N-CSRS 1 d865587dncsrs.htm AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND, INC. AB Large Cap Growth 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: 811-06730

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH 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

AllianceBernstein 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: July 31, 2015

Date of reporting period: January 31, 2015

 

 

 


ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.


JAN    01.31.15

LOGO

SEMI-ANNUAL REPORT

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

 


 

Investment Products Offered

 

• Are Not FDIC Insured

• May Lose Value

• Are Not Bank Guaranteed

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. For copies of our prospectus or summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, visit us online at www.abglobal.com or contact your AB representative. Please read the prospectus and/or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

This shareholder report must be preceded or accompanied by the Fund’s prospectus for individuals who are not current shareholders of the Fund.

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 AB’s website at www.abglobal.com, or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AB 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. AB publishes full portfolio holdings for the Fund monthly at www.abglobal.com.

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (ABI) is the distributor of the AB family of mutual funds. ABI is a member of FINRA and is an affiliate of AllianceBernstein L.P., the Adviser of the funds.

The [A/B] logo is service mark of AllianceBernstein and AllianceBernstein® is a registered trademark used by permission of the owner, AllianceBernstein L.P.


March 6, 2015

 

Semi-Annual Report

This report provides management’s discussion of fund performance for AB Large Cap Growth Fund (the “Fund”) for the semi-annual reporting period ended January 31, 2015. Effective January 20, 2015, the Fund’s name changed from AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Fund to AB Large Cap Growth Fund.

Investment Objective and Policies

The Fund’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital.

The Fund invests primarily in equity securities of a limited number of large, carefully selected, high-quality U.S. companies. The Fund invests primarily in the domestic equity securities of companies selected by AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) for their growth potential within various market sectors. The Fund emphasizes investments in large, seasoned companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in common stocks of large-capitalization companies.

The Adviser expects that normally the Fund’s portfolio will tend to emphasize investments in securities issued by U.S. companies, although it may invest in foreign securities.

The Fund may, at times, invest in shares of exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) in lieu of making direct investments in securities. ETFs may provide more efficient and economical exposure to the types of companies and geographic locations in which the Fund seeks to invest than direct investments.

The Fund may enter into derivatives transactions, such as options, futures contracts, forwards and swaps. The Fund may use options strategies involving the purchase and/or writing of various combinations of call and/or put options, including on individual securities and stock indices, futures contracts (including futures contracts on individual securities and stock indices) or shares of ETFs. These transactions may be used, for example, in an effort to earn extra income, to adjust exposure to individual securities or markets, or to protect all or a portion of the Fund’s portfolio from a decline in value, sometimes within certain ranges.

Investment Results

The table on page 4 shows the Fund’s performance compared to its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index, for the six- and
12-month periods ended January 31, 2015.

All share classes of the Fund outperformed the benchmark during both periods. Security selection was responsible for most of the premium during both periods, although sector allocation also contributed. During the six-month period, stock selection in consumer staples and technology boosted performance; stock selection in industrials and energy offset some of the gains. During the 12-month period, stock selection in health care and consumer staples contributed to performance; stock selection in industrials and financials detracted.

The Fund did not utilize derivatives during the six- or 12-month periods.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       1   


Market Review and Investment Strategy

U.S. equity markets advanced for much of 2014 as long-duration, quality growth companies, as measured by high return on assets, met with considerable success in the latter half of the year. Investors grew increasingly confident that the U.S. economy was strengthening, buoyed by encouraging domestic data, strong corporate earnings and a slew of mergers and acquisitions activity. Investors focused on lower-volatility stocks during the second half of the year, as markets grew more turbulent due to growing concerns about the global economic outlook and falling crude oil prices. Though the U.S. Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) ended its quantitative easing program in October after gradually reducing its monthly government bond purchases during the course of the year,

investors remained upbeat about U.S. stocks, as the Fed’s repeated commitment to its ultralow interest rate policy until at least mid-2015 allayed market anxiety about a premature end to the central bank’s stimulus campaign. In January 2015, investor anxiety about the consequences of a stronger U.S. dollar and falling crude oil prices drove U.S. markets lower.

The Large Cap Growth Investment Team follows a bottom-up stock picking methodology that seeks to identify companies that consistently demonstrate high and persistent profitability and strong growth characteristics, as measured by return on assets, and revenue and earnings growth. The Fund is conservatively positioned amid the current uncertainty in the global macro environment.

 

2     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


DISCLOSURES AND RISKS

Benchmark Disclosure

The unmanaged Russell 1000® Growth Index does not reflect fees and expenses associated with the active management of a mutual fund portfolio. The Russell 1000 Index represents the performance of 1,000 large-cap companies within the U.S. An investor cannot invest directly in an index, and its results are not indicative of the performance for any specific investment, including the Fund.

A Word About Risk

Market Risk: The value of the Fund’s assets will fluctuate as the stock or bond market fluctuates. The value of its investments may decline, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, simply because of economic changes or other events that affect large portions of the market. It includes the risk that a particular style of investing, such as growth, may underperform the market generally.

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 Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”).

Foreign (Non-U.S.) Risk: Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers may involve more risk than those of U.S. issuers. These securities may fluctuate more widely in price and may be less liquid due to adverse market, economic, political, regulatory or other factors.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives may be illiquid, difficult to price, and leveraged so that small changes may produce disproportionate losses for the Fund, and may be subject to counterparty risk to a greater degree than more traditional investments.

Management Risk: The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively-managed investment fund. The Adviser will apply its investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there is no guarantee that its techniques will produce the intended results.

These risks are fully discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

An Important Note About Historical Performance

The investment return and principal value of an investment in the Fund will fluctuate, so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Performance shown on the following pages represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance information shown. You may obtain performance information current to the most recent month-end by visiting www.abglobal.com.

All fees and expenses related to the operation of the Fund have been deducted. NAV returns do not reflect sales charges; if sales charges were reflected, the Fund’s quoted performance would be lower. SEC returns reflect the applicable sales charges for each share class: a 4.25% maximum front-end sales charge for Class A shares and a 1% 1-year contingent deferred sales charge for Class C shares. Returns for the different share classes will vary due to different expenses associated with each class. Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       3   

Disclosures and Risks


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

 

        
THE FUND VS. ITS BENCHMARK
PERIODS ENDED JANUARY 31, 2015 (unaudited)
  NAV Returns      
  6 Months        12 Months       
AB Large Cap Growth Fund*         

Class A

    8.54%           16.38%     

 

Class B

    8.02%           15.38%     

 

Class C

    8.13%           15.51%     

 

Advisor Class

    8.68%           16.67%     

 

Class R

    8.33%           15.96%     

 

Class K

    8.48%           16.32%     

 

Class I

    8.67%           16.74%     

 

Russell 1000 Growth Index     6.34%           14.59%     

 

*    Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Fund resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the performance of all share classes of the Fund for the 12-month period ended January 31, 2015 by 0.05%.

 

†    Effective January 31, 2009, Class B shares are no longer available for purchase to new investors. See Note A for additional information.

 

    Please note that these share classes are for investors purchasing shares through accounts established under certain fee-based programs sponsored and maintained by certain broker-dealers and financial intermediaries, institutional pension plans and/or investment advisory clients of, and certain other persons associated with, the Adviser and its affiliates or the Fund.

 

      Please keep in mind that high, double-digit returns are highly unusual and cannot be sustained. Investors should also be aware that these returns were primarily achieved during favorable market conditions.

 

 

See Disclosures, Risks and Note about Historical Performance on page 3.

(Historical Performance continued on next page)

 

4     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Historical Performance


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

(continued from previous page)

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL RETURNS AS OF JANUARY 31, 2015 (unaudited)  
     NAV Returns     SEC Returns
(reflects applicable
sales charges)
 
    
Class A Shares     

1 Year

     16.38     11.45

5 Years

     16.16     15.15

10 Years

     9.85     9.37
    
Class B Shares     

1 Year

     15.38     11.52

5 Years

     15.14     15.14

10 Years(a)

     9.12     9.12
    
Class C Shares     

1 Year

     15.51     14.54

5 Years

     15.20     15.20

10 Years

     9.00     9.00
    
Advisor Class Shares*     

1 Year

     16.67     16.67

5 Years

     16.39     16.39

10 Years

     10.13     10.13
    
Class R Shares*     

1 Year

     15.96     15.96

5 Years

     15.80     15.80

10 Years

     9.66     9.66
    
Class K Shares*     

1 Year

     16.32     16.32

5 Years

     16.15     16.15

Since Inception

     9.99     9.99
    
Class I Shares*     

1 Year

     16.74     16.74

5 Years

     16.55     16.55

Since Inception

     10.39     10.39

The Fund’s current prospectus fee table shows the Fund’s total annual expense ratios as 1.24%, 2.03%, 2.00%, 0.99%, 1.54%, 1.24% and 0.90% for Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K and Class I shares, respectively. The Financial Highlights section of this report sets forth expense ratio data for the current reporting period; the expense ratios shown above may differ from the expense ratios in the Financial Highlights sections since they are based on different time periods.

 

(a)    Assumes conversion of Class B shares into Class A shares after eight years.

 

*   These share classes are offered at NAV to eligible investors and their SEC returns are the same as their NAV returns. Please note that these share classes are for investors purchasing shares through accounts established under certain fee-based programs sponsored and maintained by certain broker-dealers and financial intermediaries, institutional pension plans and/or investment advisory clients of, and certain other persons associated with, the Adviser and its affiliates or the Fund. The inception date for Class K and Class I shares is listed below.

 

  Inception date: 3/1/2005 for Class K and Class I shares.

See Disclosures, Risks and Note about Historical Performance on page 3.

(Historical Performance continued on next page)

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       5   

Historical Performance


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

(continued from previous page)

 

SEC AVERAGE ANNUAL RETURNS
AS OF THE MOST RECENT CALENDAR QUARTER-END
DECEMBER 31, 2014 (unaudited)
 
     SEC Returns
(reflects applicable
sales charges)
 
  
Class A Shares   

1 Year

     8.73

5 Years

     13.78

10 Years

     8.99
  
Class B Shares   

1 Year

     8.81

5 Years

     13.75

10 Years(a)

     8.74
  
Class C Shares   

1 Year

     11.78

5 Years

     13.82

10 Years

     8.62
  
Advisor Class Shares*   

1 Year

     13.87

5 Years

     14.99

10 Years

     9.75
  
Class R Shares*   

1 Year

     13.20

5 Years

     14.42

10 Years

     9.28
  
Class K Shares*   

1 Year

     13.54

5 Years

     14.76

Since Inception

     10.17
  
Class I Shares*   

1 Year

     13.95

5 Years

     15.16

Since Inception

     10.57

 

(a)    Assumes conversion of Class B shares into Class A shares after eight years.

 

  Please note that these share classes are for investors purchasing shares through accounts established under certain fee-based programs sponsored and maintained by certain broker-dealers and financial intermediaries, institutional pension plans and/or investment advisory clients of, and certain other persons associated with, the Adviser and its affiliates or the Fund. The inception date for Class K and Class I shares is listed below.

 

*   Inception date: 3/1/2005 for Class K and Class I shares.

See Disclosures, Risks and Note about Historical Performance on page 3.

 

6     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Historical Performance


EXPENSE EXAMPLE

(unaudited)

 

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, 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 under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below also 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.

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 hypothetical example 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
August 1, 2014
     Ending
Account Value
January 31, 2015
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 
Class A            

Actual

   $     1,000       $     1,085.40       $ 6.57         1.25

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,018.90       $ 6.36         1.25
Class B            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,080.20       $     10.59         2.02

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,015.02       $ 10.26         2.02
Class C            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,081.30       $ 10.39         1.98

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,015.22       $ 10.06         1.98
Advisor Class            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,086.80       $ 5.10         0.97

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.32       $ 4.94         0.97
Class R            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,083.30       $ 8.14         1.55

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,017.39       $ 7.88         1.55
Class K            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,084.80       $ 6.52         1.24

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,018.95       $ 6.31         1.24
Class I            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,086.70       $ 4.79         0.91

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.62       $ 4.63         0.91
*   Expenses are equal to the classes’ annualized expense ratios multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 184/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

**   Assumes 5% annual return before expenses.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       7   

Expense Example


PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

January 31, 2015 (unaudited)

 

PORTFOLIO STATISTICS

Net Assets ($mil): $2,177.3

 

LOGO

TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS

January 31, 2015 (unaudited)

 

Company    U.S. $ Value        Percent of
Net Assets
 

Apple, Inc.

   $   140,352,291           6.4

Google, Inc.

     81,811,479           3.8   

CVS Health Corp.

     81,094,590           3.7   

Visa, Inc. – Class A

     80,650,975           3.7   

Allergan, Inc./United States

     79,937,372           3.7   

Monster Beverage Corp.

     68,005,255           3.1   

Facebook, Inc. – Class A

     67,969,434           3.1   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

     67,836,587           3.1   

Biogen Idec, Inc.

     67,112,977           3.1   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

     66,369,970           3.1   
   $ 801,140,930           36.8

 

*   All data are as of January 31, 2015. The Fund’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments (excluding security lending collateral) and may vary over time.

 

    Long-term investments.

Please note: The Fund’s sector breakdown is classified in the above pie 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 www.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.

 

8     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Portfolio Summary and Ten Largest Holdings


PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

January 31, 2015 (unaudited)

 

Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

COMMON STOCKS – 90.9%

    

Technology – 22.3%

    

Computer Services, Software &
Systems – 12.7%

    

ANSYS, Inc.(a)

     417,500      $ 33,679,725   

Aspen Technology, Inc.(a)

     393,840        13,920,275   

F5 Networks, Inc.(a)

     150,470        16,795,461   

Facebook, Inc. – Class A(a)

     895,395        67,969,434   

FireEye, Inc.(a)

     165,733        5,603,433   

Google, Inc. – Class A(a)

     75,675        40,679,096   

Google, Inc. – Class C(a)

     76,952        41,132,383   

LinkedIn Corp. – Class A(a)

     89,500        20,114,230   

NetSuite, Inc.(a)(b)

     143,979        14,171,853   

ServiceNow, Inc.(a)

     297,103        21,658,809   
    

 

 

 
       275,724,699   
    

 

 

 

Computer Technology – 6.4%

    

Apple, Inc.

     1,197,954        140,352,291   
    

 

 

 

Electronic Components – 1.2%

    

Amphenol Corp. – Class A

     498,793        26,790,172   
    

 

 

 

Semiconductors & Component – 2.0%

    

Altera Corp.

     533,690        17,571,743   

Linear Technology Corp.

     441,653        19,847,886   

NVIDIA Corp.

     271,002        5,204,594   
    

 

 

 
       42,624,223   
    

 

 

 
       485,491,385   
    

 

 

 

Consumer Discretionary – 20.1%

    

Auto Parts – 0.9%

    

Mobileye NV(a)(b)

     484,070        19,067,517   
    

 

 

 

Cable Television Services – 2.7%

    

Comcast Corp. – Class A

     1,095,120        58,200,152   
    

 

 

 

Cosmetics – 0.6%

    

Estee Lauder Cos., Inc. (The) – Class A

     171,840        12,130,186   
    

 

 

 

Diversified Retail – 1.7%

    

Costco Wholesale Corp.

     262,150        37,484,829   
    

 

 

 

Entertainment – 1.7%

    

Walt Disney Co. (The)

     413,617        37,622,602   
    

 

 

 

Leisure Time – 2.0%

    

Priceline Group, Inc. (The)(a)

     43,330        43,740,768   
    

 

 

 

Recreational Vehicles & Boats – 1.5%

    

Polaris Industries, Inc.

     232,979        33,686,434   
    

 

 

 

Restaurants – 2.4%

    

Starbucks Corp.

     590,596        51,694,868   
    

 

 

 

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       9   

Portfolio of Investments


 

Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

Specialty Retail – 4.7%

    

Home Depot, Inc. (The)

     587,740      $ 61,371,811   

O’Reilly Automotive, Inc.(a)

     104,420        19,564,131   

Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.(a)

     163,850        21,618,369   
    

 

 

 
       102,554,311   
    

 

 

 

Textiles, Apparel & Shoes – 1.9%

    

NIKE, Inc. – Class B

     441,037        40,685,663   
    

 

 

 
       436,867,330   
    

 

 

 

Health Care – 18.2%

    

Biotechnology – 3.1%

    

Biogen Idec, Inc.(a)

     172,456        67,112,977   
    

 

 

 

Health Care Management Services – 3.1%

    

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

     638,462        67,836,587   
    

 

 

 

Health Care Services – 1.5%

    

McKesson Corp.

     87,530        18,613,255   

Premier, Inc. – Class A(a)

     409,938        13,322,985   
    

 

 

 
       31,936,240   
    

 

 

 

Health Care: Misc. – 1.3%

    

Quintiles Transnational Holdings, Inc.(a)

     448,327        27,123,784   
    

 

 

 

Medical & Dental Instruments & Supplies – 0.5%

    

Align Technology, Inc.(a)

     222,508        11,804,049   
    

 

 

 

Medical Equipment – 2.0%

    

Illumina, Inc.(a)

     23,209        4,530,165   

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(a)

     78,720        38,925,465   
    

 

 

 
       43,455,630   
    

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals – 6.7%

    

Allergan, Inc./United States

     364,578        79,937,372   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

     633,120        66,369,970   
    

 

 

 
       146,307,342   
    

 

 

 
       395,576,609   
    

 

 

 

Consumer Staples – 11.0%

    

Beverage: Soft Drinks – 3.5%

    

Keurig Green Mountain, Inc.

     61,450        7,531,312   

Monster Beverage Corp.(a)

     581,490        68,005,255   
    

 

 

 
       75,536,567   
    

 

 

 

Drug & Grocery Store Chains – 3.7%

    

CVS Health Corp.

     826,147        81,094,590   
    

 

 

 

Foods – 1.6%

    

Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. – Class A

     347,540        34,229,215   
    

 

 

 

Tobacco – 2.2%

    

Philip Morris International, Inc.

     613,779        49,249,627   
    

 

 

 
       240,109,999   
    

 

 

 

 

10     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Portfolio of Investments


 

Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

Producer Durables – 8.6%

    

Aerospace – 0.4%

    

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

     97,500      $ 8,347,950   
    

 

 

 

Diversified Manufacturing
Operations – 2.6%

    

Danaher Corp.

     691,017        56,925,980   
    

 

 

 

Railroad Equipment – 1.6%

    

Wabtec Corp./DE

     410,510        34,257,060   
    

 

 

 

Scientific Instruments: Control &
Filter – 1.4%

    

Pall Corp.

     325,940        31,537,954   
    

 

 

 

Scientific Instruments: Electrical – 0.8%

    

AMETEK, Inc.

     348,156        16,676,672   
    

 

 

 

Scientific Instruments: Gauges &
Meters – 0.9%

    

Mettler-Toledo International, Inc.(a)

     67,030        20,373,769   
    

 

 

 

Truckers – 0.9%

    

JB Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

     238,290        18,970,267   
    

 

 

 
       187,089,652   
    

 

 

 

Financial Services – 7.3%

    

Asset Management & Custodian – 2.0%

    

Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.(a)

     124,483        25,583,746   

BlackRock, Inc. – Class A

     55,320        18,837,013   
    

 

 

 
       44,420,759   
    

 

 

 

Financial Data & Systems – 3.7%

    

Visa, Inc. – Class A

     316,390        80,650,975   
    

 

 

 

Securities Brokerage & Services – 1.6%

    

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.

     166,733        34,301,980   
    

 

 

 
       159,373,714   
    

 

 

 

Energy – 2.3%

    

Oil Well Equipment & Services – 2.3%

    

FMC Technologies, Inc.(a)

     570,910        21,397,707   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     356,970        29,410,758   
    

 

 

 
       50,808,465   
    

 

 

 

Materials & Processing – 0.7%

    

Fertilizers – 0.7%

    

Monsanto Co.

     128,721        15,186,504   
    

 

 

 

Utilities – 0.4%

    

Utilities: Telecommunications – 0.4%

    

Level 3 Communications, Inc.(a)

     166,750        8,294,145   
    

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $1,531,703,802)

       1,978,797,803   
    

 

 

 

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       11   

Portfolio of Investments


 

Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS – 9.1%

    

Investment Companies – 9.1%

    

AB Fixed Income Shares, Inc. –
Government STIF Portfolio, 0.09%(c)(d)
(Cost $198,375,627)

     198,375,627      $ 198,375,627   
    

 

 

 

Total Investments Before Security Lending Collateral for Securities Loaned – 100.0%
(cost $1,730,079,429)

       2,177,173,430   
    

 

 

 

INVESTMENTS OF CASH COLLATERAL FOR SECURITIES LOANED – 0.6%

    

Investment Companies – 0.6%

    

AB Exchange Reserves – Class I,
0.07%(c)(d) (cost $12,106,938)

     12,106,938        12,106,938   
    

 

 

 

Total Investments – 100.6%
(cost $1,742,186,367)

       2,189,280,368   

Other assets less liabilities – (0.6)%

       (11,980,208
    

 

 

 

Net Assets – 100.0%

     $ 2,177,300,160   
    

 

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

(b)   Represents entire or partial securities out on loan. See Note E for securities lending information.

 

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

 

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

See notes to financial statements.

 

12     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Portfolio of Investments


STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES

January 31, 2015 (unaudited)

 

Assets   

Investments in securities, at value

  

Unaffiliated issuers (cost $1,531,703,802)

   $ 1,978,797,803 (a) 

Affiliated issuers (cost $210,482,565—including investment of cash collateral for securities loaned of $12,106,938)

     210,482,565   

Cash

     1,692   

Receivable for investment securities sold

     48,911,749   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     3,700,689   

Dividends and interest receivable

     545,014   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     2,242,439,512   
  

 

 

 
Liabilities   

Payable for investment securities purchased

     46,909,916   

Payable for collateral received on securities loaned

     12,106,938   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     3,351,918   

Advisory fee payable

     1,454,092   

Distribution fee payable

     538,618   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     345,880   

Administrative fee payable

     22,271   

Accrued expenses

     409,719   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     65,139,352   
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

   $ 2,177,300,160   
  

 

 

 
Composition of Net Assets   

Capital stock, at par

   $ 59,576   

Additional paid-in capital

     1,644,861,901   

Accumulated net investment loss

     (4,221,122

Accumulated net realized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

     89,505,804   

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     447,094,001   
  

 

 

 
   $     2,177,300,160   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—24 billion shares of capital stock authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class   Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

 

 
A   $   1,229,934,495           33,199,506         $   37.05

 

 
B   $ 38,257,164           1,291,594         $ 29.62   

 

 
C   $ 241,479,511           8,071,395         $ 29.92   

 

 
Advisor   $ 552,705,298           13,971,575         $ 39.56   

 

 
R   $ 26,388,085           729,479         $ 36.17   

 

 
K   $ 54,915,439           1,457,806         $ 37.67   

 

 
I   $ 33,620,168           854,828         $ 39.33   

 

 

 

(a)   Includes securities on loan with a value of $11,927,227 (see Note E).

 

*   The maximum offering price per share for Class A shares was $38.69 which reflects a sales charge of 4.25%.

See notes to financial statements.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       13   

Statement of Assets & Liabilities


STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

Six Months Ended January 31, 2015 (unaudited)

 

Investment Income      

Dividends

     

Unaffiliated issuers (net of foreign taxes withheld of $9,272)

   $     9,233,485      

Affiliated issuers

     69,395      

Securities lending income

     220,451       $ 9,523,331   
  

 

 

    
Expenses      

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     8,062,289      

Distribution fee—Class A

     1,694,722      

Distribution fee—Class B

     206,286      

Distribution fee—Class C

     1,219,173      

Distribution fee—Class R

     64,974      

Distribution fee—Class K

     66,602      

Transfer agency—Class A

     1,137,819      

Transfer agency—Class B

     46,627      

Transfer agency—Class C

     232,077      

Transfer agency—Advisor Class

     476,849      

Transfer agency—Class R

     33,787      

Transfer agency—Class K

     53,281      

Transfer agency—Class I

     18,218      

Printing

     127,197      

Custodian

     111,533      

Registration fees

     63,466      

Directors’ fees

     29,537      

Administrative

     27,606      

Audit and tax

     21,519      

Legal

     19,184      

Miscellaneous

     31,707      
  

 

 

    

Total expenses

        13,744,453   
     

 

 

 

Net investment loss

        (4,221,122
     

 

 

 
Realized and Unrealized Gain on Investment Transactions      

Net realized gain on investment transactions

        163,279,151   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

        10,945,957   
     

 

 

 

Net gain on investment transactions

        174,225,108   
     

 

 

 

Net Increase in Net Assets from Operations

      $     170,003,986   
     

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

14     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Statement of Operations


STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

 

     Six Months Ended
January 31, 2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
July 31,

2014
 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets from Operations     

Net investment loss

   $ (4,221,122   $ (9,403,885

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     163,279,151        303,591,689   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     10,945,957        79,282,628   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     170,003,986        373,470,432   
Distributions to Shareholders from     

Net realized gain on investment transactions

    

Class A

     (168,377,022     (48,777,961

Class B

     (6,451,293     (2,497,001

Class C

     (39,553,053     (11,502,859

Advisor Class

     (69,051,693     (17,325,739

Class R

     (3,520,921     (969,202

Class K

     (7,287,731     (2,283,673

Class I

     (2,044,118     (1,626,670
Capital Stock Transactions     

Net increase (decrease)

     282,563,392        (85,821,857
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase

     156,281,547        202,665,470   
Net Assets     

Beginning of period

     2,021,018,613        1,818,353,143   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including accumulated net investment loss of ($4,221,166) and $0, respectively)

   $     2,177,300,160      $     2,021,018,613   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       15   

Statement of Changes in Net Assets


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

January 31, 2015 (unaudited)

 

NOTE A

Significant Accounting Policies

AB Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), organized as a Maryland corporation on July 9, 1992, is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as a diversified, open-end management investment company. Prior to January 20, 2015, the Fund was known as AllianceBernstein Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc. The Fund offers Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K and Class I shares. Class A shares are sold with a front-end sales charge of up to 4.25% for purchases not exceeding $1,000,000. With respect to purchases of $1,000,000 or more, Class A shares redeemed within one year of purchase may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1%. Class B shares are currently sold with a contingent deferred sales charge which declines from 4% to zero depending on the period of time the shares are held. Effective January 31, 2009, sales of Class B shares of the Fund to new investors were suspended. Class B shares will only be issued (i) upon the exchange of Class B shares from another AB Mutual Fund, (ii) for purposes of dividend reinvestment, (iii) through the Fund’s Automatic Investment Program (the “Program”) for accounts that established the Program prior to January 31, 2009, and (iv) for purchases of additional shares by Class B shareholders as of January 31, 2009. The ability to establish a new Program for accounts containing Class B shares was suspended as of January 31, 2009. Class B shares will automatically convert to Class A shares eight years after the end of the calendar month of purchase. Class C shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1% on redemptions made within the first year after purchase. Class R and Class K shares are sold without an initial or contingent deferred sales charge. Advisor Class and Class I shares are sold without an initial or contingent deferred sales charge and are not subject to ongoing distribution expenses. All seven classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights, except that the classes bear different distribution and transfer agency expenses. Each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to its distribution plan. 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 Fund.

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 (the “Board”).

 

16     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

In general, the market values 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 last traded price from the previous 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 or over the counter (“OTC”) market put or call options are valued at the mid level between the current bid and ask prices. If either a current bid or current ask price is unavailable, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) will have discretion to determine the best valuation (e.g. last trade price in the case of listed options); open futures 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; U.S. Government securities and any other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are generally valued at market by an independent pricing vendor, if a market price is available. If a market price is not available, the securities are valued at amortized cost. This methodology is commonly used for short term securities that have an original maturity of 60 days or less, as well as short term securities that had an original term to maturity that exceeded 60 days. In instances when amortized cost is utilized, the Valuation Committee (the “Committee”) must reasonably conclude that the utilization of amortized cost is approximately the same as the fair value of the security. Such factors the committee will consider include, but are not limited to, an impairment of the creditworthiness of the issuer or material changes in interest rates. 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, 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. Swaps and other derivatives are valued daily, primarily using independent pricing services, independent pricing models using market inputs, as well as third party broker-dealers or counterparties. Investment companies 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 Fund may use fair value pricing for securities primarily traded in non-U.S. markets because most foreign markets close well before the Fund values its securities at 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time. The earlier close of these foreign markets gives rise to

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       17   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

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 Fund 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 Fund would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP establishes a framework for measuring fair value, and a three-level hierarchy for fair value measurements based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of an asset or liability (including those valued based on their market values as described in Note A.1 above). Inputs may be observable or unobservable and refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Fund. Unobservable inputs reflect the Fund’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on the best information available in the circumstances. Each investment is assigned a level based upon the observability of the inputs which are significant to the overall valuation. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized below.

 

   

Level 1—quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

   

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

   

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

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

 

18     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Fund’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of January 31, 2015:

 

Investments in

Securities:

  Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

Assets:

       

Common Stocks*

  $ 1,978,797,803      $ – 0  –    $ – 0  –    $ 1,978,797,803   

Short-Term Investments

    198,375,627        – 0  –      – 0  –      198,375,627   

Investments of Cash Collateral for Securities Loaned in Affiliated Money Market Fund

    12,106,938        – 0  –      – 0  –      12,106,938   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

    2,189,280,368        – 0  –      – 0  –      2,189,280,368   

Other Financial Instruments**

    – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total+

  $   2,189,280,368      $   – 0  –    $   – 0  –    $   2,189,280,368   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   See Portfolio of Investments for sector classifications.

 

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

 

+   There were no transfers between any levels during the reporting period.

The Fund recognizes all transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy assuming the financial instruments were transferred at the beginning of the reporting period.

The Adviser established the Committee to oversee the pricing and valuation of all securities held in the Fund. The Committee operates under pricing and valuation policies and procedures established by the Adviser and approved by the Board, including pricing policies which set forth the mechanisms and processes to be employed on a daily basis to implement these policies and procedures. In particular, the pricing policies describe how to determine market quotations for securities and other instruments. The Committee’s responsibilities include: 1) fair value and liquidity determinations (and oversight of any third parties to whom any responsibility for fair value and liquidity determinations is delegated), and 2) regular monitoring of the Adviser’s pricing and valuation policies and procedures and modification or enhancement of these policies and procedures (or recommendation of the modification of these policies and procedures) as the Committee believes appropriate.

The Committee is also responsible for monitoring the implementation of the pricing policies by the Adviser’s Pricing Group (the “Pricing Group”) and a third party which performs certain pricing functions in accordance with the pricing policies. The Pricing Group is responsible for the oversight of the third party on a day-to-day basis. The Committee and the Pricing Group perform a series of activities to provide reasonable assurance of the accuracy of prices including: 1) periodic vendor due diligence meetings, review of methodologies, new developments and processes at vendors, 2) daily comparison of security valuation versus prior day for all securities that exceeded established thresholds, and 3) daily review of unpriced, stale, and variance reports with exceptions reviewed by senior management and the Committee.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       19   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

In addition, several processes outside of the pricing process are used to monitor valuation issues including: 1) performance and performance attribution reports are monitored for anomalous impacts based upon benchmark performance, and 2) portfolio managers review all portfolios for performance and analytics (which are generated using the Adviser’s prices).

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 ask 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 Fund’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 foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

It is the Fund’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 Fund 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 Fund’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 Fund’s financial statements.

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Dividend income is recorded on the ex-dividend date or as soon as the Fund is informed of the dividend. Interest income is accrued daily. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold.

 

20     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

Investment gains or losses are determined on the identified cost basis. The Fund amortizes premiums and accretes discounts as adjustments to interest income.

6. Class Allocations

All income earned and expenses incurred by the Fund are borne on a pro-rata basis by each outstanding class of shares, based on the proportionate interest in the Fund represented by the net assets of such class, except for class specific expenses which are allocated to the respective class. 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 Fund 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 Fund’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 operating expenses of Class A shares on an annual basis to 1.25% of daily average net assets for Class A shares (the “Expense Cap”). The Expense Cap extends through November 1, 2014 and then may be extended by the Adviser for additional one year terms. For the six months ended January 31, 2015, there was no such reimbursement.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Fund may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Fund by the Adviser. For the six months ended January 31, 2015, the reimbursement for such services amounted to $27,606.

The Fund 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 Fund. ABIS may make payments to intermediaries that provide omnibus account services, sub-accounting services and/or networking services. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $768,092 for the six months ended January 31, 2015.

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, serves as the distributor of the Fund’s shares. The Distributor has advised the Fund that it has retained front-end sales charges of $16,307 from the

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       21   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

sale of Class A shares and received $14,084, $7,447 and $2,564 in contingent deferred sales charges imposed upon redemptions by shareholders of Class A, Class B and Class C shares, respectively, for the six months ended January 31, 2015.

The Fund may invest in the AB Fixed-Income Shares, Inc.—Government STIF Portfolio (“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 members of the public. The Government STIF Portfolio pays no investment management fees but does bear its own expenses. A summary of the Fund’s transactions in shares of the Government STIF Portfolio for the six months ended January 31, 2015 is as follows:

 

Market Value

July 31, 2014

(000)

  Purchases
at Cost
(000)
    Sales
Proceeds
(000)
    Market Value
January 31, 2015
(000)
    Dividend
Income
(000)
 
$    138,652   $     560,166      $     500,442      $     198,376      $     69   

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the six months ended January 31, 2015 amounted to $530,069, 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 Services Agreement

The Fund has adopted a Distribution Services Agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Agreement, the Fund pays distribution and servicing fees to the Distributor at an annual rate of up to .50% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class A and Class R shares, 1% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to both Class B and Class C shares, and .25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class K shares. There are no distribution and servicing fees on the Advisor Class and Class I shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. Payments under the Class A plan are currently limited to .25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class A shares. The Agreement provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities. Since the commencement of the Fund’s operations, the Distributor has incurred expenses in excess of the distribution costs reimbursed by the Fund in the amounts of $177,636,459, $17,848,609, $231,083, and $418,278 for Class B, Class C, Class R and Class K shares, respectively. While such costs may be recovered from the Fund in future periods so long as the Agreement is in effect, the rate of the distribution and servicing fees payable under the Agreement may not be increased without a shareholder vote. In accordance with the Agreement, there is no provision for recovery of unreimbursed distribution costs incurred by the Distributor beyond the current fiscal year for Class A shares. The Agreement also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Fund’s shares.

 

22     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

NOTE D

Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the six months ended January 31, 2015 were as follows:

 

     Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding
U.S. government securities)

   $     686,817,499       $     788,653,999   

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

   $     468,559,219   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (21,465,218
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 447,094,001   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

The Fund may use derivatives in an effort to earn income and enhance returns, to replace more traditional direct investments, to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets (collectively, “investment purposes”), or to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its portfolio.

The Fund did not engage in derivatives transactions for the six months ended January 31, 2015.

2. Currency Transactions

The Fund may invest in non-U.S. dollar securities on a currency hedged or unhedged basis. The Fund 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 Fund 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 Fund 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 Fund 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

Securities Lending

The Fund may enter into securities lending transactions. Under the Fund’s securities lending program, all loans of securities will be collateralized continually by

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       23   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

cash. The Fund will be compensated for the loan from a portion of the net return from the income earned on cash collateral after a rebate is paid to the borrower (in some cases, this rebate may be a “negative rebate” or fee paid by the borrower to the Fund in connection with the loan), and payments are made for fees of the securities lending agent and for certain other administrative expenses. It is the policy of the Fund to receive collateral consisting of cash in an amount exceeding the value of the securities loaned. The Fund will have the right to call a loan and obtain the securities loaned at any time on notice to the borrower within the normal and customary settlement time for the securities. While the securities are on loan, the borrower is obligated to pay the Fund amounts equal to any income or other distributions from the securities. The Fund will not have the right to vote on any securities during the existence of a loan, but will have the right to regain ownership of loaned securities in order to exercise voting or other ownership rights. The lending agent has agreed to indemnify the Fund in the case of default of any securities borrower. Collateral received and securities loaned are marked to market daily to ensure that the securities loaned are secured by collateral. The lending agent will invest the cash collateral received in AB Exchange Reserves, an eligible money market vehicle, in accordance with the investment restrictions of the Fund, and as approved by the Board. The collateral received on securities loaned is recorded as an asset as well as a corresponding liability in the statement of assets and liabilities. When the Fund lends securities, its investment performance will continue to reflect changes in the value of the securities loaned. At January 31, 2015, the Fund had securities on loan with a value of $11,927,227 and had received cash collateral which has been invested into AB Exchange Reserves of $12,106,938. The cash collateral will be adjusted on the next business day to maintain the required collateral amount. The Fund earned securities lending income of $220,451 and $1,119 from the borrowers and AB Exchange Reserves, respectively, for the six months ended January 31, 2015; these amounts are reflected in the statement of operations. A principal risk of lending portfolio securities is that the borrower will fail to return the loaned securities upon termination of the loan and that the collateral will not be sufficient to replace the loaned securities. A summary of the Fund’s transactions in shares of AB Exchange Reserves for the six months ended January 31, 2015 is as follows:

 

Market Value

July 31, 2014

(000)

  Purchases
at Cost
(000)
    Sales
Proceeds
(000)
    Market Value
January 31, 2015
(000)
 
$    7,888   $     61,537      $     57,318      $     12,107   

 

24     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

NOTE F

Capital Stock

The Fund has allocated 24,000,000,000 of authorized shares of which 3,000,000,000 is allocated to each of Class A, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K and Class I and 6,000,000,000 is allocated to Class B shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

            
     Shares         Amount      
     Six Months Ended
January 31, 2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
July 31,
2014
        Six Months Ended
January 31, 2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
July 31,
2014
     
  

 

 

   
Class A             

Shares sold

     2,529,479        2,073,032        $ 98,683,263      $ 77,633,072     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     3,899,011        1,210,161          142,937,743        44,582,343     

 

   

Shares converted from Class B

     130,296        349,337          5,274,184        12,999,970     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (3,142,255     (5,079,946       (124,120,968     (189,662,103  

 

   

Net increase (decrease)

     3,416,531        (1,447,416     $ 122,774,222      $ (54,446,718  

 

   
Class B             

Shares sold

     51,375        78,933        $ 1,630,790      $ 2,460,402     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     197,703        77,184          5,804,561        2,372,650     

 

   

Shares converted to Class A

     (158,189     (417,692       (5,274,184     (12,999,970  

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (106,780     (189,875       (3,509,866     (5,908,179  

 

   

Net decrease

     (15,891     (451,450     $ (1,348,699   $ (14,075,097  

 

   
Class C             

Shares sold

     535,332        422,561        $ 16,703,564      $ 13,152,227     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     961,313        331,776          28,483,700        10,275,095     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (520,258     (889,698       (17,125,480     (28,060,786  

 

   

Net increase (decrease)

     976,387        (135,361     $ 28,061,784      $ (4,633,464  

 

   
Advisor Class             

Shares sold

     3,124,833        2,384,885        $ 133,163,667      $ 93,831,448     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     1,591,480        389,623          62,274,626        15,152,423     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (1,653,254     (2,842,794       (70,037,134     (112,120,484  

 

   

Net increase (decrease)

     3,063,059        (68,286     $ 125,401,159      $ (3,136,613  

 

   

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       25   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

            
     Shares         Amount      
     Six Months Ended
January 31, 2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
July 31,
2014
        Six Months Ended
January 31, 2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended
July 31,
2014
     
  

 

 

   
Class R             

Shares sold

     117,843        168,376        $ 4,604,552      $ 6,199,454     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     91,015        26,759          3,260,164        969,201     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (116,448     (143,646       (4,689,085     (5,338,315  

 

   

Net increase

     92,410        51,489        $ 3,175,631      $ 1,830,340     

 

   
Class K             

Shares sold

     205,181        313,968        $ 8,391,028      $ 11,926,666     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     195,434        61,077          7,287,731        2,283,673     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (173,654     (591,727       (6,999,160     (22,443,072  

 

   

Net increase (decrease)

     226,961        (216,682     $ 8,679,599      $ (8,232,733  

 

   
Class I             

Shares sold

     544,728        160,995        $ 21,847,814      $ 6,378,615     

 

   

Shares issued in reinvestment of distributions

     52,535        42,076          2,044,118        1,626,670     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (685,732     (277,377       (28,072,236     (11,132,857  

 

   

Net decrease

     (88,469     (74,306     $ (4,180,304   $ (3,127,572  

 

   

NOTE G

Risks Involved in Investing in the Fund

Foreign Securities Risk—Investing in securities of foreign companies or foreign governments involves 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.

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 Fund’s NAV.

Derivatives Risk—The Fund 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 Fund, 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.

 

26     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

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

NOTE H

Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Fund, participate in a $280 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 Fund did not utilize the Facility during the six months ended January 31, 2015.

NOTE I

Distributions to Shareholders

The tax character of distributions to be paid for the year ending July 31, 2015 will be determined at the end of the current fiscal year. The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2014 and July 31, 2013 were as follows:

 

     2014      2013  

Distributions paid from:

     

Net long-term capital gains

   $     84,983,105       $     – 0  – 
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions paid

   $ 84,983,105       $ – 0  – 
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

As of July 31, 2014, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 8,487,513   

Undistributed capital gains

     218,318,629   

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

         431,854,387 (a) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 658,660,529   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   The differences between book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation/(depreciation) are attributable primarily to the tax deferral of losses on wash sales.

For tax purposes, net capital losses may be carried over to offset future capital gains, if any. Funds are permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an indefinite period, and such losses will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses. As of July 31, 2014, the Fund did not have any capital loss carryforwards.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       27   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

NOTE J

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 Fund’s financial statements through this date.

 

28     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

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

 

    Class A  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  39.47        $  33.98        $  27.33        $  26.15        $  21.05        $  18.93   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (loss)(a)(b)

    (.07     (.16     (.11     (.04     .01        (.04

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    3.38        7.26        6.76        1.22        5.09        2.16   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    3.31        7.10        6.65        1.18        5.10        2.12   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  37.05        $  39.47        $  33.98        $  27.33        $  26.15        $  21.05   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.54  %      21.23  %      24.33  %      4.51  %      24.23  %      11.20  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $1,230        $1,176        $1,061        $940        $1,010        $1,057   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    1.25  %^      1.25  %      1.25  %      1.25  %      1.25  %+      1.36  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    1.25  %^      1.29  %      1.33  %      1.37  %      1.40  %+      1.47  %+ 

Net investment income (loss)(b)

    (.36 )%^      (.43 )%      (.36 )%      (.14 )%      .05 %+      (.20 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       29   

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class B  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  32.77        $  28.67        $  23.25        $  22.45        $  18.24        $  16.55   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment loss(a)

    (.19     (.38     (.30     (.23     (.19     (.21

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    2.77        6.09        5.72        1.03        4.40        1.90   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    2.58        5.71        5.42        .80        4.21        1.69   
 

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  29.62        $  32.77        $  28.67        $  23.25        $  22.45        $  18.24   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.02  %      20.29  %      23.31  %      3.56  %      23.08  %      10.21  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $38,257        $42,847        $50,425        $56,494        $80,373        $100,234   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    2.02  %^      2.03  %      2.09  %      2.18  %      2.18  %+      2.27  %+ 

Net investment loss

    (1.12 )%^      (1.21 )%      (1.19 )%      (1.05 )%      (.88 )%+      (1.10 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

30     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class C  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  33.02        $  28.87        $  23.41        $  22.58        $  18.34        $  16.63   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment loss(a)

    (.18     (.37     (.30     (.22     (.18     (.20

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    2.81        6.13        5.76        1.05        4.42        1.91   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    2.63        5.76        5.46        .83        4.24        1.71   
 

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  29.92        $  33.02        $  28.87        $  23.41        $  22.58        $  18.34   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.13  %      20.32  %      23.32  %      3.68  %      23.12  %      10.28  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $241,480        $234,286        $208,720        $190,858        $210,361        $199,201   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.98  %^      2.00  %      2.05  %      2.11  %      2.13  %+      2.21  %+ 

Net investment loss

    (1.09 )%^      (1.18 )%      (1.16 )%      (1.00 )%      (.83 )%+      (1.05 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       31   

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Advisor Class  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  41.73        $  35.75        $  28.69        $  27.40        $  22.03        $  19.77   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (loss)(a)

    (.02     (.07     (.05     .01        .05        (.00 )(d) 

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    3.58        7.66        7.11        1.28        5.32        2.26   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    3.56        7.59        7.06        1.29        5.37        2.26   
 

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  39.56        $  41.73        $  35.75        $  28.69        $  27.40        $  22.03   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.68  %      21.56  %      24.61  %      4.71  %      24.38  %      11.43  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $552,705        $455,211        $392,438        $361,700        $376,037        $309,035   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .97  %^      .99  %      1.03  %      1.07  %      1.10  %+      1.17  %+ 

Net investment income (loss)

    (.09 )%^      (.17 )%      (.14 )%      .03  %      .19  %+      (.01 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

32     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class R  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  38.73        $  33.46        $  27.00        $  25.89        $  20.91        $  18.84   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment loss(a)

    (.13     (.26     (.21     (.13     (.07     (.10

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    3.30        7.14        6.67        1.24        5.05        2.17   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    3.17        6.88        6.46        1.11        4.98        2.07   
 

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  36.17        $  38.73        $  33.46        $  27.00        $  25.89        $  20.91   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.33  %      20.89  %      23.93  %      4.29  %      23.82  %      10.99  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $26,388        $24,675        $19,594        $13,455        $8,315        $3,651   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.55  %^      1.54  %      1.56  %      1.56  %      1.55  %+      1.59  %+ 

Net investment loss

    (.66 )%^      (.72 )%      (.68 )%      (.49 )%      (.27 )%+      (.44 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       33   

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class K  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  40.06        $  34.46        $  27.72        $  26.50        $  21.34        $  19.17   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (loss)(a)

    (.07     (.16     (.11     (.04     .01        (.02

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    3.41        7.37        6.85        1.26        5.15        2.19   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    3.34        7.21        6.74        1.22        5.16        2.17   
 

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  37.67        $  40.06        $  34.46        $  27.72        $  26.50        $  21.34   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.48  %      21.25  %      24.31  %      4.60  %      24.18  %      11.32  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $54,916        $49,304        $49,878        $42,490        $40,805        $41,898   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    1.24  %^      1.24  %      1.25  %      1.25  %      1.27  %+      1.27  %+ 

Net investment income (loss)

    (.36 )%^      (.42 )%      (.36 )%      (.15 )%      .03 %+      (.11 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

34     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class I  
    Six Months
Ended
January 31,
2015
(unaudited)
    Year Ended July 31,  
      2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
           

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  41.51        $  35.54        $  28.48        $  27.15        $  21.78        $  19.50   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

           

Net investment income (loss)(a)

    (.01     (.03     (.00 )(d)      .06        .09        .05   

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment and foreign currency transactions

    3.56        7.61        7.06        1.27        5.28        2.23   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    3.55        7.58        7.06        1.33        5.37        2.28   
 

 

 

 

Less: Distributions

           

Distributions from net realized gain on investment transactions

    (5.73     (1.61     – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  –      – 0  – 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  39.33        $  41.51        $  35.54        $  28.48        $  27.15        $  21.78   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

           

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)*

    8.67  %      21.69  %      24.79  %      4.90  %      24.66  %      11.69  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

           

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

    $33,620        $39,161        $36,168        $31,948        $35,837        $32,862   

Ratio to average net assets of:

           

Expenses

    .91  %^      .90  %      .88  %      .87  %      .94  %+      .93  %+ 

Net investment income (loss)

    (.05 )%^      (.07 )%      (.00 )%(e)      .24  %      .35  %+      .24  %+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    35  %      66  %      68  %      95  %      158  %      114  % 

See footnote summary on page 36.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       35   

Financial Highlights


(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(b)   Net of fees and expenses waived/reimbursed by the Adviser.

 

(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. Initial sales charges or contingent deferred sales charges are not reflected in the calculation of total investment return. Total return does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

(e)   Amount is less than .005%.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Fund resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Fund’s performance for the six months ended January 31, 2015 and years ended July 31, 2014, July 31, 2013, July 31, 2012, July 31, 2011 and July 31, 2010 by 0.05%, 0.38%, 0.01%, 2.81%, 2.98% and 5.15%, respectively.

 

+   The ratio includes expenses attributable to costs of proxy solicitation.

 

^   Annualized.

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

36     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

Financial Highlights


BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Marshall C. Turner, Jr.(1), Chairman

John H. Dobkin(1)

Michael J. Downey(1)

William H. Foulk, Jr.(1)

D. James Guzy(1)

Nancy P. Jacklin(1)

Robert M. Keith, President and Chief Executive Officer

Garry L. Moody(1)

Earl D. Weiner(1)

OFFICERS

Philip L. Kirstein, Senior Vice President and Independent Compliance Officer

Frank V. Caruso(2), Vice President

Vincent C. DuPont(2) , Vice President

John H. Fogarty(2) , Vice President

Emilie D. Wrapp, Secretary

Joseph J. Mantineo, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Phyllis J. Clarke, Controller

Vincent S. Noto, Chief Compliance Officer

 

Custodian and Accounting Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company

State Street Corporation CCB/5

1 Iron Street

Boston, MA 02210

 

Principal Underwriter

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc.

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

 

Transfer Agent

AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 786003

San Antonio, TX 78278-6003

Toll-Free (800) 221-5672

  

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Ernst & Young LLP

5 Times Square

New York, NY 10036

 

Legal Counsel

Seward & Kissel LLP

One Battery Park Plaza

New York, NY 10004

 

(1)   Member of the Audit Committee, the Governance and Nominating Committee and the Independent Directors Committee.

 

(2)   The day-to-day management of, and investment decisions for, the Fund’s portfolio are made by the Adviser’s U.S. Large Cap Growth Investment Team. Messrs. Caruso, DuPont and Fogarty are the investment professionals with the most significant responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       37   

Board of Directors


 

 

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 Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”).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 Fund 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 Fund grows larger; and

 

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

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). The first factor is an additional factor required to be considered by the AoD. On March 30, 2010, the

 

1   The information in the fee summary was completed on April 25, 2014 and discussed with the Board of Directors on May 6-8, 2014.

 

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

 

38     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


 

 

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 arm’s length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., 130 S. Ct. 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 arm’s-length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”3

FUND ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS, & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Fund pays 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.4

 

Fund   Category   Advisory Fee   Net Assets
03/31/14
($MIL)
 
Large Cap Growth,
Fund, Inc.
  Growth  

0.75% on 1st $2.5 billion

0.65% on next $2.5 billion

0.60% on the balance

  $ 2,014.1   

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Fund. During the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $44,292 (0.003% of the Fund’s average daily net assets) for such services.

The Adviser has agreed to waive that portion of its management fees and/or reimburse the Fund’s Class A shares for that portion of its total operating expenses to the degree necessary to limit the Fund’s Class A shares’ total expense ratio to the amount set forth below for the Fund’s fiscal year. The expenses of the other share classes of the Fund are not capped. The waiver is terminable by the Adviser at the end of the Fund’s fiscal year upon at least 60 days’ notice prior

 

3   Jones v. Harris at 1427.

 

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

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       39   


 

 

to the Fund’s prospectus update. In addition, set forth below are the Fund’s annualized semi-annual gross expense ratios:5

 

Fund      Expense Cap Pursuant to
Expense Limitation
Undertaking
    Gross
Expense
Ratio6
    Fiscal
Year End
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.7      Advisor
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class R
Class K
Class I
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

N/A

1.25

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.00

1.30

2.03

2.01

1.52

1.23

0.91


  July 31

(ratios as of

January 31,

2014)

 

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 Fund 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 Fund’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 Fund are more costly than those for institutional assets due to the greater complexities and time required for investment companies, although as previously noted, a the Adviser is reimbursed for providing such services. Also, retail mutual funds managed by the Adviser are widely held. Servicing the Fund’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

 

5   Semi-annual total expense ratios are unaudited.

 

6   Annualized.

 

7   Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc. implemented an expense cap only for Class A shares effective January 1, 2010. The other classes of the Fund are currently not capped.

 

40     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


 

 

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, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts with a similar investment style as the Fund.8 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Fund had the AllianceBernstein institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Fund based on March 31, 2014 net assets:9

 

Fund  

Net Assets

3/31/14

($MIL)

   

AllianceBernstein

Institutional

Fee Schedule

 

Effective

AB Inst.

Adv. Fee

   

Fund

Advisory

Fee

Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.     $2,014.1     

Large Cap Growth
0.80% on 1st $25 million
0.50% on next $25 million
0.40% on next $50 million
0.30% on next $100 million
0.25% on the balance

Minimum account size: $25m

    0.266%      0.750%

The adviser also manages the AllianceBernstein Variable Products Series Fund, Inc. (“AVPS”), which is available through variable annuity and variable life contracts offered by other financial institutions and offers policyholders the option to utilize certain AVPS portfolios as the investment option underlying their insurance contracts. Set forth below is the fee schedule of the AVPS portfolio that has a substantially similar investment style as the Fund.10 Also shown are the

 

8   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.

 

9   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.

 

10   The AVPS portfolio was also affected by the settlement between the Adviser and the NYAG. As a result, the Fund has the same breakpoints in its advisory fee schedule as the AVPS portfolio.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       41   


 

 

Fund’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Fund had the AVPS fee schedule been applicable to the Fund based on March 31, 2014 net assets:

 

Fund  

AVPS

Portfolio

  Fee Schedule  

Effective

AVPS

Adv. Fee

   

Fund

Advisory

Fee

 
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.   Large Cap Growth Portfolio   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 below for American Growth Portfolio, a Luxembourg fund that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Fund:

 

Fund    Luxembourg Fund    Fee11
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.    American 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. The Adviser charges the fee set forth below for the sub-advisory relationship that has a somewhat similar investment style as the Fund. Also shown are the Fund’s advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Fund had the fee schedule of the sub-advisory relationship been applicable to the Fund based on March 31, 2014 net assets:

 

Fund        Fee Schedule  

Effective

Sub-Adv.

Fee

   

Fund

Advisory

Fee

 
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.   Client #1   0.35% on first $50 million
0.30% on next $100 million
0.25% on the balance
    0.255%        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 Fund by the Adviser.

While it appears that the sub-advisory relationship is paying a lower fee than the Fund, it is difficult to evaluate the relevance of such lower fee due to differences in terms of the services provided, risks involved and other competitive factors

 

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

 

42     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


 

 

between the Fund and sub-advisory relationship. There could be various business reasons why an investment adviser would be willing to provide a sub-advisory relationship investment related services at a different fee level than an investment company it is sponsoring where the investment adviser is providing all the services, not just investment management, generally required by a registered investment company.

 

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 Fund with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.12 Lipper’s analysis included the comparison of the Fund’s contractual management fee, estimated at the approximate current asset level of the Fund, to the median of the Fund’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)13 and the Fund’s contractual management fee ranking.14

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.

 

Fund   Contractual
Management
Fee (%)15
    Lipper EG
Median (%)
    Lipper EG
Rank
 
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.     0.750        0.700        11/15   

 

12   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 negotiations conducted at arm’s length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

13   Lipper does not consider average account size when constructing EGs. Funds with relatively small average account sizes tend to have higher transfer agent expense ratio 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.

 

14   The contractual management fee is calculated by Lipper using the Fund’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 Fund, 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 Fund had the lowest effective fee rate in the Lipper peer group.

 

15   The contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Fund to the Adviser for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services. In addition, the contractual management fee does not reflect any expense reimbursements made by the Adviser to the Fund for the expense cap.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       43   


 

 

Lipper also compared the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year total expense ratio in comparison to the Fund’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”).16 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 Fund.

 

Fund   Total
Expense
Ratio  (%)17
   

Lipper

EG
Median (%)

   

Lipper

EG
Rank

    Lipper EU
Median (%)
    Lipper
EU
Rank
 
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.     1.250        1.147        15/15        1.209        65/99   

Based on this analysis, the Fund has a more favorable ranking on a contractual management fee basis than on a total expense ratio basis.

 

III. COSTS TO THE ADVISER AND ITS AFFILIATES OF SUPPLYING SERVICES PURSUANT TO THE MANAGEMENT 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 Fund. 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 Fund’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 Fund increased during calendar year 2013, relative to 2012.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Fund, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Fund and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Fund. 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 Fund 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 and the relationship otherwise complies with the 40 Act

 

16   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.

 

17   Most recently completed fiscal year end Class A total expense ratio.

 

44     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


 

 

restrictions. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Fund and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, front-end sales loads, contingent deferred sales charges (“CDSC”) and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), an affiliate of the Adviser, is the Fund’s principal underwriter. ABI and the Adviser have disclosed in the Fund’s prospectus that they may make revenue sharing payments from their own resources, in addition to resources derived from sales loads and Rule 12b-1 fees, to firms that sell shares of the Fund. The total amount paid to a financial intermediary associated with the sale of shares will generally not exceed the sum of (a) 0.25% of the current year’s fund sales by that firm and (b) 0.10% of the average daily net assets attributable to that firm over the year. In 2013, ABI paid approximately 0.05% of the average monthly assets of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds or approximately $19.4 million for distribution services and educational support (revenue sharing payments).

During the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year, ABI received from the Fund $17,677, $5,697,318 and $35,300 in front-end sales charges, Rule 12b-1 and CDSC fees, respectively.

Fees and reimbursements for out of pocket expenses charged by AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), the affiliated transfer agent for the Fund, are charged on a per account basis, based on the level of service provided and the class of share held by the account. ABIS also receives a fee per shareholder sub-account for each account maintained by an intermediary on an omnibus basis. During the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received $1,885,901 in fees from the Fund.

The Fund 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 during the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from business conducted with the Fund is 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. 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 Fund and other clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       45   


 

 

 

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

The Adviser has indicated that economies of scale are being shared with shareholders through pricing to scale, breakpoints, fee reductions/waivers and enhancement to services.

In May 2012, an independent consultant, retained by the Senior Officer, provided the Board of Directors information on the Adviser’s firm-wide average costs from 2005 through 2011 and the potential economies of scale. The independent consultant noted that from 2005 through 2007 the Adviser experienced significant growth in assets under management (“AUM”). During this period, operating expenses increased, in part to keep up with growth, and in part reflecting market returns. However, from 2008 through the first quarter of 2009, AUM rapidly and significantly decreased due to declines in market value and client withdrawals. When AUM rapidly decreased, some operating expenses categories, including base compensation and office space, adjusted more slowly during this period, resulting in an increase in average costs. Since 2009, AUM has experienced less significant changes. The independent consultant noted that changes in operating expenses reflect changes in business composition and business practices in response to changes in financial markets. Finally, the independent consultant concluded that the increase in average cost and the decline in net operating margin across the Adviser since late 2008 are inconsistent with the view that there are currently reductions in average costs due to economies of scale that can be shared with the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds managed by the Adviser through lower fees.

Previously, in February 2008, the independent consultant 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

 

18   The Deli study, originally published in 2002 based on 1997 data and updated for the February 2008 Presentation, may be of diminished value due to the age of the data used in the presentation and the changes experienced in the industry over the last four years.

 

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 arm’s 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.

 

46     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


 

 

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 FUND

With assets under management of approximately $454 billion as of March 31, 2014, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Fund.

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance returns and rankings of the Fund21 relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)22 for the periods ended February 28, 2014.23

 

     Fund (%)     PG Median (%)     PU Median (%)     PG Rank   PU Rank

1 year

    31.19        32.43        31.21      10/15   61/119

3 year

    14.08        14.45        14.08      9/15   53/105

5 year

    23.23        22.36        22.36      5/13   27/97

10 year

    8.97        7.76        7.39      2/11   10/75

 

21   The performance rankings are for the Class A shares of the Fund. The Fund’s performance returns shown were provided by Lipper.

 

22   The Fund’s PG is identical to the Fund’s EG. The Fund’s PU is not identical to the Fund’s EU as the criteria for including/excluding a fund from a PU is somewhat different from that of an EU.

 

23   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.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       47   


 

 

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Fund (in bold)24 versus its benchmark.25 Fund and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.26

 

    

Periods Ending February 28, 2014

Annualized Performance

 
                            Since     Annualized    

Risk

Period
(Year)

 
     1 Year
(%)
    3 Year
(%)
    5 Year
(%)
    10 Year
(%)
    Inception
(%)
    Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
   
Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.     31.19        14.08        23.23        8.97        9.04        17.22        0.49        10   
Russell 1000 Growth Index     29.14        15.06        24.02        7.77        8.51        15.03        0.46        10   
Inception Date: September 28, 1992   

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the proposed advisory fee for the Fund 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 Fund is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: June 5, 2014

 

24   The performance returns and risk measures shown in the table are for the Class A shares of the Fund.

 

25   The Adviser provided Fund and benchmark performance return information for periods through February 28, 2014.

 

26   Fund 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. The Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a fund’s return in excess of the riskless return by the fund’s standard deviation. A fund with a greater volatility would be viewed as more risky than a fund with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky fund. A fund with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be viewed as better performing than a fund with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

48     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


THIS PAGE IS NOT PART OF THE SHAREHOLDER REPORT OR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

AB FAMILY OF FUNDS

 

US EQUITY

 

US Core

Core Opportunities Fund

Select US Equity Portfolio

US Growth

Concentrated Growth Fund

Discovery Growth Fund

Growth Fund

Large Cap Growth Fund

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

US Value

Discovery Value Fund

Equity Income Fund

Growth & Income Fund

Small Cap Value Portfolio

Value Fund

INTERNATIONAL/ GLOBAL EQUITY

 

International/Global Core

Global Core Equity Portfolio

Global Equity & Covered Call Strategy Fund

Global Thematic Growth Fund

International Portfolio

Tax-Managed International Portfolio

International/Global Growth

International Growth Fund

International/Global Value

International Value Fund

FIXED INCOME

 

Municipal

High Income Municipal Portfolio

Intermediate California Portfolio

Intermediate Diversified Portfolio

Intermediate New York Portfolio

Municipal Bond Inflation Strategy

Tax-Aware Fixed Income Portfolio

National Portfolio

Arizona Portfolio

California Portfolio

FIXED INCOME (continued)

 

Massachusetts Portfolio

Michigan Portfolio

Minnesota Portfolio

New Jersey Portfolio

New York Portfolio

Ohio Portfolio

Pennsylvania Portfolio

Virginia Portfolio

Taxable

Bond Inflation Strategy

Global Bond Fund

High Income Fund

High Yield Portfolio

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

Limited Duration High Income Portfolio

Short Duration Portfolio

ALTERNATIVES

 

All Market Real Return Portfolio*

Credit Long/Short Portfolio

Global Real Estate Investment Fund

Long/Short Multi-Manager Fund

Market Neutral Strategy-U.S.

Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Fund

Select US Long/Short Portfolio

Unconstrained Bond Fund

MULTI-ASSET

 

All Market Growth Portfolio*

Emerging Markets Multi-Asset Portfolio

Global Risk Allocation Fund

Retirement Strategies

Multi-Manager Select 2010 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2015 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2020 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2025 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2030 Fund

MULTI-ASSET (continued)

 

Multi-Manager Select 2035 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2040 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2045 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2050 Fund

Multi-Manager Select 2055 Fund

Multi-Manager Select Retirement Allocation Fund

2000 Retirement Strategy

2005 Retirement Strategy

2010 Retirement Strategy

2015 Retirement Strategy

2020 Retirement Strategy

2025 Retirement Strategy

2030 Retirement Strategy

2035 Retirement Strategy

2040 Retirement Strategy

2045 Retirement Strategy

2050 Retirement Strategy

2055 Retirement Strategy

Wealth Strategies

Balanced Wealth Strategy

Conservative Wealth Strategy

Wealth Appreciation Strategy

Tax-Managed Balanced Wealth Strategy

Tax-Managed Conservative Wealth Strategy

Tax-Managed Wealth Appreciation Strategy

CLOSED-END FUNDS

 

AB Multi-Manager Alternative Fund

Alliance California Municipal Income Fund

Alliance New York Municipal Income Fund

AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund

AllianceBernstein Income Fund

AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund

 

We also offer Exchange Reserves, which serves as the money market fund exchange vehicle for the AB mutual funds. An investment in Exchange Reserves is not a deposit in a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the Fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. For copies of our prospectus or summary prospectus, which contain this and other information, visit us online at www.abglobal.com or contact your AB representative. Please read the prospectus and/or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

* Prior to December 15, 2014, All Market Growth Portfolio was named Dynamic All Market Fund; All Market Real Return Portfolio was named Real Asset Strategy.

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       49   

AB Family of Funds


NOTES

 

 

50     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


NOTES

 

 

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND       51   


NOTES

 

 

52     AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND


LOGO

AB LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

800.221.5672

 

LCG-0152-0115                 LOGO

 


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-3(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): AB Large Cap Growth Fund, Inc.

 

By:

/s/ Robert M. Keith

Robert M. Keith

President

Date: March 20, 2015

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: March 20, 2015
By:

/s/ Joseph J. Mantineo

Joseph J. Mantineo

Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Date: March 20, 2015