         $ 14.89   

 

 

 

(a)   An amount of $880,996 has been segregated to collateralize margin requirements for open futures contracts outstanding at June 30, 2011.

See notes to financial statements.

 

9


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $3,287,922)

   $ 29,637,759   

Interest

     5,288   
  

 

 

 
     29,643,047   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     5,323,743   

Distribution fee—Class B

     1,653,204   

Transfer agency—Class A

     218   

Transfer agency—Class B

     2,977   

Printing

     355,594   

Custodian

     157,706   

Administrative

     36,282   

Legal

     18,502   

Audit

     17,562   

Directors’ fees

     1,820   

Miscellaneous

     25,900   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     7,593,508   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     22,049,539   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on:

  

Investment transactions

     51,378,910   

Futures contracts

     69,658   

Foreign currency transactions

     7,967,343   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (43,670,879 )(a) 

Futures contracts

     643,064   

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (8,036,386
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     8,351,710   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 30,401,249   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Net of decrease in accrued foreign capital gains taxes of $200,106.

See notes to financial statements.

 

10


 
INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 22,049,539      $ 26,989,334   

Net realized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

     59,415,911        (7,716,337

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (51,064,201     (6,382,378
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     30,401,249        12,890,619   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (1,174,704     (3,614,305

Class B

     (16,279,132     (36,126,076

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (65,704,775     (429,922,600
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (52,757,362     (456,772,362

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     1,430,296,131        1,887,068,493   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $5,833,628 and $1,237,925, respectively)

   $ 1,377,538,769      $ 1,430,296,131   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

11


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein International Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time (see Note A.2).

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. Inputs may be observable or unobservable and refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities:

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

             

Financials

     $ 9,234,357       $ 330,864,010       $  –0 –     $ 340,098,367   

Consumer Discretionary

       10,527,871         184,027,046         –0 –       194,554,917   

Materials

       22,100,972         140,245,855         –0 –       162,346,827   

Energy

       33,248,503         117,100,274         –0 –       150,348,777   

Industrials

       –0 –       117,812,924         –0 –       117,812,924   

Health Care

       –0 –       110,147,470         –0 –       110,147,470   

Telecommunication Services

       –0 –       96,629,246         –0 –       96,629,246   

Information Technology

       –0 –       72,410,520         –0 –       72,410,520   

Consumer Staples

       –0 –       61,226,944         –0 –       61,226,944   

Utilities

       –0 –       44,561,002         –0 –       44,561,002   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       7,426,632         –0 –       7,426,632   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       75,111,703         1,282,451,923      –0 –       1,357,563,626   

Other Financial Instruments*:

             

Assets:

             

Futures Contracts

       366,582         –0 –       –0 –       366,582

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       14,270,436         –0 –       14,270,436   

Liabilities:

             

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

       –0 –       (17,005,999      –0 –       (17,005,999
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 75,478,285       $ 1,279,716,360       $             –0 –     $ 1,355,194,645   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

 

+   The earlier close of the foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred between the close of the foreign markets and the time at which the Portfolio values its securities which may materially affect the value of securities trading in such markets. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available. Accordingly, a significant portion of the Portfolio’s investments are categorized as Level 2 investments.

 

#   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

 

13


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion, and .60% in excess of $5 billion of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to 1.20% and 1.45% of daily average net assets for Class A and Class B shares, respectively (the “Expense Caps”). The Expense Caps will expire on May 1, 2012 and then may be extended by the Adviser for additional one year terms. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, there was no such reimbursement.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,282.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $869,517, of which $0 and $542, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 381,064,979       $ 438,073,365   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation (excluding futures and foreign currency transactions) are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 169,589,636   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (82,139,131
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 87,450,505   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The principal types of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Futures Contracts

The Portfolio may buy or sell futures contracts for the purpose of hedging its portfolio against adverse effects of anticipated movements in the market. The Portfolio bears the market risk that arises from changes in the value of these instruments and the imperfect correlation between movements in the price of the futures contracts and movements in the price of the securities hedged or used for cover. The Portfolio may also purchase or sell futures contracts for foreign currencies or options thereon for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investment in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

At the time the Portfolio enters into a futures contract, the Portfolio deposits and maintains as collateral an initial margin with the broker, as required by the exchange on which the transaction is effected. Pursuant to the contract, the Portfolio agrees to receive from or pay to the broker an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the contract. Such receipts or payments are known as variation margin and are recorded by the Portfolio as unrealized gains or losses. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of the contract. The credit/counterparty risk for exchange-traded futures contracts is generally less than privately negotiated futures contracts, since the clearinghouse, which is the issuer or counterparty to each exchange-traded future,

 

15


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

provides a guarantee of performance. This guarantee is supported by a daily payment system (i.e., margin requirements). When the contract is closed, the Portfolio records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the time it was closed.

Use of long futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to risk of loss in excess of the amounts shown on the statement of assets and liabilities, up to the notional value of the futures contracts. Use of short futures contracts subjects the Portfolio to unlimited risk of loss. Under some circumstances, futures exchanges may establish daily limits on the amount that the price of a futures contract can vary from the previous day’s settlement price, which could effectively prevent liquidation of unfavorable positions.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held futures contracts for non-hedging purposes.

 

   

Forward Currency Exchange Contracts

The Portfolio may enter into forward currency exchange contracts in order to hedge its exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on its foreign portfolio holdings, to hedge certain firm purchase and sale commitments denominated in foreign currencies and for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

A forward currency exchange contract is a commitment to purchase or sell a foreign currency at a future date at a negotiated forward rate. The gain or loss arising from the difference between the original contract and the closing of such contract would be included in net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions. Fluctuations in the value of open forward currency exchange contracts are recorded for financial reporting purposes as unrealized appreciation and/or depreciation by the Portfolio. Risks may arise from the potential inability of a counterparty to meet the terms of a contract and from unanticipated movements in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar. The face or contract amount, in U.S. dollars, reflects the total exposure the Portfolio has in that particular currency contract.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held foreign currency exchange contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

   

Asset Derivatives

   

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

 

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities
Location

  Fair Value    

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities
Location

  Fair Value  

Foreign exchange contracts

  Unrealized appreciation of forward currency exchange contracts   $ 14,270,436      Unrealized depreciation of forward currency exchange contracts   $ 17,005,999   

Equity contracts

  Receivable/Payable for variation margin on futures contracts     366,582    
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total

    $ 14,637,018        $ 17,005,999   
   

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

*   Only variation margin receivable/payable at period end is reported within the statement of assets and liabilities. This amount reflects cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) of futures contracts as reported in the portfolio of investments.

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
     Change in Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Foreign exchange contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities    $ 7,347,674       $ (7,829,398

Equity contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on futures contracts; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of futures contracts      69,658         643,064   
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

      $ 7,417,332       $ (7,186,334
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the average monthly principal amount of foreign currency exchange contracts was $1,101,223,931 and the average monthly original value of futures contracts was $13,963,868.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    682,041        2,187,153        $ 10,469,314      $ 30,740,419   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    75,641        249,468          1,174,704        3,614,305   

Shares redeemed

    (2,237,625     (7,637,394       (33,451,905     (107,855,111
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (1,479,943     (5,200,773     $ (21,807,887   $ (73,500,387
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    3,920,747        14,152,871        $ 59,041,669      $ 189,853,986   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    1,058,461        2,506,614          16,279,132        36,126,076   

Shares redeemed

    (7,843,760     (44,356,705       (119,217,689     (582,402,275
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (2,864,552     (27,697,220     $ (43,896,888   $ (356,422,213
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

 

17


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 39,740,381         $ 18,694,057   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 39,740,381         $ 18,694,057   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 17,158,427   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (1,008,634,911 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     94,298,929  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (897,177,555)   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $1,008,634,911 of which $41,335,504 expires in the year 2016, $917,130,062 expires in the year 2017 and $50,169,345 expires in the year 2018.

 

(b)   The differences between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) are attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales, the realization for tax purposes of gain/losses on certain derivative instruments and the tax treatment of passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”).

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused.

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

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INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.90        $14.70        $11.05        $25.14        $24.96        $19.07   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .25        .27        .29        .54        .43        .38   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .08        .39 †      3.54        (13.15     1.07        6.21   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .33        .66        3.83        (12.61     1.50        6.59   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.19     (.46     (.18     (.23     (.31     (.30

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (1.25     (1.01     (.40
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.19     (.46     (.18     (1.48     (1.32     (.70
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $15.04        $14.90        $14.70        $11.05        $25.14        $24.96   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    2.16     4.59     34.68     (53.18 )%      5.84     35.36
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $83,026        $104,274        $179,342        $155,183        $219,691        $129,837   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .84 %(c)      .85 %(d)      .83     .81     .81     .85 %(d) 

Net investment income

    3.33 %(c)      1.94 %(d)      2.40     2.98     1.68     1.75 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    27     52     52     36     23     25

 

 

See footnote summary on page 21.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $14.77        $14.54        $10.93        $24.88        $24.74        $18.93   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .23        .24        .28        .50        .36        .33   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .08        .38 †      3.47        (13.02     1.06        6.16   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .31        .62        3.75        (12.52     1.42        6.49   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.19     (.39     (.14     (.18     (.27     (.28

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (1.25     (1.01     (.40
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.19     (.39     (.14     (1.43     (1.28     (.68
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $14.89        $14.77        $14.54        $10.93        $24.88        $24.74   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    2.05     4.30     34.36     (53.28 )%      5.58     35.05
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $1,295        $1,326        $1,708        $1,659        $2,818        $1,889   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.09 %(c)      1.10 %(d)      1.08     1.06     1.06     1.10 %(d) 

Net investment income

    3.09 %(c)      1.73 %(d)      2.38     2.77     1.41     1.53 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    27     52     52     36     23     25

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(c)   Annualized.

 

(d)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

  Due to the timing of sales and repurchase of capital shares, the net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share is not in accord with the Portfolio’s change in net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions for the period.

See notes to financial statements.

 

21


 
INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein International Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia and Far East Index (Net) (the “Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the Index) the since inception period (May 2001 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was 3rd out of 4 of the Performance Group and in the 3rd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, and 3rd out of 4 of the Performance Group and in the 5th quintile of the Performance Universe for the 3- and 5-year periods. The Portfolio lagged the Index in the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods but outperformed the Index in the since inception period. The directors also reviewed performance information for periods ended March 31, 2011 (for which the data was not limited to Class A Shares), and noted that in the 3-month period the Portfolio had lagged the Lipper VA International Value Average and the Index. The directors also took into account the Adviser’s recently implemented organizational and investment process changes that are intended to improve the investment performance of its equity services. Based on their review and their discussion with the Adviser of the reasons for the Portfolio’s performance, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s performance was acceptable. The directors determined to continue to closely monitor the Portfolio’s performance.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule for a similar investment style had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio pays a higher fee rate than certain registered investment companies with an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that are sub-advised by the Adviser. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

 

23


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The directors noted that because of the small number of funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category, at the request of the Adviser and the Fund’s Senior Officer, Lipper had expanded the Expense Group of the Fund to include peers that had a similar (but not the same) Lipper investment objective/classification. The Expense Universe for the Portfolio had also been expanded by Lipper pursuant to Lipper’s standard guidelines and not at the request of the Adviser or the Fund’s Senior Officer. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points, plus the 1 basis point impact of the administrative expense reimbursement in the latest fiscal year, was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio, which had been capped by the Adviser (although the expense ratio was currently lower than the cap), was lower than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels and that, prior to the reduction in the Portfolio’s assets as a result of the steep market declines in 2008, net assets had been in excess of the first breakpoint level. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

24


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein International Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2, The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

International

 

75 bp on first $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion

60 bp on the balance

  $ 1,414.3      International Value Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $71,951 (0.01% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

25


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser has agreed to waive that portion of its management fees and/or reimburse the Portfolio for that portion of its total operating expenses to the degree necessary to limit the Portfolio’s expense ratios to the amounts set forth below for the Portfolio’s fiscal year. The waiver is terminable by the Adviser on May 1st of each year upon at least 60 days written notice. It should be noted that the Portfolio was operating below its expense caps for the most recent fiscal year; accordingly the expense limitation undertaking of the Portfolio was of no effect. In addition, set forth below are the gross expense ratios of the Portfolio for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Expense Cap Pursuant
to Expense Limitation
Undertaking
  Gross
Expense
Ratio
    Fiscal Year End

International Value Portfolio

 

Class A    1.20%

Class B    1.45%

   

 

0.85%

1.10%

  

  

  December 31

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

 

26


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

  

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

International Value Portfolio

   $1,414.3   

International Value Schedule5

80 bp on first $25m

60 bp on the next $25m

50 bp on the next $50m

40 bp on the balance
Minimum account size $25m

     0.414      0.750

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein International Value Fund, Inc. (“International Value Fund, Inc.”), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of International Value Fund, Inc. and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:6

 

Portfolio   AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

International Value Portfolio

  International Value Fund, Inc.  

0.75% on first $2.5 billion

0.65% on next $2.5 billion

0.60% on the balance

    0.750%        0.750%   

The Adviser provides sub-advisory services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The Adviser charges the fees set forth below for the sub-advisory relationships that have a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown are the Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fees of the Portfolio had the fee schedules of the sub-advisory relationships been applicable to the Portfolio based on March 31, 2011 net assets.

 

Portfolio        Fee Schedule  

Effective

Sub-Adv.

Fee (%)

    Portfolio
Advisory
Fee (%)
 

International Value Portfolio

  Client #1  

0.40% on the first $50 million

0.31% on the next $950 million

0.27% on the next $1 billion

0.25% on the balance

    0.301        0.750   
  Client #27,8  

0.60% on the first $1 billion

0.55% on the next $500 million

0.50% on the next $500 million

0.45% on the next $500 million

0.40% on the balance

    0.585        0.750   
  Client #39   0.60% of average daily net assets     0.600        0.750   

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

5   The Portfolio has a similar investment style as International Value Strategy, but the Portfolio has a higher exposure to emerging markets equity than its institutional counterpart.

 

6   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

7   Assets are aggregated with other similar accounts managed by the client for purposes of calculating the investment advisory fee.

 

8   The client is an affiliate of the Adviser.

 

9   The sub-advised fund’s sub-advisory fee shown does not include any performance fee adjustment.

 

27


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Portfolio        Fee Schedule  

Effective

Sub-Adv.

Fee (%)

    Portfolio
Advisory
Fee (%)
 

International Value Portfolio

(continued)

  Client #47  

0.50% on first $100 million

0.46% on next $300 million

0.41% on the balance

    0.427        0.750   
  Client #5  

0.72% on the first $25 million

0.54% on the next $25 million

0.45% on the next $50 million

0.36% on the balance

    0.373        0.750   
  Client #6   0.36% of average daily net assets     0.360        0.750   
  Client #7  

0.35% on the first $1 billion

0.325 % on the balance

    0.343        0.750   
  Client #8  

0.22% on the first $1 billion

0.18% on the next $1.5 billion

0.16% on the balance

+/- Performance Fee (v. ACWI ex U.S.)

    0.208 9      0.750   

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolios by the Adviser. In addition, to the extent that certain of these sub-advisory relationships are with affiliates of the Adviser, the fee schedules may not reflect arm’s length bargaining or negotiations.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationships are paying a lower fee than the Portfolios, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such lower fees due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolios and the sub-advisory relationships. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee than it would be willing to manage investment company assets.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.10 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.11

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

10   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

11   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

 

28


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Portfolio’s original EG had an insufficient number of peers in Lipper’s view. Consequently, Lipper expanded the Portfolio’s EG to include peers that have similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.12

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee13
    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

     Rank  

International Value Portfolio

     0.750         0.800         5/12   

However, because Lipper had expanded the EG of the Portfolio, under Lipper’s standard guidelines, the Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”) was also expanded to include the universes of those peers that had a similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.14 A “normal” EU will include funds that have the same investment classification/objective as the subject Portfolio.15

Set forth below is a comparison of the Portfolio’s total expense ratio and the medians of the Portfolio’s EG and EU. The Portfolio’s total expense ratio ranking is also shown in the table below.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)16

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

International Value Portfolio

     0.847         0.854         4/12         0.990         11/50   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a total expense ratio basis than on a management fee basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio increased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010,

 

12   The Portfolio’s EG includes the Portfolio, four other VIP International Value funds (“IFVE”), one VIP IFGE and six VIP IFCE.

 

13   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services. In addition, the contractual management fee does not reflect any advisory fee waiver or expense cap that would effectively reduce the actual management fee.

 

14   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

15   The Portfolio’s EU includes the Portfolio, EG and all other VIP IFVE, IFGE and IFCE funds, excluding outliers.

 

16   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

 

29


INTERNATIONAL VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $3,527,324 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $2,697,792 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.17

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli18 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.19 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.20 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The

 

17   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

18   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

19   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

20   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

30


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio21 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)22 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.23

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     19.14           19.27           19.16           3/4           10/18   

3 year

     –7.71           –5.18           –2.44           3/4           15/16   

5 year

     –1.37           0.71           1.88           3/4           15/16   

Set forth below are the 1, 3 and 5 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)24 versus its benchmark.25 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.26

 

    

1

Year
(%)

    

3

Year
(%)

    

5

Year
(%)

     Since
Inception
(%)
     Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
                  Volatility
(%)
     Sharpe
(%)
    

International Value Portfolio

     19.14         7.71       1.37         7.34         25.39         0.01         5   

MSCI EAFE Index (Net)

     20.00         –2.10         2.43         4.99         21.25         0.11         5   

Inception Date: May 10, 2001

                    

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

 

21   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

22   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are not identical to the Portfolio’s EG and EU as the criteria for including/excluding a fund in/from a PG/PU is somewhat different from that of an EG/EU.

 

23   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

24   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

25   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

26   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

31


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,041.90       $   4.25         0.84

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.63       $ 4.21         0.84
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,041.00       $ 5.52         1.09

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.39       $ 5.46         1.09

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Apple, Inc.

   $ 28,174,461           6.8

Google, Inc.—Class A

     18,168,914           4.4   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     17,348,325           4.2   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     15,911,856           3.8   

Oracle Corp.

     14,475,464           3.5   

Monsanto Co.

     13,237,244           3.2   

Danaher Corp.

     12,951,922           3.1   

Noble Energy, Inc.

     11,969,549           2.9   

United Parcel Service, Inc.—Class B

     11,486,475           2.8   

Qualcomm, Inc.

     11,032,593           2.7   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   154,756,803           37.2

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Technology

   $ 127,719,319           30.7

Consumer Discretionary

     70,617,931           17.0   

Producer Durables

     53,102,213           12.8   

Energy

     46,205,837           11.1   

Financial Services

     40,673,298           9.8   

Health Care

     35,181,057           8.5   

Materials & Processing

     31,355,731           7.5   

Consumer Staples

     6,299,239           1.5   

Utilities

     3,180,639           0.8   

Short-Term Investments

     1,179,800           0.3   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   415,515,064           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

Please note: The sector breakdown is classified in the above chart and throughout this report according to the Russell sector classification scheme. The Russell Sector scheme was developed by Russell Investments. Russell classifies index members into industries that most closely describe the nature of its business and its primary economic orientation. Multiple resources are used to obtain overall information about the company. Additional Russell sector scheme information can be found within Russell Index methodology documents available on Russell.com. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–99.6%

   

TECHNOLOGY–30.7%

   

COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY–5.3%

   

Aruba Networks, Inc.(a)

    33,500      $ 989,925   

Juniper Networks, Inc.(a)

    26,900        847,350   

Qualcomm, Inc.

    194,270        11,032,593   

Riverbed Technology, Inc.(a)

    231,700        9,173,003   
   

 

 

 
      22,042,871   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTER SERVICES, SOFTWARE & SYSTEMS–12.7%

   

Citrix Systems, Inc.(a)

    136,700        10,936,000   

Google, Inc.–Class A(a)

    35,880        18,168,914   

Intuit, Inc.(a)

    110,900        5,751,274   

Oracle Corp.

    439,850        14,475,464   

Rovi Corp.(a)

    58,485        3,354,700   
   

 

 

 
      52,686,352   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY–10.0%

   

Apple, Inc.(a)

    83,935        28,174,462   

EMC Corp.(a)

    373,793        10,297,997   

NetApp, Inc.(a)

    56,927        3,004,607   
   

 

 

 
      41,477,066   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & COMPONENT–2.6%

   

Broadcom Corp.–Class A(a)

    243,952        8,206,545   

Marvell Technology Group Ltd.(a)

    179,000        2,642,935   
   

 

 

 
      10,849,480   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–0.1%

   

Alcatel-Lucent/France (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    115,000        663,550   
   

 

 

 
      127,719,319   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–17.0%

   

AUTO PARTS–4.3%

   

BorgWarner, Inc.(a)

    99,200        8,014,368   

Johnson Controls, Inc.

    236,500        9,852,590   
   

 

 

 
      17,866,958   
   

 

 

 

CABLE TELEVISION SERVICES–2.0%

   

Comcast Corp.–Class A

    319,700        8,101,198   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED MEDIA–1.5%

   

News Corp.–Class A

    359,000        6,354,300   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED RETAIL–2.1%

   

Amazon.com, Inc.(a)

    43,235        8,841,125   
   

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT–1.7%

   

Walt Disney Co. (The)

    179,200        6,995,968   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD EQUIP & PROD–1.4%

   

Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.

    77,600        5,591,080   
   

 

 

 
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

RESTAURANTS–2.0%

   

Starbucks Corp.

    214,105      $ 8,455,006   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–2.0%

   

Limited Brands, Inc.

    196,900        7,570,805   

Lowe’s Cos., Inc.

    36,100        841,491   
   

 

 

 
      8,412,296   
   

 

 

 
      70,617,931   
   

 

 

 

PRODUCER DURABLES–12.8%

   

AEROSPACE–1.5%

   

Goodrich Corp.

    66,700        6,369,850   
   

 

 

 

BACK OFFICE SUPPORT HR & CONSULTING–2.1%

   

Accenture PLC

    143,095        8,645,800   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS–3.1%

   

Danaher Corp.

    244,422        12,951,922   
   

 

 

 

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS: CONTROL & FILTER–2.2%

   

Flowserve Corp.

    61,097        6,713,949   

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

    27,065        2,348,160   
   

 

 

 
      9,062,109   
   

 

 

 

SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS: ELECTRICAL–1.1%

   

Cooper Industries PLC

    76,857        4,586,057   
   

 

 

 

TRANSPORTATION MISCELLANEOUS–2.8%

   

United Parcel Service, Inc.–Class B

    157,500        11,486,475   
   

 

 

 
      53,102,213   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–11.1%

   

OIL WELL EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–4.6%

   

FMC Technologies, Inc.(a)

    68,800        3,081,552   

Schlumberger Ltd.

    184,165        15,911,856   
   

 

 

 
      18,993,408   
   

 

 

 

OIL: CRUDE PRODUCERS–6.5%

   

EOG Resources, Inc.

    65,215        6,818,228   

Noble Energy, Inc.

    133,544        11,969,549   

Occidental Petroleum Corp.

    63,500        6,606,540   

Southwestern Energy Co.(a)

    42,400        1,818,112   
   

 

 

 
      27,212,429   
   

 

 

 
      46,205,837   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES–9.8%

   

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–8.1%

   

Blackstone Group LP

    386,100        6,393,816   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

    74,595        9,927,848   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    423,750        17,348,325   
   

 

 

 
      33,669,989   
   

 

 

 

 

3


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

FINANCIAL DATA & SYSTEMS–0.2%

   

Visa, Inc.–Class A

    7,100      $ 598,289   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE: MULTI-LINE–1.5%

   

MetLife, Inc.

    146,000        6,405,020   
   

 

 

 
      40,673,298   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–8.4%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–2.0%

   

Celgene Corp.(a)

    138,059        8,327,719   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE FACILITIES–0.7%

   

HCA Holdings, Inc.(a)

    84,974        2,804,142   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE SERVICES–2.5%

   

Express Scripts, Inc.–Class A(a)

    193,400        10,439,732   
   

 

 

 

MEDICAL & DENTAL INSTRUMENTS & SUPPLIES–0.5%

   

Covidien PLC

    41,800        2,225,014   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–2.7%

   

Allergan, Inc.

    106,925        8,901,506   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

    59,960        2,482,944   
   

 

 

 
      11,384,450   
   

 

 

 
      35,181,057   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS & PROCESSING–7.5%

   

CHEMICALS: DIVERSIFIED–3.7%

  

 

Dow Chemical Co. (The)

    289,820        10,433,520   

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, Inc.

    91,800        5,231,682   
   

 

 

 
      15,665,202   
   

 

 

 
    
    
    
Company
  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

FERTILIZERS–3.2%

   

Monsanto Co.

    182,482      $ 13,237,244   
   

 

 

 

METAL FABRICATING–0.6%

   

Precision Castparts Corp.

    14,900        2,453,285   
   

 

 

 
      31,355,731   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–1.5%

   

FOODS–0.4%

   

General Mills, Inc.

    46,100        1,715,842   
   

 

 

 

PERSONAL CARE–1.1%

   

Procter & Gamble Co. (The)

    72,100        4,583,397   
   

 

 

 
      6,299,239   
   

 

 

 

UTILITIES–0.8%

   

UTILITIES: TELECOMMUNICATIONS–0.8%

   

 

Sprint Nextel Corp.(a)

    590,100        3,180,639   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $390,853,557)

      414,335,264   
   

 

 

 
   

Principal
Amount
(000)

       

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–0.3%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–0.3%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $1,179,800)

  $ 1,180        1,179,800   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–99.9%
(cost $392,033,357)

      415,515,064   

Other assets less
liabilities–0.1%

      565,452   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 416,080,516   
   

 

 

 

CALL OPTIONS WRITTEN (see Note D)

 

Description    Contracts      Exercise
Price
     Expiration
Month
     U.S. $ Value  

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(b)

     90       $   40.00         July 2011       $ 14,355   

Blackstone Group LP(b)

     510         17.00         July 2011         8,415   

FMC Technologies, Inc.(b)

     195         42.50         July 2011         51,675   

Lowes Cos., Inc.(b)

     361         23.00         July 2011         21,841   

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan(b)

     145         52.50         July 2011         68,150   

BorgWarner, Inc.(b)

     70         75.00         July 2011         43,050   
           

 

 

 

Total Call Options Written (premiums received $103,006)

            $   207,486   
           

 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

(b)   One contract relates to 100 shares.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

4


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $392,033,357)

   $ 415,515,064   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     2,216,098   

Dividends and interest receivable

     553,874   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     257,846   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     418,542,882   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Options written, at value (premium received $103,006)

     207,486   

Payable for investment securities purchased

     1,615,297   

Advisory fee payable

     250,534   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     186,741   

Distribution fee payable

     44,504   

Administrative fee payable

     19,757   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     130   

Accrued expenses

     137,917   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     2,462,366   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 416,080,516   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 14,597   

Additional paid-in capital

     620,270,890   

Undistributed net investment income

     10,512   

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (227,592,710

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     23,377,227   
  

 

 

 
   $ 416,080,516   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $   194,021,214           6,717,295         $   28.88   

B

     $   222,059,302           7,880,113         $   28.18   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $1,761)

   $ 2,179,836   

Interest

     110,002   
  

 

 

 
     2,289,838   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     1,604,508   

Distribution fee—Class B

     283,256   

Transfer agency—Class A

     2,102   

Transfer agency—Class B

     2,367   

Custodian

     55,973   

Printing

     42,945   

Administrative

     36,319   

Legal

     18,040   

Audit

     17,350   

Directors’ fees

     1,915   

Miscellaneous

     5,130   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     2,069,905   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     219,933   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on:

  

Investment transactions

     22,746,064   

Options written

     960,908   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (6,159,300

Options written

     (104,480
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     17,443,192   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 17,663,125   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


 
LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 219,933      $ 659,387   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     23,706,972        105,579,900   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     (6,263,780     (68,632,277
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     17,663,125        37,607,010   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (526,774     (963,805

Class B

     (79,974     (588,097

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (25,472,723     (56,958,536
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (8,416,346     (20,903,428

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     424,496,862        445,400,290   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $10,512 and $397,327, respectively)

   $ 416,080,516      $ 424,496,862   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. Prior to February 1, 2006, the Portfolio’s investment objective was to seek growth of capital by pursuing aggressive investment policies. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

Investments in Securities:

        

Assets:

        

Common Stocks

   $ 414,335,264      $ –0 –    $ –0 –    $ 414,335,264   

Short-Term Investments

     –0 –      1,179,800        –0 –      1,179,800   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

     414,335,264        1,179,800        –0 –      415,515,064   

Other Financial Instruments*:

        

Assets

     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 

Liabilities:

        

Options Written

     –0 –      (207,486     –0 –      (207,486
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   $ 414,335,265      $ 972,314      $             –0 –    $ 415,307,579   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

 

9


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion and .60% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,319.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $269,093, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 214,397,165       $ 235,902,387   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 32,703,949   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (9,222,242
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 23,481,707   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The principal type of derivatives utilized by the Portfolio, as well as the methods in which they may be used are:

 

   

Option Transactions

For hedging and investment purposes, the Portfolio may purchase and write (sell) put and call options on U.S. and foreign securities and foreign currencies that are traded on U.S. and foreign securities exchanges and over-the-counter markets. The Portfolio may also use options transactions for non-hedging purposes as a means of making direct investments in foreign currencies, as described below under “Currency Transactions”.

During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio held written options for hedging purposes.

The risk associated with purchasing an option is that the Portfolio pays a premium whether or not the option is exercised. Additionally, the Portfolio bears the risk of loss of the premium and change in market value should the counterparty not perform under the contract. Put and call options purchased are accounted for in the same manner as portfolio securities. The cost of securities acquired through the exercise of call options is increased by premiums paid. The proceeds from securities sold through the exercise of put options are decreased by the premiums paid.

When the Portfolio writes an option, the premium received by the Portfolio is recorded as a liability and is subsequently adjusted to the current market value of the option written. Premiums received from written options which expire unexercised are recorded by the Portfolio on the expiration date as realized gains from options written. The difference between the premium received and the amount paid on effecting a closing purchase transaction, including brokerage commissions, is also treated as a realized gain, or if the premium received is less than the amount paid for the closing purchase transaction, as a realized loss. If a call option is exercised, the premium received is added to the proceeds from the sale of the underlying security or currency in determining whether the Portfolio has realized a gain or loss. If a put option is exercised, the premium received reduces the cost basis of the security or currency purchased by the Portfolio. In writing an option, the Portfolio bears the market risk of an unfavorable change in the price of the security or currency underlying the written option. Exercise of an option written by the Portfolio could result in the Portfolio selling or buying a security or currency at a price different from the current market value. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had the following transactions in written options:

 

       Number of
Contracts
     Premiums
Received
 

Options written outstanding as of 12/31/10

       –0 –     $ –0 – 

Options written

       9,469         1,154,556   

Options closed

       (8,098      (1,051,550
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Options written outstanding as of 6/30/11

       1,371       $ 103,006   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

11


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

At June 30, 2011, the Portfolio had entered into the following derivatives:

 

    

Asset Derivatives

  

Liability Derivatives

 

Derivative Type

  

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities

Location

   Fair Value   

Statement of
Assets and Liabilities

Location

   Fair Value  

Equity contracts

         Options written, at value    $ 207,486   
           

 

 

 

Total

            $ 207,486   
           

 

 

 

The effect of derivative instruments on the statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2011:

 

Derivative Type

  

Location of Gain or (Loss) on Derivatives

   Realized Gain or
(Loss) on
Derivatives
     Change in Unrealized
Appreciation or
(Depreciation)
 

Equity contracts

   Net realized gain (loss) on options written; Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of options written    $ 960,908       $ (104,480
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

      $ 960,908       $ (104,480
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June  30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December  31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June  30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December  31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    99,036        153,817        $ 2,902,481      $ 3,800,148   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    17,766        37,546          526,774        963,805   

Shares redeemed

    (632,344     (1,317,159       (18,416,129     (32,855,265
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (515,542     (1,125,796     $ (14,986,874   $ (28,091,312
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    474,736        631,026        $ 13,493,811      $ 15,441,353   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    2,764        23,467          79,974        588,097   

Shares redeemed

    (850,789     (1,844,345       (24,059,634     (44,896,674
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (373,289     (1,189,852     $ (10,485,849   $ (28,867,224
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Focused Portfolio Risk—Investments in a limited number of companies may have more risk because changes in the value of a single security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Portfolio’s NAV.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 1,551,902         $ 288,603   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

       1,551,902           288,603   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 1,551,902         $ 288,603   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 563,066   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (248,133,434 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     26,309,020  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (221,261,348
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $248,133,434 of which $167,106,343 expires in the year 2011, $52,077,408 expires in the year 2016, and $28,949,683 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year, the Portfolio utilized capital loss carryforwards of $94,974,587, and capital loss carryforwards of $199,013,632 expired at December 31, 2010.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales and the tax treatment of partnerships.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward

 

13


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

14


 
LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $27.79        $25.36        $18.47        $30.61        $26.87        $26.99   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (loss) (a)

    .03        .07        .10        .04        (.01     (.03

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    1.14        2.48        6.82        (12.18     3.75        (.09
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.17        2.55        6.92        (12.14     3.74        (.12
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.08     (.12     (.03     –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $28.88        $27.79        $25.36        $18.47        $30.61        $26.87   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    4.19 %*      10.10 %*      37.52 %*      (39.66 )%*      13.92 %*      (.44 )% 
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period
(000’s omitted)

    $194,021        $200,977        $211,940        $181,452        $395,655        $474,069   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .84 %(c)      .85 %(d)      .88     .84     .82     .84 % (d) 

Net investment income (loss)

    .23 %(c)      .29 %(d)      .47     .17     (.03 )%      (.12 )%(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    50     105     97     89     92     81

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 16.

 

15


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $27.08        $24.72        $18.03        $29.96        $26.37        $26.55   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (loss) (a)

    (.00 )(e)      .01        .04        (.02     (.08     (.09

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    1.11        2.42        6.65        (11.91     3.67        (.09
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.11        2.43        6.69        (11.93     3.59        (.18
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.01     (.07     –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $28.18        $27.08        $24.72        $18.03        $29.96        $26.37   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    4.10 %*      9.83 %*      37.10 %*      (39.82 )%*      13.61 %*      (.68 )% 
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period
(000’s omitted)

    $222,060        $223,520        $233,460        $192,976        $393,537        $456,374   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.09 %(c)      1.10 %(d)      1.13     1.09     1.07     1.08 % (d) 

Net investment income (loss)

    (.01 )%(c)      .04 %(d)      .22     (.08 )%      (.27 )%      (.37 )%(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    50     105     97     89     92     81

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(c)   Annualized.

 

(d)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

(e)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the six months ended June 30, 2011 and years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009, December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007 by 0.39%, 0.58%, 1.96%, 2.10% and 0.39%, respectively.

See notes to financial statements.

 

16


 
LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

17


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the “Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the Index) the since inception period (June 1992 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 3rd quintile of the Performance Group and 4th quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, in the 3rd quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 3-year period, in the 5th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 5-year period, and in the 5th quintile of the Performance Group and 4th quintile of the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio lagged the Index in the 1-, 5- and 10-year periods, almost matched the Index in the 3-year period and outperformed the Index in the since inception period. The directors also took into account the Adviser’s recently implemented organizational and investment process changes that are intended to improve the investment performance of its equity services. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance was acceptable.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio pays a higher fee rate than a registered investment company with an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that is sub-advised by the Adviser. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points was the same as the Expense Group median. The directors noted that the administrative expense reimbursement was 2 basis points in the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year, and that as a result the rate of the compensation received by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement was similar to the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was higher than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors noted that the Adviser had reviewed with them steps being taken that are intended to reduce the expenses of the AllianceBernstein Funds generally. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was acceptable.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

19


 
LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2, The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Growth

 

75 bp on first $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion

60 bp on the balance

  $ 442.6      Large Cap Growth Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $71,180 (0.02% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Setforth below are the Portfolio’s gross expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio   Fiscal Year

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

 

Class A    0.85%

Class B    1.10%

  December 31

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

  

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

   $442.6   

U.S. Large Cap Growth Schedule

80 bp on first $25m

50 bp on the next $25m

40 bp on the next $50m

30 bp on the next $100m

25 bp on the balance

Minimum account size $25m

     0.323      0.750

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

21


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc., a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedules of Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc. and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio   AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

  Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.  

0.75% on first $2.5 billion

0.65% on next $2.5 billion

0.60% on the balance

    0.750%        0.750%   

The Adviser also manages and sponsors retail mutual funds, which are organized in jurisdictions outside the United States, generally Luxembourg and Japan, and sold to non-United States resident investors. The Adviser charges the fees set forth for American Growth Portfolio, which is a Luxembourg fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio.

 

Fund   Fee6

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

 

Class A

  1.50%

Class I (Institutional)

  0.70%

The Adviser provides sub-advisory services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The Adviser charges the fees set forth below for the sub-advisory relationship that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown is the Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedules of the sub-advisory relationship been applicable to the Portfolio based on March 31, 2011 net assets.

 

Portfolio        Fee Schedule  

Effective

Sub-Adv.

Fee (%)

    Portfolio
Advisory
Fee (%)
 

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

  Client # 1  

0.35% on the first $50 million

0.30% on the next $100 million

0.25% on the balance

    0.273        0.750   

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationship is paying a lower fee than the Portfolio, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such a lower fee due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolio and the sub-advisory relationship. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee than it would be willing to manage investment company assets.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.7 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.8

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

6   It should be noted that Class A shares of the fund are charged an “all-in” fee, which covers investment advisory services and distribution related services, unlike Class I shares, whose fee is for only investment advisory services.

 

7   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

8   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee9
    

Lipper
Exp. Group

Median (%)

     Rank  

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

     0.750         0.750         5/14   

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”).10 The EU is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio

(%)11

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

International Value Portfolio

     0.854         0.816         11/14         0.805         58/81   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $538,818 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

 

 

9   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services. In addition, the contractual management fee does not reflect any advisory fee waiver or expense cap that would effectively reduce the actual management fee.

 

10   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

11   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

23


LARGE CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $833,876 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.12

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli13 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.14 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.15 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

 

12   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

13   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

14   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

15   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio16 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”)17 and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”) for the periods ended February 28, 2011.18

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     21.37           21.17           23.43           7/14           55/81   

3 year

     4.10           4.10           4.01           7/13           38/79   

5 year

     2.05           3.73           3.76           13/13           67/73   

10 year

     0.74           1.60           1.77           9/10           44/58   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)19 versus its benchmarks.20 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.21

 

     Periods Ending February 28, 2011
Annualized Performance
 
     1
Year
(%)
    3
Year
(%)
    5
Year
(%)
    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

Large Cap Growth Portfolio

    21.37        4.10        2.05        0.74        8.72        17.94        0.01         10   

Russell 1000 Growth Index

    24.94        4.11        4.62        1.80        7.69        17.34        0.06         10   

Inception Date: June 26, 1992

  

            

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

16   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

17   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG and EU.

 

18   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

19   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

20   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

21   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

25


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Money Market Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,000.00       $   1.14         0.23

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,023.65       $ 1.15         0.23
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,000.00       $ 1.19         0.24

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,023.60       $ 1.20         0.24

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

    Yield*    

Principal
Amount
(000)

    U.S. $ Value  
     

SHORT-TERM
INVESTMENTS–99.5%

   

   

CERTIFICATES OF
DEPOSIT–38.7%

   

Bank of Montreal Chicago 7/26/11(a)

    0.23   $ 1,300      $ 1,300,000   

Bank of Nova Scotia

     

10/18/11(a)

    0.19     300        299,955   

9/06/11

    0.31     1,000        1,000,000   

Barclays Bank PLC NY 7/05/11(a)

    0.49     1,400        1,400,000   

Canadian Imp Bank of Comm NY 12/19/11

    0.21     1,300        1,300,000   

Credit Suisse NY 10/25/11(a)

    0.24     1,300        1,300,000   

Dnb Nor Bank ASA NY 10/14/11(a)

    0.22     1,200        1,200,000   

Mizuho Corporate Bank NY 7/08/11

    0.19     300        300,001   

National Australia Bank NY

     

10/19/11(a)

    0.29     600        600,021   

12/30/11(a)

    0.50     700        700,811   

Nordea Bank Finland NY 8/03/11

    0.19     1,300        1,300,000   

Norinchukin Bank NY 7/01/11

    0.16     1,300        1,300,000   

Rabobank Nederland NV NY 7/21/11

    0.36     1,300        1,300,000   

Royal Bank of Canada NY

     

3/29/12(a)

    0.24     650        650,000   

2/14/12(a)

    0.24     500        499,969   

1/27/12(a)

    0.29     150        150,035   

Toronto-Dominion Bank NY

     

10/28/11(a)

    0.26     500        500,000   

1/12/12(a)

    0.27     800        800,000   

Westpac Banking Corp. NY 1/13/12(a)

    0.28     1,300        1,300,000   
     

 

 

 
        17,200,792   
     

 

 

 

MUNICIPAL
OBLIGATIONS–24.2%

   

California Infra & Eco Dev Bk 10/01/47(b)

    0.02     1,200        1,200,000   

Connecticut Hlth & Ed Fac Auth (Yale Univ) Series 2001V-1 7/01/36(b)

    0.02     1,000        1,000,000   

Dallas Fort Worth TX Intl Arpt (United Parcel Service) 5/01/32(b)

    0.04     1,300        1,300,000   

Houston TX Hgr Ed Fin Corp. (Rice University) Series 2008B 5/15/48(b)

    0.02     1,200        1,200,000   
    Yield*    

Principal
Amount
(000)

    U.S. $ Value  
     

Loudoun Cnty VA IDA (Howard Hughes Med Inst) 2/15/38(b)

    0.05   $ 1,300      $ 1,300,000   

Massachusetts Dev Fin Agy (Smith College) 7/01/24(b)

    0.06     1,171        1,171,000   

Massachusetts Hlth & Ed Facs Auth (Harvard Univ) Series 1999R 11/01/49(b)

    0.02     1,300        1,300,000   

Mississippi Business Fin Corp. (Chevron USA, Inc.) Series 2009E 12/01/30(b)

    0.03     1,000        1,000,000   

Valdez AK Marine Terminal (Exxon Mobil Corp.) Series 1993B 12/01/33(b)

    0.02     1,300        1,300,000   
     

 

 

 
        10,771,000   
     

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL PAPER–16.1%

  

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.

     

1/30/12(a)(c)

    0.47     1,000        1,001,084   

10/21/11(a)(c)

    0.57     250        250,230   

Banque Et Caisse Epargne 8/17/11

    0.20     1,300        1,299,661   

State Street Corp. 12/09/11

    0.23     1,200        1,198,766   

Svenska Handelsbank, Inc. 11/09/11

    0.28     1,200        1,198,777   

Swedbank 7/07/11

    0.28     1,000        999,953   

Toyota Motor Credit Corp. 9/21/11

    0.21     500        499,761   

UBS Finance Delaware LLC 7/13/11

    0.14     700        699,967   
     

 

 

 
        7,148,199   
     

 

 

 

U.S. GOVERNMENT &
GOVERNMENT
SPONSORED AGENCY
OBLIGATIONS–10.1%

     

Federal Farm Credit Bank

     

11/17/11(a)

    0.13     500        499,945   

12/20/11(a)

    0.15     500        499,953   

7/20/12(a)

    0.15     500        499,840   

4/23/12(a)

    0.20     500        500,051   

4/12/12(a)

    0.22     500        500,139   

Federal Home Loan Bank 2/17/12(a)

    0.14     500        499,836   

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

     

2/02/12(a)

    0.11     500        499,762   

12/21/11(a)

    0.14     500        499,904   

Federal National Mortgage Association 9/19/11(a)

    0.15     500        499,956   
     

 

 

 
        4,499,386   
     

 

 

 

 

2


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

    Yield*    

Principal
Amount
(000)

    U.S. $ Value  
     

CORPORATES–INVESTMENT
GRADES–8.6%

   

BNP Paribas / BNP Paribas US Medium-Term Note Program LLC 7/21/11(a)

    0.77   $ 1,000      $ 1,000,326   

Commonwealth Bank of Australia 11/04/11(a)(c)

    0.57     1,300        1,301,302   

JPMorgan Chase & Co. 12/21/11(a)

    0.37     500        500,336   

PepsiCo, Inc. 7/15/11(a)

    0.31     300        300,012   

Wells Fargo & Co. 8/26/11

    5.30     700        705,397   
     

 

 

 
        3,807,373   
     

 

 

 
    Yield*    

Principal
Amount
(000)

    U.S. $ Value  
     

BANKERS
ACCEPTANCE–1.8%

   

Bank of America NA

     

8/03/11

    0.17     467        466,927   

8/08/11

    0.17     316        315,944   
     

 

 

 
        782,871   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–99.5%
(cost $44,209,621)

        44,209,621   

Other assets less liabilities–0.5%

        206,161   
     

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

      $ 44,415,782   
     

 

 

 

 

3

 

 

(a)   Floating Rate Security. Stated interest rate was in effect at June 30, 2011.

 

(b)   Variable Rate Demand Notes (VRDN) are instruments whose interest rates change on a specific date (such as coupon date or interest payment date) or whose interest rates vary with changes in a designated base rate (such as the prime interest rate). This instrument is payable on demand and is secured by letters of credit or other credit support agreements from major banks.

 

(c)   Security is exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. These securities are considered liquid and may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers. At June 30, 2011, the aggregate market value of these securities amounted to $2,552,616 or 5.7% of net assets.

 

*   Represents annualized yield from date of purchase for discount securities, and stated interest rate for interest-bearing securities.

Glossary:

IDA—Industrial Development Authority/Agency

See notes to financial statements.


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $44,209,621)

   $ 44,209,621   

Cash

     156,200   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     77,000   

Interest receivable

     22,807   

Receivable due from Adviser and Distributor

     3,057   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     1,496   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     44,470,181   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Legal fee payable

     19,084   

Audit fee payable

     18,113   

Custody fee payable

     5,917   

Printing fee payable

     5,364   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     3,795   

Dividends payable

     333   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     133   

Accrued expenses

     1,660   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     54,399   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 44,415,782   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 44,431   

Additional paid-in capital

     44,370,432   

Undistributed net investment income

     475   

Accumulated net realized gain on investment transactions

     444   
  

 

 

 
   $ 44,415,782   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—2 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $   18,292,603           18,298,693         $   1.00   

B

     $   26,123,179           26,132,289         $   1.00   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

4


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Interest

   $ 55,499   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     102,045   

Distribution fee—Class B

     33,144   

Transfer agency—Class A

     628   

Transfer agency—Class B

     885   

Administrative

     35,000   

Custodian

     31,360   

Audit

     18,096   

Legal

     15,070   

Printing

     3,077   

Directors’ fees

     1,798   

Miscellaneous

     2,602   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     243,705   

Less: expenses waived and reimbursed by the Adviser (see Note B)

     (157,329

Less: expenses waived and reimbursed by the Distributor (see Note C)

     (33,144
  

 

 

 

Net expenses

     53,232   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     2,267   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     444   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 2,711   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


 
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO  
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 2,267      $ 5,489   

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     444        9   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     2,711        5,498   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (942     (2,188

Class B

     (1,325     (3,301

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (3,066,116     (16,941,316
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (3,065,672     (16,941,307

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     47,481,454        64,422,761   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $475 and $475, respectively)

   $ 44,415,782      $ 47,481,454   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Money Market Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is maximum current income to the extent consistent with safety of principal and liquidity. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Securities in which the Portfolio invests are traded primarily in the over-the-counter market and are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Under such method a portfolio instrument is valued at cost and any premium or discount is amortized or accreted, respectively, on a constant basis to maturity.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

 

7


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities

             

Assets:

             

Certificates of Deposit

     $             –0 –     $ 17,200,792       $             –0 –     $ 17,200,792   

Municipal Obligations

       –0 –       10,771,000         –0 –       10,771,000   

Commercial Paper

       –0 –       7,148,199         –0 –       7,148,199   

U.S. Government & Government Sponsored Agency Obligations

       –0 –       4,499,386         –0 –       4,499,386   

Corporates—Investment Grades

       –0 –       3,807,373         –0 –       3,807,373   

Bankers Acceptance

       –0 –       782,871         –0 –       782,871   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       –0 –       44,209,621         –0 –       44,209,621   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ –0 –     $ 44,209,621       $ –0 –     $ 44,209,621   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

4. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income. It is the Portfolio’s policy to take possession of securities as collateral under repurchase agreements and to determine on a daily basis that the value of such securities are sufficient to cover the value of the repurchase agreements. If the seller defaults and the value of the collateral declines or if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization of collateral by the Portfolio may be delayed or limited.

5. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

6. Dividends and Distributions

The Portfolio declares dividends daily from net investment income. The dividends are paid monthly. Net realized gains distributions, if any, will be made at least annually. Income dividends and capital gains distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with the federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .45% of the first $2.5 billion, .40% of the next $2.5 billion and .35% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Adviser voluntarily

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

agreed to waive the entire amount of such fees of $102,045. To prevent the Portfolio’s total expenses from exceeding its total income on a daily basis, the Adviser voluntarily reimbursed the Portfolio an additional amount of $20,284.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Adviser provides certain legal and accounting services for the Portfolio. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Adviser voluntarily agreed to waive the entire amount of such fees of $35,000.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

For the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Distributor has voluntarily agreed to waive all of the distribution fees in the amount of $33,144 for Class B shares, limiting the effective annual rate to .00%.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions, Income Taxes and Distributions to Shareholders

At June 30, 2011, the cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 5,489         $ 79,215   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 5,489         $ 79,215   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 475   
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 475   
  

 

 

 

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

 

9


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 1,000,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    3,488,436        4,212,329        $ 3,488,436      $ 4,212,329   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    952        2,240          952        2,240   

Shares redeemed

    (4,465,976     (10,263,330       (4,465,976     (10,263,330
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (976,588     (6,048,761     $ (976,588   $ (6,048,761
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    7,172,542        7,580,223        $ 7,172,542      $ 7,580,223   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    1,359        3,398          1,359        3,398   

Shares redeemed

    (9,263,429     (18,476,176       (9,263,429     (18,476,176
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (2,089,528     (10,892,555     $ (2,089,528   $ (10,892,555
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Money Market Fund Risk—Money market funds are sometimes unable to maintain a net asset value (“NAV”) at $1.00 per share and, as it is generally referred to, “break the buck.” In that event, an investor in a money market fund would, upon redemption, receive less than $1.00 per share. The Portfolio’s shareholders should not rely on or expect an affiliate of the Portfolio to purchase distressed assets from the Portfolio, make capital infusions, enter into credit support agreements or take other actions to prevent the Portfolio from breaking the buck. In addition, significant redemptions by large investors in the Portfolio could have a material adverse effect on the Portfolio’s other shareholders. The Portfolio’s NAV could be affected by forced selling during periods of high redemption pressures and/or illiquid markets.

Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk—The Portfolio’s primary risks are interest rate risk and credit risk. Because the Portfolio invests in short-term securities, a decline in interest rates will affect the Portfolio’s yield as the securities mature or are sold and the Portfolio purchases new short-term securities with a lower yield. Generally, an increase in interest rates causes the value of a debt instrument to decrease. The change in value for shorter-term securities is usually smaller than for securities with longer maturities. In addition, if interest rates remain low for an extended period of time, the Portfolio may have difficulties in maintaining a positive yield, paying expenses out of the Portfolio’s assets, or maintaining a stable $1.00 NAV.

Credit risk is the possibility that a security’s credit rating will be downgraded or that the issuer of the security will default (fail to make scheduled interest and principal payments). Credit quality can change rapidly in certain market environments and the default of a single holding could have the potential to cause significant NAV deterioration.

Liquidity Risk—Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell, which may prevent the Portfolio from selling out of these securities at an advantageous time or price.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

10


 
MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS    

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income

    .00 (a)(b)      .00 (a)(b)      .00 (a)(b)      .02        .04        .04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    .00 (a)      .00 (a)      .00 (a)      (.02     (.04     (.04
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    0.00     .01     .17     1.90     4.35     4.22
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $18,293        $19,269        $25,318        $28,520        $23,610        $27,087   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .23 %(d)      .26 %(e)      .66     .96     .99     .93 %(e) 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    .93 %(d)      .88 %(e)      .90     .96     .99     .93 %(e) 

Net investment income

    .01 %(b)(d)      .01 %(b)(e)      .18 %(b)      1.85     4.28     4.13 %(e) 

 

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 12.

 

11


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income

    .00 (a)(b)      .00 (a)(b)      .00 (a)(b)      .02        .04        .04   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends

           

Dividends from net investment income

    .00 (a)      .00 (a)      .00 (a)      (.02     (.04     (.04
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00        $1.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    0.00     .01     .09     1.64     4.08     3.96
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $26,123        $28,212        $39,105        $36,423        $23,846        $24,537   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .24 %(d)      .26 %(e)      .71     1.20     1.24     1.19 %(e) 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    1.18 %(d)      1.13 %(e)      1.15     1.20     1.24     1.19 %(e) 

Net investment income

    .01 %(b)(d)      .01 %(b)(e)      .08 %(b)      1.57     4.00     3.89 %(e) 

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Amount is less than $.01 per share.

 

(b)   Net of expenses reimbursed by the Adviser and/or the Distributor.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

See notes to financial statements.

 

12


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), with respect to AllianceBernstein Money Market Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by the September 1, 2004 Assurance of Discontinuance (“AoD”) between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. The first factor is an additional factor required to be considered by the AoD. The Supreme Court recently held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what Section 36(b) of the 40 Act requires: to face liability under Section 36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), slip op. at 9, 559 U.S.              2010. In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of Section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”3

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS & RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in

 

1   It should be noted that the Senior Officer’s fee evaluation was completed on October 21, 2010 and discussed with the Board of Directors on November 2-4, 2010.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratios refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

3   Jones v. Harris at 11.

 

13


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.4

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

09/30/10

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Low Risk Income

 

45 bp on 1st $2.5 billion

40 bp on next $2.5 billion

35 bp on the balance

  $ 50.9      Money Market Portfolio5

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser was entitled to receive $82,467 (0.125% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.6

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio   Fiscal Year
        Net     Gross    

Money Market Portfolio

 

Class A

Class B

   

 

0.66%

0.71%

  

  

  0.90%

1.15%

  December 31

In response to low interest rates in the marketplace that have depressed money market yield, the Adviser or its affiliates, is waiving advisory fees and reimbursing additional expenses on its proprietary money market products, including Money Market Portfolio, in order for those products to achieve a target yield of 0.01%. With respect to Money Market Portfolio, the Adviser has been waiving a portion of the advisory fees it receives while its affiliates have been reimbursing the Portfolio a portion of the 12b-1 fees and administrative fees that they receive.

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolios are more costly than those for institutional accounts due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. Finally, in recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

 

4   The AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds, which the Adviser manages, were also affected by the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG.

 

5   The Adviser also advises AllianceBernstein Exchange Reserves, an open-end retail money market mutual fund that has a similar investment style as the Portfolio. AllianceBernstein Exchanges Reserves’ investment advisory fee schedule, which is shown on page 5, was not affected by the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG since the fund had lower breakpoints than the NYAG related fee schedule of Low Risk Income.

 

6   For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, the Adviser voluntarily waived $17,615 of the $82,467 in reimbursements that the Adviser was entitled to receive, which reduced the reimbursement as a percentage of average daily net assets to approximately 0.098%.

 

14


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fee charged to institutional accounts that have a similar investment style as the Portfolio.7 However, with respect to the Portfolio, the Adviser represented that there is no institutional product in the Adviser’s Form ADV that has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Exchange Reserves, a retail mutual fund which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below is the fee schedule of AllianceBernstein Exchange Reserves. Also shown is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of AllianceBernstein Exchange Reserves been applicable to the Portfolio and the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on September 30, 2010 net assets:

 

Portfolio   ABMF Fund   Fee Schedule   ABMF
Effective
Fee
   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Money Market Portfolio

  Exchange Reserves  

0.25% on first $1.25 billion

0.24% on next $0.25 billion

0.23% on next $0.25 billion

0.22% on next $0.25 billion

0.21% on next $1.0 billion

0.20% on the balance

    0.250%        0.450%   

The Adviser also manages and sponsors retail mutual funds, which are organized in jurisdictions outside the United States, generally Luxembourg and Japan, and sold to non-United States resident investors. The Adviser charges the following fees for the Luxembourg fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as that of the Portfolio:

 

Portfolio   Luxembourg Fund      Luxembourg Fee8

Money Market Portfolio

  Short Maturity Dollar     
  Class A     

1.05% on 1st $100 million

1.00% on next $100 million

0.95% on the balance

  Class I (Institutional)     

0.50% on 1st $100 million

0.45% on next $100 million

0.40% on the balance

The Adviser represented that it does not sub-advise any registered investment company with a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.9 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the proposed management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)10 at the approximate current asset level of the subject Portfolio.11

 

7   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 13.

 

8   Class A shares of the Luxembourg funds are charged an “all-in” fee, which covers investment advisory and distribution related services.

 

9   It should be noted that the Jones Court discussion of fund fee comparisons, “Courts should not rely too heavily on comparisons with fees charged to mutual funds by other advisers. These comparisons are problematic because those fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 13.

 

10   It should be noted that Lipper does not consider average account size when constructing EGs. Funds with relatively small average account sizes tend to have higher transfer agent expense ratios than comparable sized funds that have relatively large average account sizes. Note that there are limitations on Lipper expense category data because different funds categorize expenses differently.

 

11   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

15


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee12
    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median

     Rank  

Money Market Portfolio

     0.450         0.450         8/15   

Lipper also compared the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio to the medians of the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU13 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

It should be noted that Lipper uses expense ratio data from financial statements of the most current fiscal year in their database. This has several implications: the total expense ratio of each fund that Lipper uses in their report is based on each fund’s average net assets during its fiscal year. Since funds have different fiscal year ends, the total expense ratios of the funds may cover different twelve month periods, depending on the funds’ fiscal year ends. This is the process that Lipper always follows but given the volatile market conditions during 2008 and 2009, notably the last three months of 2008 through the first three months of 2009 when equity markets declined substantially, and conversely through the remainder of 2009 when equity markets rallied, the effects on the funds’ total expense ratios caused by the differences in fiscal year ends may be more pronounced in 2008 and 2009 compared to other years under more normal market conditions.14

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)15

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Money Market Portfolio

     0.660         0.438         14/15         0.429         42/43   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than it does on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems. See Section IV for additional discussion.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2009, relative to 2008.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent and distribution to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees and Rule 12b-1 payments.

 

12   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.

 

13   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

14   To cite an example, the average net assets and total expense ratio of a fund with a fiscal year end of March 31, 2009 will not be reflective of the market rally that occurred post March 2009, in contrast to a fund with a fiscal year end of December 31, 2009.

 

15   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

16


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter and distributor, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), an affiliate of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, ABI received $99,406 in Rule 12b-1 fees from the Portfolio.16

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $73,745 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Adviser and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”).17 During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,250 from the Portfolio.18

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures,19 subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems, can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms have made such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

An independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli20 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.21 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.22 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund assets under management (“AUM”), family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of fund size and the large asset manager’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

 

16   For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, ABI voluntarily waived $69,704 of the $99,406 in 12b-1 fees that ABI was entitled to receive for Class B shares, limiting the effective annual fee to 0.07%.

 

17   It should be noted that the insurance companies, linked to the variable products, provide additional shareholder services for the Portfolio, including record keeping, administration and customer service for contract holders.

 

18   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other series of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2009.

 

19   Fee structures include fee reductions, pricing at scale and breakpoints in advisory fee schedules.

 

20   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

21   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 14.

 

22   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

17


MONEY MARKET PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $484 billion as of September 30, 2010, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information below, prepared by Lipper, shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year net and gross performance returns and rankings of the Portfolio23 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”)24 and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”) for the periods ended July 31, 2010.25

 

Money Market Portfolio   Portfolio
Return (%)
   

PG

Median (%)

   

PU

Median (%)

   

PG

Rank

   

PU

Rank

 

(Net)

         

1 year

    0.01        0.01        0.01        6/15        27/55   

3 year

    1.27        1.47        1.50        13/15        48/55   

5 year

    2.36        2.64        2.69        14/15        51/54   

10 year

    2.13        2.34        2.42        14/15        48/50   

(Gross)

         

1 year

    0.67        0.44        0.43        2/15        2/55   

3 year

    2.08        2.07        1.97        7/15        19/55   

5 year

    3.24        3.24        3.18        8/15        19/54   

10 year

    2.93        2.93        2.93        7/15        22/50   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception net performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)26 versus its benchmark.27

 

     Periods Ending July 31, 2010
Annualized Performance
 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year
(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
 

Money Market Portfolio

    0.01        1.27        2.36        2.13        3.10   

Lipper VA Money Market Fund Average

    0.02        1.45        2.62        2.37        3.43   

Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Bill Index

    0.25        1.62        2.82        1.60        3.06   

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: November 22, 2010

 

23   The net performance returns and rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the net and gross performance returns of the Portfolio were provided by Lipper. Lipper maintains its own database that includes the Portfolio’s performance returns. However, differences in the distribution price (ex-date versus payable date) and rounding differences may cause the Adviser’s own net performance returns of the Portfolio to be different from Lipper.

 

24   The Portfolio’s PG is identical to the Portfolio’s EG. The Portfolio’s PU is not identical to the Portfolio’s EU as the criteria for including/excluding a fund in/from a PU are somewhat different from that of an EU.

 

25   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the Portfolio even if the Portfolio may have had a different investment classification/objective at different points in time.

 

26   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

27   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for the periods through July 31, 2010.

 

18


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Real Estate Investment Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account  Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During  Period*
     Annualized
Expense  Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,102.60       $   4.33         0.83

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,020.68       $   4.16         0.83
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,101.60       $   5.63         1.08

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,019.44       $   5.41         1.08

 

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Simon Property Group, Inc.

   $ 8,265,231           10.2

Boston Properties, Inc.

     4,105,101           5.0   

Public Storage

     4,058,756           5.0   

ProLogis, Inc.

     3,487,411           4.3   

Vornado Realty Trust

     3,261,300           4.0   

Ventas, Inc.

     2,957,031           3.6   

Health Care REIT, Inc.

     2,595,285           3.2   

Equity Residential

     2,442,000           3.0   

Rayonier, Inc.

     2,276,794           2.8   

SL Green Realty Corp.

     2,212,629           2.7   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   35,661,538           43.8

INDUSTRY DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

INDUSTRY    U.S. $ VALUE      PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Diversified/Specialty

   $ 15,296,548         18.8

Multi-Family

     11,451,871         14.1   

Regional Mall

     11,157,205         13.7   

Office

     10,477,383         12.9   

Self Storage

     7,502,875         9.2   

Lodging

     7,438,563         9.1   

Health Care

     6,503,696         8.0   

Industrial Warehouse Distribution

     4,075,941         5.0   

Shopping Center/Other Retail

     3,039,392         3.7   

Student Housing

     2,093,044         2.6   

Manufactured Homes

     824,208         1.0   

Triple Net

     606,119         0.7   

Short-Term Investments

     994,437         1.2   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   81,461,282         100.0

 

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s industry breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

Please note: The industry classifications presented herein are based on the industry categorization methodology of the Adviser.

 

2


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–98.8%

   
   

EQUITY:OTHER–27.5%

   

DIVERSIFIED/SPECIALTY–18.8%

   

American Assets Trust, Inc.

    54,400      $ 1,221,280   

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

    73,500        1,414,140   

Coresite Realty Corp.

    30,082        493,345   

Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

    26,800        1,655,704   

Forest City Enterprises, Inc.(a)

    55,390        1,034,131   

Lexington Realty Trust

    43,800        399,894   

Potlatch Corp.

    18,600        656,022   

Rayonier, Inc.

    34,840        2,276,794   

RLJ Lodging Trust

    44,082        765,704   

Vornado Realty Trust

    35,000        3,261,300   

Weyerhaeuser Co.

    96,900        2,118,234   
   

 

 

 
      15,296,548   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–8.0%

   

Health Care REIT, Inc.

    49,500        2,595,285   

National Health Investors, Inc.

    21,413        951,380   

Ventas, Inc.

    56,100        2,957,031   
   

 

 

 
      6,503,696   
   

 

 

 

TRIPLE NET–0.7%

   

Entertainment Properties Trust

    12,979        606,119   
   

 

 

 
      22,406,363   
   

 

 

 

RESIDENTIAL–26.9%

   

MANUFACTURED HOMES–1.0%

   

Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc.

    13,200        824,208   
   

 

 

 

MULTI-FAMILY–14.1%

   

Associated Estates Realty Corp.

    36,900        599,625   

BRE Properties, Inc.

    24,950        1,244,506   

Camden Property Trust

    27,425        1,744,778   

Colonial Properties Trust

    80,200        1,636,080   

Equity Residential

    40,700        2,442,000   

Essex Property Trust, Inc.

    13,000        1,758,770   

Home Properties, Inc.

    16,424        999,893   

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.

    15,210        1,026,219   
   

 

 

 
      11,451,871   
   

 

 

 

SELF STORAGE–9.2%

   

Extra Space Storage, Inc.

    97,500        2,079,675   

Public Storage

    35,600        4,058,756   

U-Store-It Trust

    129,700        1,364,444   
   

 

 

 
      7,502,875   
   

 

 

 

STUDENT HOUSING–2.6%

   

American Campus Communities, Inc.

    23,700        841,824   

Education Realty Trust, Inc.

    146,000        1,251,220   
   

 

 

 
      2,093,044   
   

 

 

 
      21,871,998   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

RETAIL–17.4%

   

REGIONAL MALL–13.7%

   

General Growth Properties, Inc.

    11,864      $ 198,010   

Glimcher Realty Trust

    192,700        1,830,650   

Simon Property Group, Inc.

    71,111        8,265,231   

Taubman Centers, Inc.

    14,583        863,314   
   

 

 

 
      11,157,205   
   

 

 

 

SHOPPING CENTER/OTHER RETAIL–3.7%

  

Excel Trust, Inc.

    106,400        1,173,592   

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers

    22,400        599,648   

Weingarten Realty Investors

    50,324        1,266,152   
   

 

 

 
      3,039,392   
   

 

 

 
      14,196,597   
   

 

 

 

OFFICE–12.9%

  

 

OFFICE–12.9%

  

 

Boston Properties, Inc.

    38,669        4,105,101   

Douglas Emmett, Inc.

    101,900        2,026,791   

Duke Realty Corp.

    102,900        1,441,629   

Kilroy Realty Corp.

    17,504        691,233   

SL Green Realty Corp.

    26,700        2,212,629   
   

 

 

 
      10,477,383   
   

 

 

 

LODGING–9.1%

  

 

LODGING–9.1%

  

 

Ashford Hospitality Trust, Inc.

    134,600        1,675,770   

Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

    78,498        1,330,541   

Hyatt Hotels Corp.(a)

    27,900        1,138,878   

Intercontinental Hotels Group PLC

    42,100        861,821   

LaSalle Hotel Properties

    48,200        1,269,588   

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.(a)

    55,651        515,885   

Wyndham Worldwide Corp.

    19,200        646,080   
   

 

 

 
      7,438,563   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–5.0%

  

 

INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE DISTRIBUTION–5.0%

   

First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc.(a)

    51,400        588,530   

ProLogis, Inc.

    97,305        3,487,411   
   

 

 

 
      4,075,941   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $68,181,574)

      80,466,845   
   

 

 

 

 

3


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Principal
Amount
(000)

    U.S. $ Value  
   

SHORT-TERM
INVESTMENTS– 1.2%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–1.2%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $994,437)

  $ 994      $ 994,437   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL
INVESTMENTS–100.0%
(cost $69,176,011)

      81,461,282   

Other assets less
liabilities–0.0%

      (23,067
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 81,438,215   
   

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

REIT—Real Estate Investment Trust

See notes to financial statements.

 

4


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $69,176,011)

   $ 81,461,282   

Foreign currencies, at value (cost $41,218)

     40,286   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     1,909,242   

Dividends and interest receivable

     196,015   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     12,677   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     83,619,502   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     2,040,352   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     42,203   

Advisory fee payable

     36,435   

Administrative fee payable

     19,756   

Distribution fee payable

     3,087   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     134   

Accrued expenses

     39,320   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     2,181,287   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 81,438,215   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 6,949   

Additional paid-in capital

     61,363,338   

Undistributed net investment income

     1,295,394   

Accumulated net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     6,488,009   

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     12,284,525   
  

 

 

 
   $ 81,438,215   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $   66,424,243           5,671,981         $   11.71   

B

     $ 15,013,972           1,277,205         $ 11.76   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends

   $ 1,255,885   

Interest

     68   
  

 

 

 
     1,255,953   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     217,292   

Distribution fee—Class B

     18,185   

Transfer agency—Class A

     1,002   

Transfer agency—Class B

     226   

Administrative

     35,067   

Custodian

     34,939   

Audit

     17,463   

Legal

     15,550   

Printing

     4,761   

Directors’ fees

     1,932   

Miscellaneous

     942   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     347,359   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     908,594   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain (loss) on:

  

Investment transactions

     7,381,581   

Foreign currency transactions

     (1,695

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (527,300

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (828
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     6,851,758   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 7,760,352   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

6


 
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 908,594      $ 1,441,621   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     7,379,886        15,630,087   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (528,128     446,692   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     7,760,352        17,518,400   

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (926,394     (763,869

Class B

     (175,422     (167,325

Net realized gain on investment transactions

    

Class A

     (6,988,236     –0 – 

Class B

     (1,581,076     –0 – 

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net increase

     2,376,550        13,551,553   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase

     465,774        30,138,759   

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     80,972,441        50,833,682   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,295,394 and $1,488,616, respectively)

   $ 81,438,215      $ 80,972,441   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

7


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Real Estate Investment Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is total return from long-term growth of capital and income. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

8


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

             

Equity: Other

     $ 22,406,363       $ –0 –     $ –0 –     $ 22,406,363   

Residential

       21,871,998         –0 –       –0 –       21,871,998   

Retail

       14,196,597         –0 –       –0 –       14,196,597   

Office

       10,477,383         –0 –       –0 –       10,477,383   

Lodging

       6,576,742         861,821         –0 –       7,438,563   

Industrials

       4,075,941         –0 –       –0 –       4,075,941   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       994,437         –0 –       994,437   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       79,605,024         1,856,258         –0 –       81,461,282   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 79,605,024       $ 1,856,258       $             –0 –     $ 81,461,282   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in

 

9


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .55% of the first $2.5 billion, .45% of the next $2.5 billion and .40% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $35,067.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $91,831, of which $0 and $27, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 50,949,993       $ 51,685,738   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 12,659,780   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (374,509
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 12,285,271   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The Portfolio did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    268,764        3,637,050        $ 3,308,338      $ 37,579,037   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends and distributions

    663,422        67,960          7,914,630        763,869   

Shares redeemed

    (792,930     (2,145,189       (9,736,996     (23,776,629
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase

    139,256        1,559,821        $ 1,485,972      $ 14,566,277   
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    135,423        148,955        $ 1,665,532      $ 1,593,828   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends and distributions

    146,619        14,834          1,756,498        167,325   

Shares redeemed

    (206,873     (255,766       (2,531,452     (2,775,877
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease)

    75,169        (91,977     $ 890,578      $ (1,014,724
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

11


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Concentration of Risk—Although the Portfolio does not invest directly in real estate, it invests primarily in real estate equity securities and has a policy of concentration of its investments in the real estate industry. Therefore, an investment in the Portfolio is subject to certain risks associated with the direct ownership of real estate and with the real estate industry in general. To the extent that assets underlying the Portfolio’s investments are concentrated geographically, by property type or in certain other respects, the Portfolio may be subject to additional risks.

In addition, investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”) involves certain unique risks in addition to those risks associated with investing in the real estate industry in general. REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to heavy cash flow dependency, default by borrowers and self-liquidation. REITs are also subject to the possibilities of failing to qualify for tax-free pass-through of income under the Code and failing to maintain their exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act. REITs (especially mortgage REITs) also are subject to interest rate risks.

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010      2009  

Distributions paid from:

       

Ordinary income

     $ 931,194       $ 1,138,748   

Long-term capital gains

       –0 –       828,577   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

       931,194         1,967,325   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 931,194       $ 1,967,325   
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 2,072,788   

Accumulated capital and other gains

     7,777,113 (a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     12,128,803 (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 21,978,704   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   During the fiscal year, the portfolio utilized capital loss carryforwards of $6,949,830.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

13


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended

June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $12.02        $9.64        $7.86        $16.23        $22.83        $19.98   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .14        .23        .19        .26        .22        .29   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    1.12        2.30        1.98        (4.38     (2.91     6.02   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.26        2.53        2.17        (4.12     (2.69     6.31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.18     (.15     (.23     (.26     (.30     (.47

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (1.39     –0 –      (.16     (3.99     (3.61     (2.99
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (1.57     (.15     (.39     (4.25     (3.91     (3.46
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.71        $12.02        $9.64        $7.86        $16.23        $22.83   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    10.26 %*      26.34     29.46     (35.68 )%      (14.53 )%      35.22
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $66,424        $66,493        $38,317        $24,082        $50,015        $80,317   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .83 %(c)      .87 %(d)      1.25     1.01     .85     .83 %(d) 

Net investment income

    2.34 %(c)      2.15 %(d)      2.50     2.13     1.09     1.33 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    64     132     94     46     51     47

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 15.

 

14


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $12.05        $9.67        $7.86        $16.20        $22.80        $19.94   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .13        .20        .20        .22        .16        .22   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    1.12        2.31        1.97        (4.37     (2.90     6.03   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    1.25        2.51        2.17        (4.15     (2.74     6.25   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.15     (.13     (.20     (.20     (.25     (.40

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (1.39     –0 –      (.16     (3.99     (3.61     (2.99
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (1.54     (.13     (.36     (4.19     (3.86     (3.39
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.76        $12.05        $9.67        $7.86        $16.20        $22.80   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    10.16 %*      26.05     29.22     (35.82 )%      (14.76 )%      34.88
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $15,014        $14,479        $12,517        $11,104        $22,281        $33,461   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.08 %(c)      1.13 %(d)      1.53     1.26     1.10     1.08 %(d) 

Net investment income

    2.11 %(c)      1.89 %(d)      2.67     1.83     .80     1.04 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    64     132     94     46     51     47

 

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(c)   Annualized.

 

(d)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from the class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the six months ended June 30, 2011 by 0.06%.

See notes to financial statements.

 

 

15


 
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Real Estate Investment Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

 

16


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) Equity REIT Index (the “FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index”) and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index (the “S&P 500 Stock Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the indices) the since inception period (January 1997 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and 3rd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, in the 2nd quintile of the Performance Group and 1st quintile of the Performance Universe for the 3-year period, in the 2nd quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 5-year period, and in the 1st quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio lagged the FTSE NAREIT Equity Index in the 1-year period but outperformed that index in the 3-, 5- and 10-year and the since inception periods. The Portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 Index in all periods. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance over time had been satisfactory.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio although the initial fee rates in the institutional fee schedule were higher, and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate higher than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement prior to taking account of the administrative expense reimbursements to the Adviser. The directors noted that adding the administrative expense reimbursement to the Adviser resulted in a lower rate of total compensation to the Adviser under the institutional fee schedule than what is paid by the Portfolio. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements.

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

 

17


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds comparable to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 55 basis points, plus the 11 basis point impact of the administrative expense reimbursement in the latest fiscal year, was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was lower than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

18


 
REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Real Estate Investment Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2, The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Value

 

55 bp on first $2.5 billion

45 bp on next $2.5 billion

40 bp on the balance

  $ 79.0      Real Estate Investment Portfolio

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

19


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $73,999 (0.11% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio   Fiscal Year  

Real Estate Investment Portfolio

  Class A    0.87%     December 31   
  Class B    1.13%  

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

  

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Real Estate Investment Portfolio

   $79.0   

U.S. REIT Strategy Schedule

70 bp on first $25m

60 bp on next $25m

50 on the balance

Minimum account size $25m

     0.595      0.550

 

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Global Real Estate Investment Fund, Inc. (“Global Real Estate Investment Fund, Inc.), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially somewhat investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of Global Real Estate Investment Fund, Inc.5 and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:6

 

Portfolio    AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective Fee

 

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Real Estate Investment Portfolio

   Global Real Estate Investment Fund, Inc.  

0.55% on first $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

  0.550%     0.550

The Adviser also manages and sponsors retail mutual funds, which are organized in jurisdictions outside the United States, generally Luxembourg and Japan, and sold to non-United States resident investors. The Adviser charges the following fees for the Luxembourg fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio.7

 

Fund    Fee8  

Global Real Estate Securities Portfolio

  

Class A

     1.75

Class I (Institutional)

     0.95

The Adviser represented that it does not sub-advise any registered investment company with a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.9 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.10

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee11
      

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

       Rank  

Real Estate Investment Portfolio

     0.550           0.800           1/13   

 

5   It should be noted that the Portfolio’s investment guidelines are more restrictive than that of AllianceBernstein Global Real Estate Investment Fund, Inc. The Portfolio primarily invests in equity securities of U.S. real estate investment trusts (“REITS”) and other U.S. real estate industry companies, in contrast to the AllianceBernstein Global Real Estate Investment Fund, Inc., which may invest in equities of non-U.S. REITS and other non-U.S. real estate industry companies.

 

6   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

7   It should be noted that the Portfolio’s investment guidelines are more restrictive than that of the Luxembourg fund. The Portfolio primarily invests in equity securities of U.S. real estate investment trusts (“REITS”) and other U.S. real estate industry companies, in contrast to the Luxembourg fund, which may invest in equities of non-U.S. REITS and other non-U.S. real estate industry companies.

 

8   It should be noted that Class A shares of the funds are charged an “all-in” fee, which covers investment advisory services and distribution related services, unlike Class I shares, whose fee is for only investment advisory services.

 

9   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

10   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

11   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.

 

 

21


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU12 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)13

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Real Estate Investment Portfolio

     0.871         0.888         5/13         0.888         9/21   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than it does on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio increased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $34,124 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $52,496 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.14

 

12   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

13   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

14   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli15 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.16 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.17 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

 

15   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

16   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

17   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

 

23


REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio18 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)19 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.20

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     35.10           36.67           35.10           8/13           11/21   

3 year

     6.09           5.17           3.19           3/12           4/20   

5 year

     3.55           2.79           2.78           4/11           5/19   

10 year

     12.23           10.76           11.09           1/7           1/11   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)21 versus its benchmarks.22 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.23

 

    

Periods Ending February 28, 2011

Annualized Performance

 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year

(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

Real Estate Investment Portfolio

    35.10        6.09        3.55        12.23        9.83        24.12        0.51         10   

FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index24

    39.54        3.80        2.97        11.78        9.48        24.94        0.49         10   

S&P 500 Stock Index

    22.58        1.05        2.87        2.62        5.90        16.04        0.10         10   

Inception Date: January 9, 1997

  

            

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

18   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

19   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG and EU.

 

20   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

21   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

22   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

23   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

24   Benchmark since inception date is the nearest month end after the Portfolio’s inception date.

 

24


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Small Cap Growth Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,133.90       $ 6.14         1.16

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.04       $ 5.81         1.16
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,132.40       $ 7.45         1.41

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,017.80       $   7.05         1.41

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Select Comfort Corp.

   $ 970,920           1.5

SXC Health Solutions Corp.

     961,633           1.5   

HMS Holdings Corp.

     926,591           1.4   

Aspen Technology, Inc.

     890,044           1.4   

Healthspring, Inc.

     881,992           1.4   

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

     876,618           1.3   

Hexcel Corp.

     857,869           1.3   

Zumiez, Inc.

     851,977           1.3   

ADTRAN, Inc.

     841,942           1.3   

IDEX Corp.

     835,158           1.3   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $     8,894,744           13.7

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Information Technology

   $ 17,693,305           27.6

Industrials

     14,073,719           21.9   

Health Care

     12,669,325           19.7   

Consumer Discretionary

     10,783,269           16.8   

Energy

     4,467,020           7.0   

Financials

     3,156,639           4.9   

Materials

     892,979           1.4   

Short-Term Investments

     428,457           0.7   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   64,164,713           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–98.4%

   
   

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–27.3%

  

 

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–5.1%

  

 

ADTRAN, Inc.

    21,750      $ 841,942   

Aruba Networks, Inc.(a)

    25,382        750,038   

Ixia(a)

    30,132        385,690   

Netgear, Inc.(a)

    18,590        812,755   

Riverbed Technology, Inc.(a)

    12,249        484,938   
   

 

 

 
      3,275,363   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET SOFTWARE & SERVICES–3.9%

   

DealerTrack Holdings, Inc.(a)

    35,930        824,594   

LogMeIn, Inc.(a)

    10,990        423,884   

OpenTable, Inc.(a)

    6,250        519,500   

RightNow Technologies, Inc.(a)

    24,100        780,840   
   

 

 

 
      2,548,818   
   

 

 

 

IT SERVICES–0.7%

   

VeriFone Systems, Inc.(a)

    10,579        469,179   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–6.2%

   

Entegris, Inc.(a)

    49,696        502,924   

Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc.(a)

    40,093        669,954   

Hittite Microwave Corp.(a)

    8,180        506,424   

International Rectifier Corp.(a)

    25,290        707,361   

Magnachip Semiconductor Corp.(a)

    22,674        261,204   

Netlogic Microsystems, Inc.(a)

    19,572        791,100   

Teradyne, Inc.(a)

    37,230        551,004   
   

 

 

 
      3,989,971   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–11.4%

   

Aspen Technology, Inc.(a)

    51,807        890,044   

Concur Technologies, Inc.(a)

    9,890        495,192   

Fortinet, Inc.(a)

    23,696        646,664   

Informatica Corp.(a)

    10,350        604,750   

MICROS Systems, Inc.(a)

    12,800        636,288   

QLIK Technologies, Inc.(a)

    17,627        600,376   

Radiant Systems, Inc.(a)

    38,154        797,419   

RealD, Inc.(a)

    26,154        611,742   

SuccessFactors, Inc.(a)

    24,900        732,060   

Taleo Corp.(a)

    20,004        740,748   

TIBCO Software, Inc.(a)

    22,560        654,691   
   

 

 

 
      7,409,974   
   

 

 

 
      17,693,305   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–21.7%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–2.2%

   

Hexcel Corp.(a)

    39,190        857,869   

Keyw Holding Corp. (The)(a)

    45,113        558,950   
   

 

 

 
      1,416,819   
   

 

 

 

AIR FREIGHT & LOGISTICS–1.0%

   

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.(a)

    10,707        637,173   
   

 

 

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   
   

BUILDING PRODUCTS–0.9%

   

Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc.

    20,370      $ 608,452   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SUPPLIES–1.3%

   

Interface, Inc.

    42,950        831,941   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–1.6%

   

AMETEK, Inc.

    14,650        657,785   

Thermon Group Holdings, Inc.(a)

    29,848        358,176   
   

 

 

 
      1,015,961   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–6.6%

   

Actuant Corp.–Class A

    27,320        732,996   

IDEX Corp.

    18,215        835,158   

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

    20,880        748,548   

Middleby Corp.(a)

    7,530        708,121   

RBC Bearings, Inc.(a)

    16,520        623,795   

Valmont Industries, Inc.

    6,910        666,055   
   

 

 

 
      4,314,673   
   

 

 

 

MARINE–1.3%

   

Kirby Corp.(a)

    14,663        830,952   
   

 

 

 

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES–3.1%

   

CoStar Group, Inc.(a)

    13,976        828,497   

RPX Corp.(a)

    15,724        440,744   

TrueBlue, Inc.(a)

    50,968        738,017   
   

 

 

 
      2,007,258   
   

 

 

 

ROAD & RAIL–2.6%

   

Genesee & Wyoming, Inc.– Class A(a)

    11,950        700,748   

Knight Transportation, Inc.

    32,340        549,457   

Zipcar, Inc.(a)

    22,725        463,817   
   

 

 

 
      1,714,022   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–1.1%

   

United Rentals, Inc.(a)

    27,420        696,468   
   

 

 

 
      14,073,719   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–19.6%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–6.6%

   

Amarin Corp. PLC (ADR)(a)

    32,320        467,671   

Ardea Biosciences, Inc.(a)

    9,020        229,649   

Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    28,380        321,545   

Arqule, Inc.(a)

    41,577        259,856   

AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    15,010        309,356   

Cepheid, Inc.(a)

    19,422        672,778   

Human Genome Sciences, Inc.(a)

    7,310        179,387   

Incyte Corp. Ltd.(a)

    16,020        303,419   

InterMune, Inc.(a)

    14,410        516,599   

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    12,270        192,884   

NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    29,650        280,193   

Pharmacyclics, Inc.(a)

    7,770        81,119   

Pharmasset, Inc.(a)

    3,853        432,307   

United Therapeutics Corp.(a)

    680        37,468   
   

 

 

 
      4,284,231   
   

 

 

 

 

3


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES–4.1%

   

NxStage Medical, Inc.(a)

    27,987      $ 582,689   

Sirona Dental Systems, Inc.(a)

    13,955        741,011   

Volcano Corp.(a)

    22,740        734,275   

Zoll Medical Corp.(a)

    10,735        608,245   
   

 

 

 
      2,666,220   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–5.6%

   

Centene Corp.(a)

    20,420        725,523   

Healthspring, Inc.(a)

    19,128        881,992   

HMS Holdings Corp.(a)

    12,054        926,591   

IPC The Hospitalist Co., Inc.(a)

    13,370        619,699   

Vanguard Health Systems, Inc.(a)

    27,935        479,644   
   

 

 

 
      3,633,449   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY–1.5%

  

 

SXC Health Solutions Corp.(a)

    16,321        961,633   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–1.8%

   

Impax Laboratories, Inc.(a)

    21,670        472,189   

MAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    14,940        238,592   

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(a)

    34,736        413,011   
   

 

 

 
      1,123,792   
   

 

 

 
      12,669,325   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–16.6%

   

DISTRIBUTORS–1.2%

   

LKQ Corp.(a)

    30,750        802,267   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED CONSUMER SERVICES–0.9%

   

K12, Inc.(a)

    17,790        589,561   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–4.6%

   

Gaylord Entertainment Co.(a)

    18,930        567,900   

Life Time Fitness, Inc.(a)

    12,357        493,168   

Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.– Class A(a)

    59,920        644,140   

Panera Bread Co.–Class A(a)

    5,455        685,475   

Texas Roadhouse, Inc.–Class A

    33,710        591,105   
   

 

 

 
      2,981,788   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–1.0%

   

Tempur-Pedic International, Inc.(a)

    9,585        650,055   
   

 

 

 

INTERNET & CATALOG RETAIL–1.2%

   

Shutterfly, Inc.(a)

    14,112        810,311   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–1.3%

   

National CineMedia, Inc.

    39,000        659,490   

Pandora Media, Inc.(a)

    9,163        173,272   
   

 

 

 
      832,762   
   

 

 

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

SPECIALTY RETAIL–6.4%

   

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.(a)

    17,850      $ 686,333   

Select Comfort Corp.(a)

    54,000        970,920   

Tractor Supply Co.

    12,030        804,566   

Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.(a)

    12,430        802,729   

Zumiez, Inc.(a)

    34,120        851,977   
   

 

 

 
      4,116,525   
   

 

 

 
      10,783,269   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–6.9%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–3.1%

   

Complete Production Services, Inc.(a)

    21,552        718,975   

Dril-Quip, Inc.(a)

    9,570        649,133   

Oceaneering International, Inc.

    15,720        636,660   
   

 

 

 
      2,004,768   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–3.8%

   

Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

    13,220        876,618   

Oasis Petroleum, Inc.(a)

    8,775        260,442   

Resolute Energy Corp.(a)

    37,680        608,909   

SM Energy Co.

    9,748        716,283   
   

 

 

 
      2,462,252   
   

 

 

 
      4,467,020   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIALS–4.9%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–2.9%

   

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.(a)

    5,740        582,323   

Greenhill & Co., Inc.

    5,770        310,541   

KBW, Inc.

    17,042        318,686   

Stifel Financial Corp.(a)

    18,606        667,211   
   

 

 

 
      1,878,761   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–2.0%

   

Iberiabank Corp.

    11,119        640,899   

Signature Bank(a)

    11,136        636,979   
   

 

 

 
      1,277,878   
   

 

 

 
      3,156,639   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–1.4%

   

CHEMICALS–1.4%

   

PolyOne Corp.

    7,341        113,565   

Solutia, Inc.(a)

    34,110        779,414   
   

 

 

 
      892,979   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $48,071,750)

      63,736,256   
   

 

 

 

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company       
Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
   

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–0.6%

  

 

TIME DEPOSIT–0.6%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $428,457)

  $ 428      $ 428,457   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–99.0%
(cost $48,500,207)

      64,164,713   

Other assets less liabilities–1.0%

      631,330   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 64,796,043   
   

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $48,500,207)

   $ 64,164,713   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     1,074,012   

Dividends and interest receivable

     11,030   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     11,003   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     65,260,758   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     315,376   

Advisory fee payable

     38,964   

Administrative fee payable

     20,713   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     13,813   

Distribution fee payable

     6,702   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     134   

Accrued expenses

     69,013   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     464,715   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 64,796,043   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 3,542   

Additional paid-in capital

     50,924,980   

Accumulated net investment loss

     (340,526

Accumulated net realized loss on investment transactions

     (1,456,459

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     15,664,506   
  

 

 

 
   $ 64,796,043   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class    Net Assets      Shares
Outstanding
     Net Asset
Value
 

A

   $   31,882,573         1,718,725       $   18.55   

B

   $ 32,913,470         1,823,104       $ 18.05   

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends

   $ 71,409   

Interest

     62   
  

 

 

 
     71,471   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     239,576   

Distribution fee—Class B

     41,256   

Transfer agency—Class A

     680   

Transfer agency—Class B

     726   

Custodian

     46,524   

Administrative

     36,273   

Legal

     17,950   

Audit

     17,334   

Printing

     8,756   

Directors’ fees

     2,017   

Miscellaneous

     905   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     411,997   
  

 

 

 

Net investment loss

     (340,526
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     7,546,032   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     601,001   
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment transactions

     8,147,033   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 7,806,507   
  

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


 
SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment loss

   $ (340,526   $ (460,286

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     7,546,032        6,528,737   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     601,001        7,834,069   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     7,806,507        13,902,520   

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net increase (decrease)

     (1,156,531     6,571,097   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase

     6,649,976        20,473,617   

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     58,146,067        37,672,450   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including accumulated net investment income/(loss) of ($340,526) and $0, respectively)

   $ 64,796,043      $ 58,146,067   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

8


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Small Cap Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

9


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

     $ 63,736,256       $ –0 –     $             –0 –     $ 63,736,256   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       428,457         –0 –       428,457   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       63,736,256         428,457         –0 –       64,164,713   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 63,736,256       $ 428,457       $ –0 –     $ 64,164,713   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

Following is a reconciliation of investments in which significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) were used in determining fair value. The transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy assumes the financial instrument was transferred at the end of the reporting period.

 

     Warrants**     Total  

Balance as of 12/31/10

   $             –0 –    $             –0 – 

Accrued discounts/premiums

     –0 –      –0 – 

Realized gain (loss)

     –0 –      –0 – 

Change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation

     –0 –      –0 – 

Purchases

     –0 –      –0 – 

Sales

     –0 –      –0 – 

Transfers into Level 3

     –0 –      –0 – 

Transfers out of Level 3

     –0 –      –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of 6/30/11

   $ –0 –    $ –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation from Investments held as of 6/30/11*

   $ –0 –    $ –0 – 
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   The unrealized appreciation/depreciation is included in net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments in the accompanying statement of operations.

 

**   The Portfolio held a security with zero market value at period end.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion and .60% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,273.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $53,520, of which $288 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

 

11


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

     Purchases     Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

   $ 27,664,281      $ 29,996,571   

U.S. government securities

     –0 –      –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 16,312,281   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (647,775
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 15,664,506   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The Portfolio did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    142,134        229,854        $ 2,540,469      $ 3,198,966   

Shares redeemed

    (197,478     (370,220       (3,530,211     (4,881,213
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (55,344     (140,366     $ (989,742   $ (1,682,247
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    360,819        1,171,263        $ 6,216,613      $ 16,036,702   

Shares redeemed

    (365,220     (611,325       (6,383,402     (7,783,358
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease)

    (4,401     559,938        $ (166,789   $ 8,253,344   
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk–Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

Currency Risk–This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk–The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk–In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

 

13


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE H: Components of Accumulated Earnings (Deficit)

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Accumulated capital and other losses

   $ (7,770,663 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     13,831,677 (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 6,061,014   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward of $7,770,663 of which $1,108,672 expires in the year 2016 and $6,661,991 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year, the Portfolio utilized $6,204,459 of capital loss carryforwards. Additionally, $35,022,341 of capital loss carryforwards expired in the current fiscal year.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

14


 
SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.36        $11.95        $8.43        $15.48        $13.57        $12.26   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment loss (a)

    (.08     (.13     (.13     (.13     (.12     (.12

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions

    2.27        4.54        3.65        (6.92     2.03        1.43   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    2.19        4.41        3.52        (7.05     1.91        1.31   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.55        $16.36        $11.95        $8.43        $15.48        $13.57   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    13.39     36.90 %*      41.76 %*      (45.54 )%*      14.08     10.69
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $31,883        $29,018        $22,876        $18,003        $39,867        $48,498   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.16 %(d)      1.37 %(e)      1.62     1.32     1.20     1.16 %(e) 

Net investment loss

    (.94 )%(d)      (1.00 )%(e)      (1.33 )%      (1.02 )%      (.81 )%      (.90 )%(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    43     95     106     129     88     76

 

 

See footnote summary on page 16.

 

15


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $15.94        $11.67        $8.26        $15.19        $13.36        $12.09   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment loss (a)

    (.10     (.16     (.15     (.15     (.15     (.15

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions

    2.21        4.43        3.56        (6.78     1.98        1.42   

Contributions from Adviser

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      .00 (b)      –0 –      –0 – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    2.11        4.27        3.41        (6.93     1.83        1.27   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $18.05        $15.94        $11.67        $8.26        $15.19        $13.36   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (c)

    13.24     36.59 %*      41.28 %*      (45.62 )%*      13.70     10.51
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $32,913        $29,128        $14,796        $11,111        $24,937        $22,070   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.41 %(d)      1.62 %(e)      1.87     1.60     1.44     1.41 %(e) 

Net investment loss

    (1.19 )%(d)      (1.23 )%(e)      (1.58 )%      (1.29 )%      (1.05 )%      (1.15 )%(e) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    43     95     106     129     88     76

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Annualized.

 

(e)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.05%, 0.28% and 0.40%, respectively.

See notes to financial statements.

 

16


 
SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Small Cap Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

 

17


SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Russell 2000 Growth Index (the “Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the Index) the since inception period (August 1996 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 1st quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, in the 2nd quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 3- and 5-year periods, and in the 1st quintile of the Performance Group and 2nd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 10-year period. The Portfolio lagged the Index in the since inception period but outperformed the Index in the 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year periods. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance over time had been satisfactory.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio although the initial rates in the institutional fee schedule were higher, and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate higher than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement (including the impact of the expense reimbursement to the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement). The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio pays a higher fee rate than certain registered investment companies with an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that are sub-advised by the Adviser. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund except that the Portfolio’s fee is a monthly fee based on average daily net assets and the Corresponding Fund’s fee is a quarterly fee based on net asset value at the end of each quarter.

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors noted that the administrative expense reimbursement was 17 basis points in the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year, and that as a result the rate of total compensation received by the Adviser from the Portfolio pursuant to the Advisory Agreement was similar to the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio was higher than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors noted that the Portfolio’s very small asset base of approximately $42 million significantly impacted the Portfolio’s expense ratio. The directors also noted that the Adviser had reviewed with them steps being taken that are intended to reduce the expenses of the AllianceBernstein Funds generally. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was acceptable.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

19


 
SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Small Cap Growth Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2 The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Growth

 

75 bp on first $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion 60 bp on the balance

  $ 67.3      Small Cap Growth Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $70,968 (0.17% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Set forth below are the Portfolio’s total expense ratios for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Total Expense Ratio     Fiscal Year

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

  Class A     1.37%      December 31
  Class B     1.62%     

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

   $ 67.3       Small Cap Growth Schedule      0.961      0.750
      100 bp on first $50m      
      85 bp on the next $50m      
      75 bp on the balance      
      Minimum account size $25m      

 

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

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SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Cap Fund, Inc.—Small Cap Growth Portfolio (“Cap Fund, Inc.—Small Cap Growth Portfolio”), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedules of Cap Fund, Inc.—Small Cap Growth Portfolio and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio   AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Small-Cap Growth Portfolio6

  Cap Fund, Inc.—Small Cap   0.75% on first $2.5 billion     0.750%        0.750%   
  Growth Portfolio   0.65% on next $2.5 billion    
    0.60% on the balance    

The Adviser provides sub-advisory services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The Adviser charges the fees set forth below for the sub-advisory relationships that have a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown are the Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedules of the sub-advisory relationships been applicable to the Portfolio based on March 31, 2011 net assets.

 

Fund   Sub-Advised
Fund
 

Sub-Advised Fund

Fee Schedule

  Sub-advised
Fund Eff.
Mgmt.
Fee (%)
   

Portfolio

Adv. Fee

(%)

 

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

  Client #17,8   0.60% on first $1 billion     0.600        0.750   
    0.55% on next $500 million    
    0.50% on next $500 million    
    0.45% on next $500 million    
    0.40% on the balance    
  Client #2   0.65% on 1st $25 million     0.619        0.750   
    0.60% on next $75 million    
    0.55% on the balance    

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. In addition, to the extent that certain of these sub-advisory relationships are with affiliates of the Adviser, the fee schedules may not reflect arm’s length bargaining or negotiations.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationships are paying a lower fee than the Portfolio, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such lower fees due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolio and the sub-advisory relationships. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee than it would be willing to manage investment company assets.

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

6   The advisory fee of AllianceBernstein Cap Fund, Inc.—Small Cap Growth Portfolio is based on the mutual fund’s net assets at the end of each quarter and is paid to the Adviser quarterly, in contrast to the Portfolio, whose advisory fee is based on the Portfolio’s average daily net assets and is paid on a monthly basis.

 

7   The client is an affiliate of the Adviser.

 

8   Assets are aggregated with other similar managed accounts of the client for purposes of calculating the investment advisory fee.

 

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    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.9 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.10

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee11
    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median
(%)

     Rank  

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

     0.750         0.900         3/12   

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU12 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)13

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

     1.370         1.030         12/12         0.964         37/37   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’

 

9   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

10   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

11   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services.

 

12   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

13   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

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SMALL CAP GROWTH PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $44,470 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $389,165 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.14

The Portfolio effected brokerage transactions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli15 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.16 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of

 

14   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

15   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

16   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.17 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance rankings of the Portfolio18 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)19 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.20

 

      Portfolio
Return
      

PG

Median (%)

      

PU

Median (%)

      

PG

Rank

      

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     46.51           37.06           35.89           1/12           1/37   

3 year

     10.82           7.67           8.27           4/11           9/35   

5 year

     5.44           2.97           4.93           3/11           13/34   

10 year

     5.95           3.12           5.35           1/9           8/26   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)21 versus its benchmarks.22 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.23

 

     Periods Ending February 28, 2011
Annualized Performance
 
    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year
(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    10
Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
            Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

    46.51        10.82        5.44        5.95        4.99        22.81        0.27         10   

Russell 2000 Growth Index

    36.33        7.13        4.56        5.04        5.25        22.66        0.23         10   

Inception Date: August 5, 1996

  

            

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

 

17   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

18   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

19   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG and EU.

 

20   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

21   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

22   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

23   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

25


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each class’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,038.80       $ 4.15         0.82

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $   1,000       $   1,020.73       $   4.11         0.82
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,037.40       $ 5.41         1.07

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.49       $ 5.36         1.07

 

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO

TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS *

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Bristow Group, Inc.

   $ 7,964,222           1.5

Health Net, Inc.

     7,746,526           1.4   

NV Energy, Inc.

     7,257,480           1.4   

NiSource, Inc.

     7,241,400           1.3   

Aircastle Ltd.

     7,129,560           1.3   

Portland General Electric Co.

     7,128,960           1.3   

CapitalSource, Inc.

     7,109,835           1.3   

UGI Corp.

     7,018,989           1.3   

PolyOne Corp.

     7,003,269           1.3   

Entertainment Properties Trust

     6,995,660           1.3   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   72,595,901           13.4

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION **

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR   U.S. $ VALUE      PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Financials

  $   138,034,038         25.5

Consumer Discretionary

    85,875,764         15.9   

Information Technology

    66,291,494         12.3   

Utilities

    52,577,416         9.7   

Energy

    48,654,936         9.0   

Industrials

    43,889,049         8.1   

Materials

    35,762,150         6.6   

Consumer Staples

    28,896,374         5.4   

Health Care

    28,679,817         5.3   

Short-Term Investments

    11,889,452         2.2   
   

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments

  $ 540,550,490         100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–97.5%

   

FINANCIALS –25.5%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–0.9%

   

MF Global Holdings Ltd.(a)

    604,000      $ 4,674,960   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–6.6%

   

Associated Banc-Corp

    225,400        3,133,060   

CapitalSource, Inc.

    1,102,300        7,109,835   

Comerica, Inc.

    180,600        6,243,342   

Hancock Holding Co.

    143,750        4,453,375   

Popular, Inc.(a)

    1,737,957        4,796,761   

Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc.

    414,464        3,315,712   

Umpqua Holdings Corp.

    297,040        3,436,753   

Webster Financial Corp.

    158,200        3,325,364   
   

 

 

 
      35,814,202   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–6.8%

   

Amtrust Financial Services, Inc.

    229,600        5,230,288   

Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd.

    198,200        5,099,686   

Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd.

    155,500        6,426,815   

PartnerRe Ltd.

    64,000        4,406,400   

Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd.

    181,250        6,024,750   

Reinsurance Group of America, Inc.–Class A

    81,600        4,966,176   

Unum Group

    178,400        4,545,632   
   

 

 

 
      36,699,747   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITs)–8.0%

   

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc.

    344,900        6,635,876   

BRE Properties, Inc.

    139,850        6,975,718   

Camden Property Trust

    107,600        6,845,512   

DiamondRock Hospitality Co.

    541,600        5,811,368   

Entertainment Properties Trust

    149,800        6,995,660   

Glimcher Realty Trust

    581,900        5,528,050   

Sunstone Hotel Investors, Inc.(a)

    498,530        4,621,373   
   

 

 

 
      43,413,557   
   

 

 

 

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT & DEVELOPMENT–0.7%

   

Forest City Enterprises, Inc.(a)

    215,300        4,019,651   
   

 

 

 

THRIFTS & MORTGAGE FINANCE–2.5%

   

First Niagara Financial Group, Inc.

    368,100        4,858,920   

People’s United Financial, Inc.

    277,100        3,724,224   

Washington Federal, Inc.

    293,900        4,828,777   
   

 

 

 
      13,411,921   
   

 

 

 
      138,034,038   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–15.8%

   

AUTO COMPONENTS–3.5%

   

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

    203,500        4,027,265   

Dana Holding Corp.(a)

    318,200        5,823,060   
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

Lear Corp.

    73,100      $ 3,909,388   

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.(a)

    90,100        5,318,603   
   

 

 

 
      19,078,316   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–0.9%

   

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.(a)

    132,700        4,994,828   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–2.4%

   

American Greetings Corp.

    275,500        6,623,020   

NVR, Inc.(a)

    8,810        6,391,479   
   

 

 

 
      13,014,499   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–1.4%

   

Gannett Co., Inc.

    325,800        4,665,456   

Meredith Corp.

    94,000        2,926,220   
   

 

 

 
      7,591,676   
   

 

 

 

MULTILINE RETAIL–2.0%

   

Big Lots, Inc.(a)

    160,700        5,327,205   

Saks, Inc.(a)

    475,800        5,314,686   
   

 

 

 
      10,641,891   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–4.6%

   

ANN, Inc.(a)

    231,091        6,031,475   

Foot Locker, Inc.

    280,450        6,663,492   

GameStop Corp.–Class A(a)

    118,500        3,160,395   

Office Depot, Inc.(a)

    908,300        3,833,026   

Signet Jewelers Ltd.(a)

    116,900        5,472,089   
   

 

 

 
      25,160,477   
   

 

 

 

TEXTILES, APPAREL & LUXURY GOODS–1.0%

   

Jones Group, Inc. (The)

    497,150        5,394,077   
   

 

 

 
      85,875,764   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–12.2%

   

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–0.6%

   

Arris Group, Inc.(a)

    295,900        3,435,399   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–0.6%

   

NCR Corp.(a)

    176,700        3,337,863   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, INSTRUMENTS & COMPONENTS–6.7%

   

Anixter International, Inc.

    47,300        3,090,582   

Arrow Electronics, Inc.(a)

    130,200        5,403,300   

AU Optronics Corp. (Sponsored ADR)(a)

    867,542        5,968,689   

Avnet, Inc.(a)

    206,500        6,583,220   

Flextronics International Ltd.(a)

    936,500        6,012,330   

Insight Enterprises, Inc.(a)

    391,600        6,935,236   

TTM Technologies, Inc.(a)

    155,752        2,495,147   
   

 

 

 
      36,488,504   
   

 

 

 

 

3


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

IT SERVICES–2.2%

   

Amdocs Ltd.(a)

    171,600      $ 5,214,924   

Convergys Corp.(a)

    498,700        6,802,268   
   

 

 

 
      12,017,192   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–1.1%

   

Entegris, Inc.(a)

    569,400        5,762,328   
   

 

 

 

SOFTWARE–1.0%

   

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.(a)

    343,600        5,250,208   
   

 

 

 
      66,291,494   
   

 

 

 

UTILITIES–9.7%

   

ELECTRIC UTILITIES–4.8%

   

NV Energy, Inc.

    472,800        7,257,480   

PNM Resources, Inc.

    316,200        5,293,188   

Portland General Electric Co.

    282,000        7,128,960   

Unisource Energy Corp.

    172,900        6,454,357   
   

 

 

 
      26,133,985   
   

 

 

 

GAS UTILITIES–2.3%

   

Atmos Energy Corp.

    164,000        5,453,000   

UGI Corp.

    220,100        7,018,989   
   

 

 

 
      12,471,989   
   

 

 

 

MULTI-UTILITIES–2.6%

   

CMS Energy Corp.

    341,800        6,730,042   

NiSource, Inc.

    357,600        7,241,400   
   

 

 

 
      13,971,442   
   

 

 

 
      52,577,416   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–9.0%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–3.1%

   

Bristow Group, Inc.

    156,100        7,964,222   

Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc.(a)

    137,800        2,281,968   

Helmerich & Payne, Inc.

    98,900        6,539,268   
   

 

 

 
      16,785,458   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–5.9%

   

Forest Oil Corp.(a)

    199,400        5,325,974   

Petroleum Development Corp.(a)

    109,300        3,269,163   

Quicksilver Resources, Inc.(a)

    317,800        4,690,728   

Stone Energy Corp.(a)

    156,700        4,762,113   

Swift Energy Co.(a)

    155,300        5,788,031   

Teekay Corp.

    97,600        3,013,888   

Tesoro Corp.(a)

    219,100        5,019,581   
   

 

 

 
      31,869,478   
   

 

 

 
      48,654,936   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIALS–8.1%

   

AIRLINES–0.7%

   

Alaska Air Group, Inc.(a)

    57,400        3,929,604   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMERCIAL SERVICES & SUPPLIES–0.8%

   

Avery Dennison Corp.

    114,300      $ 4,415,409   
   

 

 

 

CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING–0.8%

   

Tutor Perini Corp.

    220,000        4,219,600   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT–2.6%

   

EnerSys(a)

    105,600        3,634,752   

General Cable Corp.(a)

    125,600        5,348,048   

Thomas & Betts Corp.(a)

    90,650        4,881,503   
   

 

 

 
      13,864,303   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–1.3%

   

Briggs & Stratton Corp.

    107,100        2,127,006   

Mueller Industries, Inc.

    132,500        5,023,075   
   

 

 

 
      7,150,081   
   

 

 

 

TRADING COMPANIES & DISTRIBUTORS–1.9%

   

Aircastle Ltd.

    560,500        7,129,560   

WESCO International, Inc.(a)

    58,800        3,180,492   
   

 

 

 
      10,310,052   
   

 

 

 
      43,889,049   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–6.6%

   

CHEMICALS–3.6%

   

Arch Chemicals, Inc.

    111,167        3,828,591   

Huntsman Corp.

    258,750        4,877,438   

OM Group, Inc.(a)

    91,947        3,736,726   

PolyOne Corp.

    452,700        7,003,269   
   

 

 

 
      19,446,024   
   

 

 

 

METALS & MINING–3.0%

   

Commercial Metals Co.

    415,400        5,960,990   

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co.

    120,325        5,974,136   

Steel Dynamics, Inc.

    269,600        4,381,000   
   

 

 

 
      16,316,126   
   

 

 

 
      35,762,150   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER STAPLES–5.3%

   

BEVERAGES–1.3%

   

Constellation Brands, Inc.–Class A(a)

    332,025        6,912,761   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–4.0%

   

Bunge Ltd.

    70,300        4,847,185   

Dole Food Co., Inc.(a)

    388,500        5,252,520   

Smithfield Foods, Inc.(a)

    230,200        5,034,474   

Tyson Foods, Inc.–Class A

    352,700        6,849,434   
   

 

 

 
      21,983,613   
   

 

 

 
      28,896,374   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE–5.3%

   

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES–1.2%

   

Kinetic Concepts, Inc.(a)

    116,100        6,690,843   
   

 

 

 

 

4


 
 
    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company  

Shares

    U.S. $ Value  
   

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–3.2%

   

Health Net, Inc.(a)

    241,400      $ 7,746,526   

LifePoint Hospitals, Inc.(a)

    159,445        6,231,111   

Molina Healthcare, Inc.(a)

    119,437        3,239,131   
   

 

 

 
      17,216,768   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–0.9%

   

Par Pharmaceutical Cos., Inc.(a)

    144,700        4,772,206   
   

 

 

 
      28,679,817   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $462,332,313)

      528,661,038   
   

 

 

 
Company  

Principal
Amount
(000)

    U.S. $ Value  
   

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–2.2%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–2.2%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $11,889,452)

  $   11,889      $ 11,889,452   
   

 

 

 

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–99.7%
(cost $474,221,765)

      540,550,490   

Other assets less
liabilities–0.3%

      1,589,977   
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 542,140,467   
   

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

ADR – American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $474,221,765)

   $ 540,550,490   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     4,182,346   

Dividends and interest receivable

     605,611   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     490,102   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     545,828,549   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     2,846,295   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     338,027   

Advisory fee payable

     326,635   

Distribution fee payable

     73,068   

Administrative fee payable

     20,335   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     134   

Accrued expenses

     83,588   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     3,688,082   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 542,140,467   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 31,007   

Additional paid-in capital

     457,373,260   

Undistributed net investment income

     1,278,539   

Accumulated net realized gain on investment transactions

     17,128,936   

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     66,328,725   
  

 

 

 
   $ 542,140,467   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class      Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

     $ 178,619,273           10,187,498         $ 17.53   

B

     $   363,521,194           20,819,006         $   17.46   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends

   $ 3,864,506   

Interest

     420   
  

 

 

 
     3,864,926   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     2,070,486   

Distribution fee—Class B

     465,652   

Transfer agency—Class A

     750   

Transfer agency—Class B

     1,555   

Custodian

     55,655   

Printing

     42,643   

Administrative

     36,313   

Legal

     18,026   

Audit

     17,396   

Directors’ fees

     1,915   

Miscellaneous

     6,787   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     2,717,178   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     1,147,748   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     50,763,680   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     (31,415,485
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment transactions

     19,348,195   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 20,495,943   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


 
SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 1,147,748      $ 1,839,633   

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     50,763,680        35,733,642   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     (31,415,485     70,526,935   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     20,495,943        108,100,210   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (823,225     (697,881

Class B

     (889,880     (881,228

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net increase (decrease)

     (29,146,301     47,057,185   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase (decrease)

     (10,363,463     153,578,286   

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     552,503,930        398,925,644   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,278,539 and $1,843,896, respectively)

   $ 542,140,467      $ 552,503,930   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

8


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

9


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

     $ 528,661,038       $ –0 –     $             –0 –     $ 528,661,038   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       11,889,452         –0 –       11,889,452   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       528,661,038         11,889,452         –0 –       540,550,490   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 528,661,038       $ 11,889,452       $ –0 –     $ 540,550,490   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .75% of the first $2.5 billion, .65% of the next $2.5 billion and .60% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to 1.20% and 1.45% of daily average net assets for Class A and Class B shares, respectively (the “Expense Caps”). The Expense Caps will expire on May 1, 2012 and may be extended by the Adviser for additional one-year terms. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, there were no expenses waived by the Adviser.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,313.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $526,709, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

 

11


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 171,682,079       $ 204,962,278   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 80,853,756   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (14,525,031
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 66,328,725   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The Portfolio did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    904,794        2,995,169        $ 16,012,620      $ 45,129,753   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    45,183        44,622          823,225        697,881   

Shares redeemed

    (1,031,641     (2,785,219       (18,138,614     (40,334,023
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease)

    (81,664     254,572        $ (1,302,769   $ 5,493,611   
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    1,550,707        7,472,466        $ 27,170,462      $ 110,787,329   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    49,029        56,525          889,880        881,228   

Shares redeemed

    (3,217,422     (4,905,646       (55,903,874     (70,104,983
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease)

    (1,617,686     2,623,345        $ (27,843,532   $ 41,563,574   
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

     2010     2009  

Distributions paid from:

    

Ordinary income

   $ 1,579,109      $ 3,067,524   

Long-term capital gains

     –0 –      14,053,685   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

     1,579,109        17,121,209   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

   $ 1,579,109      $ 17,121,209   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 1,843,897   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (31,347,683 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     95,457,149 (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 65,953,363   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $31,347,683 which expires in the year 2017.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years,

 

13


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

14


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.95        $13.41        $9.92        $17.11        $18.08        $17.06   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .05        .08        .08        .13        .11        .20   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions

    .61        3.52        4.01        (5.63     .36        2.14   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .66        3.60        4.09        (5.50     .47        2.34   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.08     (.06     (.12     (.11     (.17     (.08

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      (.48     (1.58     (1.27     (1.24
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.08     (.06     (.60     (1.69     (1.44     (1.32
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $17.53        $16.95        $13.41        $9.92        $17.11        $18.08   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    3.88     26.91     42.86     (35.58 )%      1.71     14.42
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $178,619        $174,068        $134,291        $99,957        $146,350        $159,804   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .82 %(c)      .84 %(d)      .87     .86     .83     .86 %(d) 

Net investment income

    .59 %(c)      .56 %(d)      .70     .95     .59     1.15 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     54     58     49     32     46

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 16.

 

15


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $16.87        $13.36        $9.87        $17.03        $18.00        $16.99   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           
Income From Investment Operations

  

         

Net investment income (a)

    .03        .05        .05        .10        .07        .16   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment transactions

    .60        3.50        4.01        (5.61     .37        2.13   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .63        3.55        4.06        (5.51     .44        2.29   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.04     (.04     (.09     (.07     (.14     (.04

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      (.48     (1.58     (1.27     (1.24
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.04     (.04     (.57     (1.65     (1.41     (1.28
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $17.46        $16.87        $13.36        $9.87        $17.03        $18.00   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    3.74     26.59     42.66     (35.75 )%      1.53     14.20
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $363,521        $378,436        $264,635        $202,997        $294,664        $251,412   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.07 %(c)      1.09 %(d)      1.12     1.11     1.08     1.11 %(d) 

Net investment income

    .33 %(c)      .31 %(d)      .42     .72     .35     .91 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    31     54     58     49     32     46

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(c)   Annualized.

 

(d)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

See notes to financial statements.

 

16


 
SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

17


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Russell 2500 Value Index and the Russell 2500 Index, in each case for the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the indices) the since inception period (May 2001 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was 1st out of 4 of the Performance Group and in the 3rd quintile of the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, 2nd out of 4 of the Performance Group and in the 1st quintile of the Performance Universe for the 3-year period, 1st out of 3 of the Performance Group and in the 1st quintile of the Performance Universe for the 5-year period. The Portfolio lagged the indices in the 1-year period but outperformed the indices in the 3-, 5-year and the since inception periods. Based on their review, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s relative performance over time had been satisfactory.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio pays a higher fee rate than certain registered investment companies with an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that are sub-advised by the Adviser. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The directors noted that because of the small number of funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category, at the request of the Adviser and the Fund’s Senior Officer, Lipper had expanded the Expense Group of the Fund to include peers that had a similar (but not the same) Lipper investment objective/classification. The Expense Universe for the Portfolio had also been expanded by Lipper pursuant to Lipper’s standard guidelines and not at the request of the Adviser or the Fund’s Senior Officer. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year expense ratio. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 75 basis points was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors noted that the administrative expense reimbursement was 1 basis point in the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year, and that as a result the rate of total compensation received by the Adviser from the Portfolio pursuant to the Advisory Agreement was essentially the same as the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio, which had been capped by the Adviser (although the expense ratio was currently lower than the cap), was higher than the Expense Group median and lower than the Expense Universe median. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

19


 
SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2, The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Specialty

 

75 bp on first $2.5 billion

65 bp on next $2.5 billion
60 bp on the balance

  $ 571.7      Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $69,371 (0.01% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser has agreed to waive that portion of its management fees and/or reimburse the Portfolio for that portion of its total operating expenses to the degree necessary to limit the Portfolio’s expense ratios to the amounts set forth below for the Portfolio’s fiscal year. The waiver is terminable by the Adviser on May 1st of each year upon at least 60 days written notice. It should be noted that the Portfolio was operating below its expense caps for the most recent fiscal year; accordingly the expense limitation undertaking of the Portfolio was of no effect. In addition, set forth below are the gross expense ratios of the Portfolio for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Expense Cap Pursuant
to Expense Limitation
Undertaking
 

Gross

Expense

Ratio

  Fiscal Year End

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

  Class A    1.20%   0.84%   December 31
  Class B    1.45%   1.09%  

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

21


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

   $ 571.7       Small & Mid Cap Value Schedule      0.585      0.750
      95 bp on first $25m      
      75 bp on the next $25m      
      65 bp on the next $50m      
      55 bp on the balance      
      Minimum account size $25m      

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Small/Mid Cap Value Fund, Inc. (“Small/Mid Cap Value Fund, Inc.”), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedules of Small/Mid Cap Value Fund, Inc., and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio    AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
   Fee Schedule   

ABMF

Effective
Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

   Small/Mid Cap Value
Fund, Inc.
   0.75% on first $2.5 billion      0.750      0.750
      0.65% on next $2.5 billion      
      0.60% on the balance      

The Adviser provides sub-advisory services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The Adviser charges the fees set forth below for the sub-advisory relationships that have a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown are the Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedules of the sub-advisory relationships been applicable to the Portfolio based on March 31, 2011 net assets.

 

Portfolio        Fee Schedule  

Effective

Sub-Adv.

Fee (%)

    Portfolio
Advisory
Fee (%)
 

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

  Client #1  

0.50% on the first $250 million

0.40% on the balance

    0.472%        0.750%   
 

Client #2

 

0.95% on the first $25 million

0.75% on the next $25 million

0.65% on the next $50 million

0.55% on the balance

    0.585%        0.750%   

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationships are paying a lower fee than the Portfolio, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such lower fees due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolio and the sub-advisory relationships. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee than it would be willing to manage investment company assets.

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.6 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.7

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

The Portfolio’s original EG had an insufficient number of peers in Lipper’s view. Consequently, Lipper expanded the Portfolio’s EG to include peers that have similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.8

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee9
    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

     Rank  

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

     0.750         0.758         7/14   

However, because Lipper had expanded the EG of the Portfolio, under Lipper’s standard guidelines, the Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”) was also expanded to include the universes of those peers that had a similar but not the same Lipper investment classification/objective.10 A “normal” EU will include funds that have the same investment classification/objective as the subject Portfolio.11

Set forth below is a comparison of the Portfolio’s total expense ratio and the medians of the Portfolio’s EG and EU. The Portfolio’s total expense ratio ranking is also shown in the table below.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)12

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

     0.842         0.821         10/14         0.887         22/53   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

 

6   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

7   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

8   The Portfolio’s EG includes the Portfolio, three other VIP Mid-Cap Value funds (“MCVE”) and ten VIP Mid-Cap Growth funds (“MCGE”).

 

9   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services. In addition, the contractual management fee does not reflect any advisory fee waiver or expense cap that would effectively reduce the actual management fee.

 

10   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG peer when selecting an EU peer. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

11   The Portfolio’s EU includes the Portfolio, EG and all other VIP MCVE and VIP MCGE funds, excluding outliers.

 

12   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

23


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio increased slightly during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $802,011 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $928,345 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.13

The Portfolio did not effect brokerage transactions and pay commissions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

 

13   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli14 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.15 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.16 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3 and 5 year performance rankings of the Portfolio17 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)18 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.19

 

      Portfolio
Return
       PG
Median (%)
       PU
Median (%)
       PG
Rank
       PU
Rank
 

1 year

     29.00           25.54           28.94           1/4           6/13   

3 year

     9.12           7.42           5.44           2/4           2/13   

5 year

     6.47           4.76           3.79           1/3           1/11   

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)20 versus its benchmarks.21 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.22

 

    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year

(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
          Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

Small/Mid Cap Value Portfolio

    29.00        9.12        6.47        10.69        24.14        0.29         5   

Russell 2500 Value Index

    29.55        5.82        3.70        8.86        21.89        0.17         5   

Russell 2500 Index

    32.74        6.62        4.72        7.69        N/A        N/A         N/A   

Inception Date: May 2, 2001

  

          

  

 

14   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

15   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

16   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

17   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

18   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are not identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG and EU as the criteria for including/excluding a fund in/from a PG/PU is somewhat different from that of an EG/EU.

 

19   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

20   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

21   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

22   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

25


SMALL/MID CAP VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

26


AllianceBernstein

Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

 

 

LOGO   AllianceBernstein Value Portfolio

 

June 30, 2011

 

Semi-Annual Report

 

LOGO

 

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT


 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

  Ø  

Are Not FDIC Insured

  Ø  

May Lose Value

  Ø  

Are Not Bank Guaranteed

You may obtain a description of the Fund’s proxy voting policies and procedures, and information regarding how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30, without charge. Simply visit AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

The Fund files its complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the Commission for the first and third quarters of each fiscal year on Form N-Q. The Fund’s Forms N-Q are available on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov. The Fund’s Forms N-Q may also be reviewed and copied at the Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, DC; information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling (800) SEC-0330.

AllianceBernstein® and the AB Logo are registered trademarks and service marks used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


 
VALUE PORTFOLIO  
FUND EXPENSES (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

As a shareholder of the Fund, you incur two types of costs: (1) transaction costs, including sales charges (loads) on purchase payments, contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions and (2) ongoing costs, including management fees; distribution (12b-1) fees; and other Fund expenses. This example is intended to help you understand your ongoing costs (in dollars) of investing in the Fund and to compare these costs with the ongoing costs of investing in other mutual funds.

The Example is based on an investment of $1,000 invested at the beginning of the period and held for the entire period as indicated below.

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information in this line, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number in the first line under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds. The estimate of expenses does not include fees or other expenses of any variable insurance product. If such expenses were included, the estimate of expenses you paid during the period would be higher and your ending account value would be lower.

Please note that the expenses shown in the table are meant to highlight your ongoing costs only and do not reflect any transactional costs, such as sales charges (loads), or contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions. Therefore, the second line of each classes’ table is useful in comparing ongoing costs only, and will not help you determine the relative total costs of owning different funds. In addition, if these transactional costs were included, your costs would have been higher.

 

      Beginning
Account Value
January 1, 2011
     Ending
Account Value
June 30, 2011
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 

Class A

           

Actual

   $   1,000       $   1,049.40       $   3.51         0.69

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,021.37       $ 3.46         0.69
           

Class B

           

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,048.30       $ 4.77         0.94

Hypothetical (5% return before expenses)

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.13       $ 4.71         0.94

 

 

 

*   Expenses are equal to each classes’ annualized expense ratios, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

1


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS*  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

 

COMPANY    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF NET ASSETS  

Pfizer, Inc.

   $ 8,378,020           4.2

Johnson & Johnson

     6,951,340           3.4   

AT&T, Inc.

     6,863,085           3.4   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

     6,574,964           3.3   

Chevron Corp.

     6,304,092           3.1   

Citigroup, Inc.

     5,862,912           2.9   

ConocoPhillips

     5,165,553           2.6   

General Electric Co.

     5,046,936           2.5   

Marathon Oil Corp.

     4,351,368           2.2   

Hewlett-Packard Co.

     4,346,160           2.2   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 
     $   59,844,430           29.8

SECTOR DIVERSIFICATION**

June 30, 2011 (unaudited)

 

 

SECTOR    U.S. $ VALUE        PERCENT OF TOTAL INVESTMENTS  

Health Care

   $ 35,036,066           17.0

Consumer Discretionary

     34,291,520           16.6   

Energy

     32,398,079           15.7   

Financials

     29,185,879           14.2   

Consumer Staples

     16,588,238           8.0   

Information Technology

     15,568,970           7.6   

Industrials

     15,166,854           7.4   

Telecommunication Services

     8,565,188           4.2   

Materials

     6,239,946           3.0   

Utilities

     5,225,734           2.5   

Short-Term Investments

     7,734,668           3.8   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total Investments

   $   206,001,142           100.0

 

 

 

*   Long-term investments.

 

**   The Portfolio’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

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. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

2


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

COMMON STOCKS–98.9%

   
   

HEALTH CARE–17.5%

   

BIOTECHNOLOGY–2.1%

   

Amgen, Inc.(a)

    33,600      $ 1,960,560   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

    52,300        2,165,743   
   

 

 

 
      4,126,303   
   

 

 

 

HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS & SERVICES–4.3%

   

 

Aetna, Inc.

    12,200        537,898   

Health Net, Inc.(a)

    28,800        924,192   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

    61,900        3,192,802   

WellPoint, Inc.

    51,600        4,064,532   
   

 

 

 
      8,719,424   
   

 

 

 

PHARMACEUTICALS–11.1%

   

AstraZeneca PLC (Sponsored ADR)

    70,000        3,504,900   

Johnson & Johnson

    104,500        6,951,340   

Merck & Co., Inc.

    95,100        3,356,079   

Pfizer, Inc.

    406,700        8,378,020   
   

 

 

 
      22,190,339   
   

 

 

 
      35,036,066   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY–17.1%

   

AUTO COMPONENTS–1.5%

   

Lear Corp.

    32,600        1,743,448   

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.(a)

    21,700        1,280,951   
   

 

 

 
      3,024,399   
   

 

 

 

AUTOMOBILES–1.6%

   

Ford Motor Co.(a)

    73,100        1,008,049   

General Motors Co.(a)

    71,600        2,173,776   
   

 

 

 
      3,181,825   
   

 

 

 

HOTELS, RESTAURANTS & LEISURE–0.3%

   

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.(a)

    14,700        553,308   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD DURABLES–1.2%

  

 

Fortune Brands, Inc.

    13,600        867,272   

NVR, Inc.(a)

    2,000        1,450,960   
   

 

 

 
      2,318,232   
   

 

 

 

MEDIA–8.2%

   

CBS Corp.–Class B

    18,300        521,367   

Comcast Corp.–Class A

    167,600        4,246,984   

DIRECTV(a)

    48,500        2,464,770   

Gannett Co., Inc.

    85,200        1,220,064   

McGraw-Hill Cos., Inc. (The)

    28,100        1,177,671   

News Corp.–Class A

    149,100        2,639,070   

Time Warner Cable, Inc.–Class A

    26,400        2,060,256   

Viacom, Inc.–Class B

    42,800        2,182,800   
   

 

 

 
      16,512,982   
   

 

 

 

SPECIALTY RETAIL–4.3%

   

Foot Locker, Inc.

    40,900        971,784   

GameStop Corp.–Class A(a)

    24,700        658,749   

Gap, Inc. (The)

    80,600        1,458,860   

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   
   

Limited Brands, Inc.

    34,000      $ 1,307,300   

Lowe’s Cos., Inc.

    100,700        2,347,317   

Office Depot, Inc.(a)

    180,800        762,976   

Ross Stores, Inc.

    14,900        1,193,788   
   

 

 

 
      8,700,774   
   

 

 

 
      34,291,520   
   

 

 

 

ENERGY–16.1%

   

ENERGY EQUIPMENT & SERVICES–2.6%

   

Ensco PLC (Sponsored ADR)

    39,400        2,100,020   

McDermott International, Inc.(a)

    49,900        988,519   

Nabors Industries Ltd.(a)

    70,500        1,737,120   

Transocean Ltd./Switzerland

    7,800        503,568   
   

 

 

 
      5,329,227   
   

 

 

 

OIL, GAS & CONSUMABLE FUELS–13.5%

   

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

    21,600        1,658,016   

Chevron Corp.

    61,300        6,304,092   

ConocoPhillips

    68,700        5,165,553   

Devon Energy Corp.

    49,600        3,908,976   

Hess Corp.

    36,600        2,736,216   

Marathon Oil Corp.

    82,600        4,351,368   

Nexen, Inc. (New York)

    69,700        1,568,250   

Tesoro Corp.(a)

    27,500        630,025   

Total SA (Sponsored ADR)

    5,300        306,552   

Valero Energy Corp.

    17,200        439,804   
   

 

 

 
      27,068,852   
   

 

 

 
      32,398,079   
   

 

 

 

FINANCIALS–14.5%

   

CAPITAL MARKETS–0.4%

   

Morgan Stanley

    31,900        734,019   
   

 

 

 

COMMERCIAL BANKS–2.2%

  

 

Regions Financial Corp.

    36,700        227,540   

Wells Fargo & Co.

    150,100        4,211,806   
   

 

 

 
      4,439,346   
   

 

 

 

CONSUMER FINANCE–0.3%

   

Capital One Financial Corp.

    13,400        692,378   
   

 

 

 

DIVERSIFIED FINANCIAL SERVICES–8.0%

   

Bank of America Corp.

    198,400        2,174,464   

Citigroup, Inc.

    140,800        5,862,912   

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

    160,600        6,574,964   

Moody’s Corp.

    37,500        1,438,125   
   

 

 

 
      16,050,465   
   

 

 

 

INSURANCE–3.6%

   

ACE Ltd.

    26,700        1,757,394   

Allstate Corp. (The)

    17,800        543,434   

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc.(a)

    14,400        1,114,416   

Chubb Corp.

    15,500        970,455   

Travelers Cos., Inc. (The)

    49,400        2,883,972   
   

 

 

 
      7,269,671   
   

 

 

 
      29,185,879   
   

 

 

 

 

3


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

CONSUMER STAPLES–8.3%

   

BEVERAGES–0.8%

   

Constellation Brands, Inc.–
Class A(a)

    74,900      $ 1,559,418   
   

 

 

 

FOOD & STAPLES RETAILING–1.5%

   

Kroger Co. (The)

    108,600        2,693,280   

Safeway, Inc.

    12,200        285,114   
   

 

 

 
      2,978,394   
   

 

 

 

FOOD PRODUCTS–2.7%

   

Bunge Ltd.

    33,300        2,296,035   

ConAgra Foods, Inc.

    34,400        887,864   

Smithfield Foods, Inc.(a)

    26,400        577,368   

Tyson Foods, Inc.–Class A

    86,100        1,672,062   
   

 

 

 
      5,433,329   
   

 

 

 

HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS–1.9%

  

 

Procter & Gamble Co. (The)

    58,600        3,725,202   
   

 

 

 

TOBACCO–1.4%

   

Altria Group, Inc.

    109,500        2,891,895   
   

 

 

 
      16,588,238   
   

 

 

 

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY–7.8%

   

COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT–1.6%

   

Cisco Systems, Inc.

    96,500        1,506,365   

Motorola Solutions, Inc.(a)

    34,600        1,592,984   
   

 

 

 
      3,099,349   
   

 

 

 

COMPUTERS & PERIPHERALS–3.2%

   

Dell, Inc.(a)

    123,700        2,062,079   

Hewlett-Packard Co.

    119,400        4,346,160   
   

 

 

 
      6,408,239   
   

 

 

 

ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT, INSTRUMENTS & COMPONENTS–0.9%

   

Corning, Inc.

    97,100        1,762,365   
   

 

 

 

SEMICONDUCTORS & SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT–2.1%

   

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (ADR)

    85,600        482,784   

Applied Materials, Inc.

    113,700        1,479,237   

Intel Corp.

    61,300        1,358,408   

Lam Research Corp.(a)

    22,100        978,588   
   

 

 

 
      4,299,017   
   

 

 

 
      15,568,970   
   

 

 

 

Company

  Shares     U.S. $ Value  
   

INDUSTRIALS–7.6%

   

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE–2.9%

   

Northrop Grumman Corp.

    59,600      $ 4,133,260   

Raytheon Co.

    32,600        1,625,110   
   

 

 

 
      5,758,370   
   

 

 

 

AIRLINES–0.7%

   

Delta Air Lines, Inc.(a)

    151,500        1,389,255   
   

 

 

 

INDUSTRIAL CONGLOMERATES–2.5%

   

General Electric Co.

    267,600        5,046,936   
   

 

 

 

MACHINERY–1.5%

   

Ingersoll-Rand PLC

    49,052        2,227,451   

Parker Hannifin Corp.

    8,300        744,842   
   

 

 

 
      2,972,293   
   

 

 

 
      15,166,854   
   

 

 

 

TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–4.3%

   

DIVERSIFIED TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES–4.3%

   

AT&T, Inc.

    218,500        6,863,085   

CenturyLink, Inc.

    42,100        1,702,103   
   

 

 

 
      8,565,188   
   

 

 

 

MATERIALS–3.1%

   

CHEMICALS–2.1%

   

Dow Chemical Co. (The)

    83,500        3,006,000   

LyondellBasell Industries NV

    32,200        1,240,344   
   

 

 

 
      4,246,344   
   

 

 

 

METALS & MINING–1.0%

   

Alcoa, Inc.

    125,700        1,993,602   
   

 

 

 
      6,239,946   
   

 

 

 

UTILITIES–2.6%

   

ELECTRIC UTILITIES–0.8%

  

American Electric Power Co., Inc.

    8,900        335,352   

NV Energy, Inc.

    83,400        1,280,190   
   

 

 

 
      1,615,542   
   

 

 

 

GAS UTILITIES–0.2%

   

UGI Corp.

    12,800        408,192   
   

 

 

 

MULTI-UTILITIES–1.6%

   

CMS Energy Corp.

    63,800        1,256,222   

DTE Energy Co.

    38,900        1,945,778   
   

 

 

 
      3,202,000   
   

 

 

 
      5,225,734   
   

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $174,473,653)

      198,266,474   
   

 

 

 

 

4


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Company

  Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  
   

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS–3.8%

   

TIME DEPOSIT–3.8%

   

State Street Time Deposit
0.01%, 7/01/11
(cost $7,734,668)

  $ 7,735      $ 7,734,668   
   

 

 

 
   

TOTAL INVESTMENTS–102.7%
(cost $182,208,321)

      206,001,142   

Other assets less liabilities–(2.7)%

      (5,460,133
   

 

 

 

NET ASSETS–100.0%

    $ 200,541,009   
   

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

Glossary:

ADR—American Depositary Receipt

See notes to financial statements.

 

5


VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

ASSETS

  

Investments in securities, at value (cost $182,208,321)

   $ 206,001,142   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     2,652,684   

Dividends and interest receivable

     246,009   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     28,583   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     208,928,418   
  

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

  

Payable for investment securities purchased

     8,115,360   

Advisory fee payable

     89,621   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     57,830   

Distribution fee payable

     40,406   

Administrative fee payable

     20,219   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     133   

Accrued expenses

     63,840   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     8,387,409   
  

 

 

 

NET ASSETS

   $ 200,541,009   
  

 

 

 

COMPOSITION OF NET ASSETS

  

Capital stock, at par

   $ 19,834   

Additional paid-in capital

     257,137,006   

Undistributed net investment income

     1,162,413   

Accumulated net realized loss on investment and foreign currency transactions

     (81,571,111

Net unrealized appreciation on investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     23,792,867   
  

 

 

 
   $ 200,541,009   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—1 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class    Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

A

   $ 1,637,709           160,706         $ 10.19   

B

   $   198,903,300           19,673,473         $   10.11   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

6


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS  
Six Months Ended June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INVESTMENT INCOME

  

Dividends (net of foreign taxes withheld of $2,396)

   $   2,227,078   

Interest

     119   
  

 

 

 
     2,227,197   
  

 

 

 

EXPENSES

  

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     575,237   

Distribution fee—Class B

     259,407   

Transfer agency—Class A

     12   

Transfer agency—Class B

     1,586   

Custodian

     41,268   

Administrative

     36,381   

Printing

     28,417   

Legal

     18,100   

Audit

     17,376   

Directors’ fees

     1,805   

Miscellaneous

     2,730   
  

 

 

 

Total expenses

     982,319   
  

 

 

 

Net investment income

     1,244,878   
  

 

 

 

REALIZED AND UNREALIZED GAIN (LOSS) ON INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

  

Net realized gain on:

  

Investment transactions

     13,733,755   

Foreign currency transactions

     53   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of:

  

Investments

     (4,725,811

Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (4
  

 

 

 

Net gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     9,007,993   
  

 

 

 

NET INCREASE IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

   $ 10,252,871   
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

7


 
VALUE PORTFOLIO
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET  ASSETS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
 

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN NET ASSETS FROM OPERATIONS

    

Net investment income

   $ 1,244,878      $ 2,309,084   

Net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     13,733,808        1,628,615   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities

     (4,725,815     19,775,497   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     10,252,871        23,713,196   

DIVIDENDS TO SHAREHOLDERS FROM

    

Net investment income

    

Class A

     (22,448     (31,891

Class B

     (2,297,210     (3,592,985

CAPITAL STOCK TRANSACTIONS

    

Net decrease

     (21,620,936     (21,280,738
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total decrease

     (13,687,723     (1,192,418

NET ASSETS

    

Beginning of period

     214,228,732        215,421,150   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including undistributed net investment income of $1,162,413 and $2,237,193, respectively)

   $ 200,541,009      $ 214,228,732   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

8


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
June 30, 2011 (unaudited)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE A: Significant Accounting Policies

The AllianceBernstein Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is a series of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”). The Portfolio’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Portfolio is diversified as defined under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Fund was incorporated in the State of Maryland on November 17, 1987, as an open-end series investment company. The Fund offers fourteen separately managed pools of assets which have differing investment objectives and policies. The Portfolio offers Class A and Class B shares. Both classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidating and other rights, except that Class B shares bear a distribution expense and have exclusive voting rights with respect to the Class B distribution plan.

The Portfolio offers and sells its shares only to separate accounts of certain life insurance companies for the purpose of funding variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance policies. Sales are made without a sales charge at the Portfolio’s net asset value per share.

The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Portfolio securities are valued at their current market value determined on the basis of market quotations or, if market quotations are not readily available or are deemed unreliable, at “fair value” as determined in accordance with procedures established by and under the general supervision of the Fund’s Board of Directors.

In general, the market value of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows. Securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the mean of the closing bid and asked prices on such day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed put or call options are valued at the last sale price. If there has been no sale on that day, such securities will be valued at the closing bid prices on that day; open futures contracts and options thereon are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; securities traded in the over-the-counter market (“OTC”) are valued at the mean of the current bid and asked prices as reported by the National Quotation Bureau or other comparable sources; U.S. government securities and other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are valued at amortized cost if their original maturity was 60 days or less; or by amortizing their fair value as of the 61st day prior to maturity if their original term to maturity exceeded 60 days; fixed-income securities, including mortgage backed and asset backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker/dealers. In cases where broker/dealer quotes are obtained, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security; and OTC and other derivatives are valued on the basis of a quoted bid price or spread from a major broker/dealer in such security.

Securities for which market quotations are not readily available (including restricted securities) or are deemed unreliable are valued at fair value. Factors considered in making this determination may include, but are not limited to, information obtained by contacting the issuer, analysts, analysis of the issuer’s financial statements or other available documents. In addition, the Portfolio may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Portfolio values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to the possibility that significant events, including broad market moves, may have occurred in the interim and may materially affect the value of those securities. To account for this, the Portfolio may frequently value many of its foreign equity securities using fair value prices based on third party vendor modeling tools to the extent available.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement

 

9


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

date. The U.S. GAAP disclosure requirements establish 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. 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 Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’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 Portfolio’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Portfolio’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of June 30, 2011:

 

       Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  

Investments in Securities

             

Assets:

             

Common Stocks

     $ 198,266,474       $ –0 –     $             –0 –     $ 198,266,474   

Short-Term Investments

       –0 –       7,734,668         –0 –       7,734,668   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

       198,266,474         7,734,668         –0 –       206,001,142   

Other Financial Instruments*

       –0 –       –0 –       –0 –       –0 – 
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     $ 198,266,474       $ 7,734,668       $ –0 –     $ 206,001,142   
    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

*   Other financial instruments are derivative instruments, such as futures, forwards and swap contracts, which are valued at the unrealized appreciation/depreciation on the instrument.

3. Currency Translation

Assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies and commitments under forward currency exchange contracts are translated into U.S. dollars at the mean of the quoted bid and asked prices of such currencies against the U.S. dollar. Purchases and sales of portfolio securities are translated into U.S. dollars at the rates of exchange prevailing when such securities were acquired or sold. Income and expenses are translated into U.S. dollars at rates of exchange prevailing when accrued.

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Portfolio’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments and foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required. The Portfolio may be subject to taxes imposed by countries in which it invests. Such taxes are generally based on income and/or capital gains earned or repatriated. Taxes are accrued and applied to net investment income, net realized gains and net unrealized appreciation/depreciation as such income and/or gains are earned.

In accordance with U.S. GAAP requirements regarding accounting for uncertainties in income taxes, management has analyzed the Portfolio’s tax positions taken or expected to be taken on federal and state income tax returns for all open tax years (the current and the prior three tax years) and has concluded that no provision for income tax is required in the Portfolio’s financial statements.

 

10


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Portfolio is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold. Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Portfolio amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Portfolio are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Portfolio represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. Expenses of the Fund are charged to each Portfolio in proportion to net assets. Realized and unrealized gains and losses are allocated among the various share classes based on respective net assets.

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B: Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .55% of the first $2.5 billion, .45% of the next $2.5 billion and .40% in excess of $5 billion, of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to 1.20% and 1.45% of daily average net assets for Class A and Class B shares, respectively (the “Expense Caps”). The Expense Caps will expire on May 1, 2012 and then may be extended by the Adviser for additional one year terms. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, there was no such reimbursement.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the six months ended June 30, 2011, such fee amounted to $36,381.

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011 amounted to $118,098, of which $0 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $668 for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE C: Distribution Plan

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Plan (the “Plan”) for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Board of Directors currently limits payments under the Plan to .25% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The Plan provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities.

The Portfolio is not obligated under the Plan to pay any distribution and servicing fees in excess of the amounts set forth above. The purpose of the payments to the Distributor under the Plan is to compensate the Distributor for its distribution services with respect to the sale of the Portfolio’s Class B shares. Since the Distributor’s compensation is not directly tied to its expenses, the amount of compensation received by it under the Plan during any year may be more or less than its actual expenses. For this reason, the Plan is characterized by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission as being of the “compensation” variety.

In the event that the Plan is terminated or not continued, no distribution or servicing fees (other than current amounts accrued but not yet paid) would be owed by the Portfolio to the Distributor.

The Plan also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Portfolio’s shares.

 

11


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE D: Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended June 30, 2011 were as follows:

 

       Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding U.S. government securities)

     $ 59,658,189       $ 82,730,675   

U.S. government securities

       –0 –       –0 – 

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was substantially the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 29,361,136   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (5,568,315
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 23,792,821   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Portfolio may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio, to replace more traditional direct investments, or to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

The Portfolio did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

2. Currency Transactions

The Portfolio may invest in non-U.S. Dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Portfolio may seek investment opportunities by taking long or short positions in currencies through the use of currency-related derivatives, including forward currency exchange contracts, futures and options on futures, swaps, and other options. The Portfolio may enter into transactions for investment opportunities when it anticipates that a foreign currency will appreciate or depreciate in value but securities denominated in that currency are not held by the Portfolio and do not present attractive investment opportunities. Such transactions may also be used when the Adviser believes that it may be more efficient than a direct investment in a foreign currency-denominated security. The Portfolio may also conduct currency exchange contracts on a spot basis (i.e., for cash at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange market for buying or selling currencies).

NOTE E: Capital Stock

Each class consists of 500,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

    SHARES         AMOUNT  
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December  31,
2010
        Six Months Ended
June 30, 2011
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
December  31,
2010
 

Class A

         

Shares sold

    3,917        36,873        $ 40,287      $ 329,740   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    2,126        3,375          22,448        31,891   

Shares redeemed

    (18,812     (44,449       (192,273     (394,896
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (12,769     (4,201     $ (129,538   $ (33,265
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Class B

         

Shares sold

    90,887        1,427,671        $ 932,006      $ 11,929,808   

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

    219,199        383,047          2,297,210        3,592,985   

Shares redeemed

    (2,432,498     (4,052,496       (24,720,614     (36,770,266
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net decrease

    (2,122,412     (2,241,778     $ (21,491,398   $ (21,247,473
 

 

 

   

 

 

     

 

 

   

 

 

 

NOTE F: Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involve special risks which include changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the possibility of future political and economic developments which could adversely affect the value of such securities. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies or foreign governments and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of comparable U.S. companies or of the U.S. government.

 

12


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Currency Risk—This is the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Portfolio’s investments or reduce the returns of the Portfolio. For example, the value of the Portfolio’s investments in foreign currency-denominated securities or currencies may decrease if the U.S. Dollar is strong (i.e., gaining value relative to other currencies) and other currencies are weak (i.e., losing value relative to the U.S. Dollar). Currency markets are generally not as regulated as securities markets. Independent of the Portfolio’s investments denominated in foreign currencies, the Portfolio’s positions in various foreign currencies may cause the Portfolio to experience investment losses due to the changes in exchange rates and interest rates.

Derivatives Risk—The Portfolio may enter into derivative transactions such as forwards, options, futures and swaps. Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Portfolio, and subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments. Derivatives may result in significant losses, including losses that are far greater than the value of the derivatives reflected in the statement of assets and liabilities.

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Portfolio enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Portfolio’s maximum exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Portfolio has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Portfolio has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G: Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Portfolio, participate in a $140 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Portfolio did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

NOTE H: Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending December 31, 2011 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were as follows:

 

       2010        2009  

Distributions paid from:

         

Ordinary income

     $ 3,624,876         $ 6,231,779   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

     $ 3,624,876         $ 6,231,779   
    

 

 

      

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2010, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 2,220,260   

Accumulated capital and other losses

     (94,935,123 )(a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

     28,165,819  (b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ (64,549,044
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   On December 31, 2010, the Portfolio had a net capital loss carryforward for federal income tax purposes of $94,935,123 of which $13,938,472 expires in the year 2016 and $80,996,651 expires in the year 2017. During the fiscal year, the Portfolio utilized $510,492 of capital loss carryforwards.

 

(b)   The difference between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) is attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales and return of capital distributions received from underlying securities.

On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “Act”) was enacted, which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of regulated investment companies. One important change addresses the recognition of capital loss carryforwards. Under the Act, the Portfolio will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital loss carryforwards will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses rather than being considered all short-term capital loss (as permitted under previous regulation).

 

13


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

NOTE I: Subsequent Events

Management has evaluated subsequent events for possible recognition or disclosure in the financial statements through the date the financial statements are issued. Management has determined that there are no material events that would require disclosure in the Portfolio’s financial statements through this date.

 

14


 
VALUE PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS A  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $9.84        $8.97        $7.67        $13.92        $15.08        $12.94   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .07        .12        .16        .27        .32        .26   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .42        .93        1.41        (5.62     (.85     2.42   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .49        1.05        1.57        (5.35     (.53     2.68   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.14     (.18     (.27     (.28     (.21     (.16

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (.62     (.42     (.38
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.14     (.18     (.27     (.90     (.63     (.54
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $10.19        $9.84        $8.97        $7.67        $13.92        $15.08   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    4.94     11.81 %*      21.12 %*      (40.83 )%*      (3.95 )%      21.32
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $1,638        $1,707        $1,594        $1,490        $3,305,460        $1,043,677   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .69 %(c)      .71 %(d)      .70     .67     .65     .69 %(d) 

Net investment income

    1.43 %(c)      1.37 %(d)      2.09     2.46     2.17     1.89 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    29     73     64     33     20     17

 

 

 

See footnote summary on page 16.

 

15


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

Selected Data For A Share Of Capital Stock Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    CLASS B  
    Six Months
Ended
June 30, 2011

(unaudited)
    Year Ended December 31,  
      2010     2009     2008     2007     2006  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $9.75        $8.90        $7.59        $13.79        $14.95        $12.84   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (a)

    .06        .10        .14        .24        .27        .22   

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) on investment and foreign currency transactions

    .42        .91        1.41        (5.58     (.83     2.40   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in net asset value from operations

    .48        1.01        1.55        (5.34     (.56     2.62   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Less: Dividends and Distributions

           

Dividends from net investment income

    (.12     (.16     (.24     (.24     (.18     (.13

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    –0 –      –0 –      –0 –      (.62     (.42     (.38
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total dividends and distributions

    (.12     (.16     (.24     (.86     (.60     (.51
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $10.11        $9.75        $8.90        $7.59        $13.79        $14.95   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value (b)

    4.83     11.42 %*      21.04 %*      (41.01 )%*      (4.16 )%      21.03
           

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

Net assets, end of period (000’s omitted)

    $198,903        $212,522        $213,827        $197,080        $329,217        $308,635   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .94 %(c)      .96 %(d)      .95     .92     .90     .94 %(d) 

Net investment income

    1.19 %(c)      1.12 %(d)      1.84     2.24     1.82     1.64 %(d) 

Portfolio turnover rate

    29     73     64     33     20     17

 

 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Total return does not reflect (i) insurance company’s separate account related expense charges and (ii) the deductions of taxes that a shareholder would pay on Portfolio distributions or the redemption of Portfolio shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(c)   Annualized.

 

(d)   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Portfolio resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Portfolio’s performance for the years ended December 31, 2010, December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008 by 0.01%, 0.02% and 0.02%, respectively.

See notes to financial statements.

 

16


 
VALUE PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

INFORMATION REGARDING THE REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE PORTFOLIO’S ADVISORY AGREEMENT

The disinterested directors (the “directors”) of AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) unanimously approved the continuance of the Fund’s Advisory Agreement with the Adviser in respect of AllianceBernstein Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) at a meeting held on May 3-5, 2011.

Prior to approval of the continuance of the Advisory Agreement, the directors had requested from the Adviser, and received and evaluated, extensive materials. They reviewed the proposed continuance of the Advisory Agreement with the Adviser and with experienced counsel who are independent of the Adviser, who advised on the relevant legal standards. The directors also reviewed an independent evaluation prepared by the Fund’s Senior Officer (who is also the Fund’s Independent Compliance Officer) of the reasonableness of the advisory fee in the Advisory Agreement wherein the Senior Officer concluded that the contractual fee for the Portfolio was reasonable. The directors also discussed the proposed continuance in private sessions with counsel and the Fund’s Senior Officer.

The directors considered their knowledge of the nature and quality of the services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio gained from their experience as directors or trustees of most of the registered investment companies advised by the Adviser, their overall confidence in the Adviser’s integrity and competence they have gained from that experience, the Adviser’s initiative in identifying and raising potential issues with the directors and its responsiveness, frankness and attention to concerns raised by the directors in the past, including the Adviser’s willingness to consider and implement organizational and operational changes designed to improve investment results and the services provided to the AllianceBernstein Funds. The directors noted that they have four regular meetings each year, at each of which they receive presentations from the Adviser on the investment results of the Portfolio and review extensive materials and information presented by the Adviser.

The directors also considered all other factors they believed relevant, including the specific matters discussed below. In their deliberations, the directors did not identify any particular information that was all-important or controlling, and different directors may have attributed different weights to the various factors. The directors determined that the selection of the Adviser to manage the Portfolio and the overall arrangements between the Portfolio and the Adviser, as provided in the Advisory Agreement, including the advisory fee, were fair and reasonable in light of the services performed, expenses incurred and such other matters as the directors considered relevant in the exercise of their business judgment. The material factors and conclusions that formed the basis for the directors’ determinations included the following:

Nature, Extent and Quality of Services Provided

The directors considered the scope and quality of services provided by the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement, including the quality of the investment research capabilities of the Adviser and the other resources it has dedicated to performing services for the Portfolio. They also noted the professional experience and qualifications of the Portfolio’s portfolio management team and other senior personnel of the Adviser. The directors also considered that the Advisory Agreement provides that the Portfolio will reimburse the Adviser for the cost to it of providing certain clerical, accounting, administrative and other services provided at the Portfolio’s request by employees of the Adviser or its affiliates. Requests for these reimbursements are approved by the directors on a quarterly basis and, to the extent requested and paid, result in a higher rate of total compensation from the Portfolio to the Adviser than the fee rate stated in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the methodology used to determine the reimbursement amounts had been reviewed by an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The quality of administrative and other services, including the Adviser’s role in coordinating the activities of the Portfolio’s other service providers, also were considered. The directors concluded that, overall, they were satisfied with the nature, extent and quality of services provided to the Portfolio under the Advisory Agreement.

Costs of Services Provided and Profitability

The directors reviewed a schedule of the revenues, expenses and related notes indicating the profitability of the Portfolio to the Adviser for calendar years 2009 and 2010 that had been prepared with an expense allocation methodology arrived at in consultation with an independent consultant retained by the Fund’s Senior Officer. The directors reviewed the assumptions and methods of allocation used by the Adviser in preparing fund-specific profitability data and noted that there are a number of potentially acceptable allocation methodologies for information of this type. The directors noted that the profitability information reflected all revenues and expenses of the Adviser’s relationship with the Portfolio, including those relating to its subsidiaries which provide transfer agency, distribution and brokerage services to the Portfolio. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of profitability between fund advisory contracts because comparative information is not generally publicly available and is affected by numerous factors. The directors focused on the profitability of the Adviser’s

 

17


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
CONTINUANCE DISCLOSURE  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

relationship with the Portfolio before taxes and distribution expenses. The directors concluded that they were satisfied that the Adviser’s level of profitability from its relationship with the Portfolio was not unreasonable.

Fall-Out Benefits

The directors considered the benefits to the Adviser and its affiliates from their relationships with the Portfolio other than the fees and expense reimbursements payable under the Advisory Agreement, including but not limited to benefits relating to soft dollar arrangements (whereby the Adviser receives brokerage and research services from many of the brokers that execute purchases and sales of securities on behalf of its clients on an agency basis), 12b-1 fees and sales charges received by the Fund’s principal underwriter (which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser) in respect of the Portfolio’s Class B shares, transfer agency fees paid by the Portfolio to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Adviser, and brokerage commissions paid by the Portfolio to brokers affiliated with the Adviser. The directors recognized that the Adviser’s profitability would be somewhat lower without these benefits. The directors also understood that the Adviser also might derive reputational and other benefits from its association with the Portfolio.

Investment Results

In addition to the information reviewed by the directors in connection with the meeting, the directors receive detailed performance information for the Portfolio at each regular Board meeting during the year. The directors noted that the Portfolio is a clone of another fund managed by the Adviser (the “Corresponding Fund”) and is managed to track the investment performance of its Corresponding Fund, although investment results may differ between the Portfolio and its Corresponding Fund due to differences in their expense ratios and other factors. At the May 2011 meeting, the directors reviewed information prepared by Lipper showing the performance of the Class A Shares of the Portfolio as compared with that of a group of similar funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Group”) and as compared with that of a broader array of funds selected by Lipper (the “Performance Universe”), and information prepared by the Adviser showing performance of the Class A Shares as compared with the Russell 1000 Value Index (the “Index”), in each case for the 1-, 3- and 5-year periods ended February 28, 2011 and (in the case of comparisons with the Index) the since inception period (July 2002 inception). The directors noted that the Portfolio was in the 4th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 1-year period, and in the 5th quintile of the Performance Group and the Performance Universe for the 3- and 5-year periods. The Portfolio lagged the Index in all periods. The directors also reviewed performance information for periods ended March 31, 2011 (for which the data was not limited to Class A Shares), and noted that in the 3-month period the Portfolio had outperformed the Lipper Large Cap Value Funds Average and the Index. The directors also took into account the Adviser’s recently implemented organizational and investment process changes that are intended to improve the investment performance of its equity services. Based on their review and their discussion with the Adviser of the reasons for the Portfolio’s performance, the directors retained confidence in the Adviser’s ability to advise the Portfolio. The directors determined to continue to closely monitor the Portfolio’s performance.

Advisory Fees and Other Expenses

The directors considered the advisory fee rate paid by the Portfolio to the Adviser and information prepared by Lipper concerning advisory fee rates paid by other funds in the same Lipper category as the Portfolio at a common asset level. The directors recognized that it is difficult to make comparisons of advisory fees because there are variations in the services that are included in the fees paid by other funds.

The directors also considered the fees the Adviser charges other clients pursuing an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. For this purpose, they reviewed the relevant fee information from the Adviser’s Form ADV and the evaluation from the Fund’s Senior Officer disclosing the institutional fee schedule for institutional products managed by the Adviser that have an investment style substantially similar to that of the Portfolio. The directors noted that the institutional fee schedule had breakpoints at lower asset levels than those in the fee schedule applicable to the Portfolio and that the application of the institutional fee schedule to the level of assets of the Portfolio would result in a fee rate lower than that in the Portfolio’s Advisory Agreement. The directors noted that the Adviser may, in some cases, agree to fee rates with large institutional clients that are lower than those reviewed by the directors and that they had previously discussed with the Adviser its policies in respect of such arrangements. The directors also reviewed information that indicated that the Portfolio pays a higher fee rate than certain registered investment companies with an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio that are sub-advised by the Adviser. The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio is the same as that for its Corresponding Fund.

 

18


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser reviewed with the directors the significantly greater scope of the services it provides to the Portfolio relative to institutional clients and sub-advised funds. The Adviser also noted that because mutual funds are constantly issuing and redeeming shares, they are more difficult to manage than an institutional account, where the assets tend to be relatively stable. In light of the substantial differences in services rendered by the Adviser to institutional clients as compared to funds such as the Portfolio, the directors considered these fee comparisons inapt and did not place significant weight on them in their deliberations.

The directors also considered the total expense ratio of the Class A shares of the Portfolio in comparison to the fees and expenses of funds within two comparison groups created by Lipper: an Expense Group and an Expense Universe. Lipper described an Expense Group as a representative sample of funds similar to the Portfolio and an Expense Universe as a broader group, consisting of all funds in the investment classification/objective with a similar load type as the Portfolio. The Class A expense ratio of the Portfolio was based on the Portfolio’s latest fiscal year. The directors noted that it was likely that the expense ratios of some funds in the Portfolio’s Lipper category were lowered by waivers or reimbursements by those funds’ investment advisers, which in some cases might be voluntary or temporary. The directors view the expense ratio information as relevant to their evaluation of the Adviser’s services because the Adviser is responsible for coordinating services provided to the Portfolio by others.

The directors noted that, at the Portfolio’s current size, its contractual effective advisory fee rate of 55 basis points, plus the 3 basis point impact of the administrative expense reimbursement in the latest fiscal year, was lower than the Expense Group median. The directors also noted that the Portfolio’s total expense ratio, which had been capped by the Adviser (although the expense ratio was currently lower than the cap), was lower than the Expense Group and the Expense Universe medians. The directors concluded that the Portfolio’s expense ratio was satisfactory.

Economies of Scale

The directors noted that the advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio contains breakpoints that reduce the fee rates on assets above specified levels. The directors took into consideration prior presentations by an independent consultant on economies of scale in the mutual fund industry and for the AllianceBernstein Funds, and by the Adviser concerning certain of its views on economies of scale. The directors also had requested and received from the Adviser certain updates on economies of scale at the May 2011 meetings. The directors believe that economies of scale may be realized (if at all) by the Adviser across a variety of products and services, and not only in respect of a single fund. The directors noted that there is no established methodology for establishing breakpoints that give effect to fund-specific services provided by a fund’s adviser and to the economies of scale that an adviser may realize in its overall mutual fund business or those components of it which directly or indirectly affect a fund’s operations. The directors observed that in the mutual fund industry as a whole, as well as among funds similar to the Portfolio, there is no uniformity or pattern in the fees and asset levels at which breakpoints (if any) apply. The directors also noted that the advisory agreements for many funds do not have breakpoints at all. Having taken these factors into account, the directors concluded that the Portfolio’s breakpoint arrangements would result in a sharing of economies of scale in the event the Portfolio’s net assets exceed a breakpoint in the future.

 

19


 
VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund (the “Fund”), in respect of AllianceBernstein Value Portfolio (the “Portfolio”).2, The evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement was prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund, for the Directors of the Fund, as required by a September 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors of the Fund to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Portfolio which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

  1. Advisory fees charged to institutional and other clients of the Adviser for like services;

 

  2. Advisory fees charged by other mutual fund companies for like services;

 

  3. Costs to the Adviser and its affiliates of supplying services pursuant to the advisory agreement, excluding any intra-corporate profit;

 

  4. Profit margins of the Adviser and its affiliates from supplying such services;

 

  5. Possible economies of scale as the Portfolio grows larger; and

 

  6. Nature and quality of the Adviser’s services including the performance of the Portfolio.

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arms length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., (No. 08-586), 130 U.S. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arms-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”

PORTFOLIO ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pay the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.

 

Category   Advisory Fee Based on % of
Average Daily Net Assets
 

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    Portfolio

Value

 

55 bp on first $2.5 billion

45 bp on next $2.5 billion

40 bp on the balance

  $ 215.0      Value Portfolio

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Portfolio. During the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $71,710 (0.03% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets) for such services.

 

1   It should be noted that the information in the fee summary was completed on April 21, 2011 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 3-5, 2011.

 

2   Future references to the Fund and the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.” References in the fee summary pertaining to performance and expense ratio rankings refer to the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

20


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

The Adviser has agreed to waive that portion of its management fees and/or reimburse the Portfolio for that portion of its total operating expenses to the degree necessary to limit the Portfolio’s expense ratios to the amounts set forth below for the Portfolio’s fiscal year. The waiver is terminable by the Adviser on May 1st of each year upon at least 60 days written notice. It should be noted that the Portfolio was operating below its expense caps for the most recent fiscal year; accordingly the expense limitation undertaking of the Portfolio was of no effect. In addition, set forth below are the gross expense ratios of the Portfolio for the most recently completed fiscal year:

 

Portfolio   Expense Cap Pursuant
to Expense Limitation
Undertaking
  Gross
Expense
Ratio
    Fiscal Year End

Value Portfolio

  Class A    1.20%     0.71%      December 31
  Class B    1.45%     0.96%     

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

The advisory fees charged to investment companies which the Adviser manages and sponsors are normally higher than those charged to similar sized institutional accounts, including pension plans and sub-advised investment companies. The fee differential reflects, among other things, different services provided to such clients, and different liabilities assumed. Services provided by the Adviser to the Portfolio that are not provided to non-investment company clients and sub-advised investment companies include providing office space and personnel to serve as Fund Officers, who among other responsibilities make the certifications required under the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, and coordinating with and monitoring the Portfolio’s third party service providers such as Fund counsel, auditors, custodians, transfer agents and pricing services. The accounting, administrative, legal and compliance requirements for the Portfolio are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Portfolio’s investors is more time consuming and labor intensive compared to institutional clients since the Adviser needs to communicate with a more extensive network of financial intermediaries and shareholders. The Adviser also believes that it incurs substantial entrepreneurial risk when offering a new mutual fund, since establishing a new mutual fund requires a large upfront investment, and it may take a long time for the fund to achieve profitability since the fund must be priced to scale from inception in order to be competitive and assets are acquired one account at a time. In addition, managing the cash flow of an investment company may be more difficult than managing that of a stable pool of assets, such as an institutional account with little cash movement in either direction, particularly, if a fund is in net redemption and the Adviser is frequently forced to sell securities to raise cash for redemptions. However, managing a fund with positive cash flow may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. In recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts that have a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio.3 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory

 

3   It should be noted that the Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

 

21


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio versus the Portfolio’s advisory fee based on March 31, 2011 net assets:4

 

Portfolio   

Net Assets

03/31/11

($MIL)

    

AllianceBernstein (“AB”)
Institutional (“Inst.”)

Fee Schedule

  

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

    

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

 

Value Portfolio

   $ 215.0      

Diversified Value Schedule

65 bp on first $25m

50 bp on the next $25m

40 bp on the next $50m

30 bp on the next $100m

25 bp on the balance

Minimum account size $25m

     0.384      0.550

The Adviser also manages AllianceBernstein Value Fund, Inc. (“Value Fund, Inc.”), a retail mutual fund, which has a substantially similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth below are the fee schedule of Value Fund, Inc. and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedule of the retail mutual fund been applicable to the Portfolio:5

 

Portfolio   AllianceBernstein
Mutual Fund
  Fee Schedule  

ABMF

Effective
Fee

   

Portfolio

Advisory
Fee

 

Value Portfolio

  Value Fund, Inc.  

0.55% on first $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

    0.550%        0.550%   

The Adviser provides sub-advisory services to certain other investment companies managed by other fund families that have an investment style similar to that of the Portfolio. The Adviser charges the fees set forth below for the sub-advisory relationships that have a somewhat similar investment style as the Portfolio. Also shown are the Portfolio’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the fee schedules of the sub-advisory relationships been applicable to the Portfolio based on March 31, 2011 net assets.

 

Portfolio        Fee Schedule  

Effective

Sub-Adv.

Fee (%)

    Portfolio
Advisory
Fee (%)
 

Value Portfolio

  Client # 16  

0.49% on the first $100 million

0.30% on the next $100 million

0.25% on the balance

    0.385        0.550   
  Client # 26   0.30% of the average daily net assets     0.300        0.550   
  Client # 3  

0.25% on the first $500 million

0.20% on the balance

    0.250        0.550   
  Client # 4  

0.15% on the first $1 billion

0.14% on the next $2 billion

0.12% on the next $2 billion

0.10% on the balance

+/- Performance Fee (v. R`000V)

    0.150 7      0.550   

 

4   The Adviser has indicated that with respect to institutional accounts with assets greater than $300 million, it will negotiate a fee schedule. Discounts that are negotiated vary based upon each client relationship.

 

5   It should be noted that the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Portfolio has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AllianceBernstein Mutual Fund.

 

6   The client is an affiliate of the Adviser.

 

7   The sub-advised fund’s sub-advisory fee shown does not include any performance fee adjustment.

 

22


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

It is fair to note that the services the Adviser provides pursuant to sub-advisory agreements are generally confined to the services related to the investment process; in other words, they are not as comprehensive as the services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. In addition, to the extent that certain of these sub-advisory relationships are with affiliates of the Adviser, the fee schedules may not reflect arm’s length bargaining or negotiations.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationships are paying a lower fee than the Portfolios, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such lower fees due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors between the Portfolio and the sub-advisory relationship. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to manage a sub-advisory relationship for a different fee than it would be willing to manage investment company assets.

II. MANAGEMENT FEES CHARGED BY OTHER MUTUAL FUND COMPANIES FOR LIKE SERVICES.

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.8 Lipper’s analysis included the Portfolio’s ranking with respect to the contractual management fee relative to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”) at the approximate current asset level of the Portfolio.9

Lipper describes an EG as a representative sample of comparable funds. Lipper’s standard methodology for screening funds to be included in an EG entails the consideration of several fund criteria, including fund type, investment classification/objective, load type and similar 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees, asset (size) comparability, expense components and attributes. An EG will typically consist of seven to twenty funds.

 

Portfolio    Contractual
Management
Fee10
    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

     Rank  

Value Portfolio

     0.550         0.750         1/15   

Lipper also analyzed the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Portfolio’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU11 is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.

 

Portfolio   

Expense

Ratio
(%)12

    

Lipper Exp.

Group

Median (%)

    

Lipper

Group

Rank

    

Lipper Exp.

Universe

Median (%)

    

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 

Value Portfolio

     0.709         0.745         4/15         0.782         10/36   

Based on this analysis, the Portfolio has a more favorable ranking on a management fee basis than on a total expense ratio basis.

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE ADVISORY FEE ARRANGEMENT, EXCLUDING ANY INTRA-CORPORATE PROFIT.

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems.

 

8   It should be noted that the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of the negotiations conducted at arms length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

9   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Portfolio’s contractual management fee rate at a hypothetical asset level. The hypothetical asset level is based on the combined net assets of all classes of the Portfolio, rounded up to the next $25 million. Lipper’s total expense ratio information is based on the most recent annual report except as otherwise noted. A ranking of “1” would mean that the Portfolio had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

10   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Portfolio to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services. In addition, the contractual management fee does not reflect any advisory fee waiver or expense cap that would effectively reduce the actual management fee.

 

11   Except for asset (size) comparability, Lipper uses the same criteria for selecting an EG when selecting an EU. Unlike the EG, the EU allows for the same adviser to be represented by more than just one fund.

 

12   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

23


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

IV. PROFIT MARGINS OF THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES FOR SUPPLYING SUCH SERVICES.

The Portfolio’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Portfolio decreased during calendar year 2010, relative to 2009.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

The Portfolio has adopted a distribution plan for Class B shares pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 40 Act. Under the distribution plan, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to its principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), at an annual rate of up to 0.50% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The current annual rate that the Portfolio pays to ABI for 12b-1 fees is 0.25%. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), the Portfolio’s distributor and an affiliate of the Adviser, received $512,092 in Rule 12b-1 fees.

The Adviser may compensate ABI for payments made by ABI to brokers for registration fees and services related to printing, distribution and advertising in connection with Class B shares. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, the Adviser determined that it made payments in the amount of $747,191 on behalf of the Portfolio to ABI.

Financial intermediaries, such as insurers, market and sell shares of the Portfolio and typically receive compensation from ABI, the Advisers and/or the Portfolio for selling shares of the Portfolio. These financial intermediaries receive compensation in any or all of the following forms: 12b-1 fees, defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training, additional distribution support, recordkeeping and/or administrative services. Payments related to providing contract-holder recordkeeping and/or administrative services will generally not exceed 0.35% of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio attributable to the relevant intermediary over the year.

The transfer agent of the Portfolio is AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”). During the most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received a fee of $1,385 from the Portfolio.13

The Portfolio did not effect brokerage transactions and pay commissions through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB”, during the Portfolio’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted in the future with the Portfolio would be comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients, including the Portfolio. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for the Portfolio and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Although it is clear that economies of scale may have been shared through the existence of breakpoints in the investment advisory fee schedule, it should be noted that sufficient data does not exist to evaluate the extent to which economies of scale or scope are being shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds’ shareholders. The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through fee structures, subsidies and enhancement to services. Based on some of the professional literature that has considered economies of scale in the mutual fund industry, it is thought that to the extent economies of scale exist, they may more often exist across a fund family as opposed to a specific fund. This is because the costs incurred by the Adviser, such as investment research or technology for trading or compliance systems can be spread across a greater asset base as the fund family increases in size. It is also possible that as the level of services required to

 

13   The Fund (which includes the Portfolio and other Portfolios of the Fund) paid ABIS a flat fee of $18,000 in 2010.

 

24


    AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

operate a successful investment company has increased over time, and advisory firms make such investments in their business to provide services, there may be a sharing of economies of scale without a reduction in advisory fees.

In February 2008, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli14 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.15 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.16 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

VI. NATURE AND QUALITY OF THE ADVISER’S SERVICES, INCLUDING THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PORTFOLIO

With assets under management of approximately $477 billion as of March 31, 2011, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3 and 5 year performance rankings of the Portfolio17 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)18 for the periods ended February 28, 2011.19

 

      Portfolio
Return
    

PG

Median (%)

    

PU

Median (%)

    

PG

Rank

    

PU

Rank

 

1 year

     18.56         20.05         20.01         12/15         27/36   

3 year

     –2.15         1.21         0.88         13/13         30/33   

5 year

     –0.90         2.39         2.07         12/12         28/31   

Set forth below are the 1, 3 and 5year and since inception performance returns of the Portfolio (in bold)20 versus its benchmarks.21 Portfolio and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.22

 

    

1

Year
(%)

   

3

Year

(%)

   

5

Year
(%)

    Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized      Risk
Period
(Year)
 
          Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
    

Value Portfolio

    18.56      2.15        0.90        6.17        19.75        0.06         5   

Russell 1000 Value Index

    22.16      1.17        1.57        8.25        18.83        0.06         5   

Inception Date: July 22, 2002

  

          

 

14   The Deli study was originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data.

 

15   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arms length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

16   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

17   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio. It should be noted that the performance returns of the Portfolio shown were provided by Lipper.

 

18   The Portfolio’s PG and PU are identical to the Portfolio’s respective EG and EU.

 

19   Note that the current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the fund even if a fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

20   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Portfolio.

 

21   The Adviser provided Portfolio and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2011.

 

22   Portfolio and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. A Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a portfolio’s return in excess of the riskless return by the portfolio’s standard deviation. A portfolio with a greater volatility would be regarded as more risky than a portfolio with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky portfolio. A portfolio with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be regarded as better performing than a portfolio with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

25


VALUE PORTFOLIO  
SENIOR OFFICER FEE EVALUATION  
(continued)   AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund

 

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s-length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: May 24, 2011

 

26


 

ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

Not applicable when filing a semi-annual report to shareholders.

 

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.

Not applicable when filing a semi-annual report to shareholders.

 

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

Not applicable when filing a semi-annual report to shareholders.

 

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.

Please see Schedule of Investments contained in the Report to Shareholders included under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.

 

ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Fund’s Board of Directors since the Fund last provided disclosure in response to this item.


ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

(a) The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-2(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) are effective at the reasonable assurance level based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this document.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 12. EXHIBITS.

The following exhibits are attached to this Form N-CSR:

 

Exhibit
No.

     

Description of Exhibit

12 (b) (1)

    Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

12 (b) (2)

    Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

12 (c)

    Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant): AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc.

 

By:

 

/s/ Robert M. Keith

  Robert M. Keith
  President

Date:

  August 12, 2011

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

By:

 

/s/ Robert M. Keith

  Robert M. Keith
  President

Date:

  August 12, 2011

 

By:

 

/s/ Joseph J. Mantineo

  Joseph J. Mantineo
  Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Date:

  August 12, 2011