The AB Bond Funds

 

 

Core (Shares Offered—Exchange Ticker Symbol)				High Income (Shares Offered—Exchange Ticker Symbol)
AB Total Return Bond Portfolio (Advisor Class–ABQYX)				AB High Income Fund (Class A–AGDAX; Class C–AGDCX; Advisor Class–AGDYX; Class I–AGDIX; Class Z–AGDZX)
AB Global Bond Fund (Class A–ANAGX; Class C–ANACX; Advisor Class–ANAYX; Class I–ANAIX; Class Z–ANAZX)     AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio (Class A–STHAX; Advisor Class–STHYX)				AB Income Fund (Class A–AKGAX; Class C–AKGCX; Advisor Class–ACGYX; Class Z–ACGZX)
				Tax-Aware (Shares Offered—Exchange Ticker Symbol)
				AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio (Class A–ATTAX; Class C–ATCCX; Advisor Class–ATTYX)

 

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

Investment Products Offered

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

		Page
SUMMARY INFORMATION			4
CORE			4
AB Total Return Bond Portfolio			4
AB Global Bond Fund			9
AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio			13
HIGH INCOME			18
AB High Income Fund			18
AB Income Fund			23
TAX-AWARE			28
AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio			28
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ STRATEGIES, RISKS AND INVESTMENTS			34
INVESTING IN THE FUNDS			50
How to Buy Shares			50
The Different Share Class Expenses			52
Sales Charge Reduction Programs for Class A Shares			53
CDSC Waivers and Other Programs			54
Choosing a Share Class			55
Payments to Financial Advisors and Their Firms			55
How to Exchange Shares			56
How to Sell or Redeem Shares			56
Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares			57
How the Funds Value Their Shares			59
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUNDS			60
DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS AND TAXES			63
GENERAL INFORMATION			65
GLOSSARY OF INVESTMENT TERMS			66
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS			67
APPENDIX A—BOND RATINGS			A-1
APPENDIX B—HYPOTHETICAL INVESTMENT AND EXPENSE INFORMATION			B-1
APPENDIX C—FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARY WAIVERS			C-1

SUMMARY INFORMATION

 

 

CORE

 

AB Total Return Bond Portfolio

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Fund’s investment objective is to maximize long-term total return without assuming what the Adviser considers undue risk.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

		Advisor Class
Management Fees			.45%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			None
Other Expenses:
Transfer Agent			.15%
Other Expenses			.27%
Total Other Expenses			.42%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			.87%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(a)			(.35)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement			.52%

 

(a)

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fees and/or to bear certain expenses of the Fund until January 31, 2026 to the extent necessary to prevent total Fund operating expenses (excluding interest expense), on an annualized basis of .52% of average daily net assets for the Advisor Class shares (“expense limitations”). The expense limitations will remain in effect until January 31, 2026 and may only be terminated or changed with the consent of the Fund’s Board of Directors. In addition, the agreement will be automatically extended for one-year terms unless the Adviser provides notice of termination to the Fund at least 60 days prior to the end of the period.

 

4

Examples

The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses stay the same and that any fee waiver and/or expense limitation is in effect for only the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

		Advisor Class
After 1 Year		$	53
After 3 Years		$	243
After 5 Years		$	448
After 10 Years		$	1,040

Portfolio Turnover

PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in fixed-income securities. The Fund expects to invest in readily marketable fixed-income securities with a range of maturities from short- to long-term and relatively attractive yields that do not involve undue risk of loss of capital. The Fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets in below investment grade bonds. The Fund may use leverage for investment purposes.

The Fund may invest without limit in U.S. Dollar-denominated foreign fixed-income securities and may invest up to 25% of its assets in non-U.S. Dollar-denominated foreign fixed-income securities. These investments may include, in each case, developed and emerging market debt securities.

The Adviser selects securities for purchase or sale based on its assessment of the securities’ risk and return characteristics as well as the securities’ impact on the overall risk and return characteristics of the Fund. In making this assessment, the Adviser takes into account various factors, including the credit quality and sensitivity to interest rates of the securities under consideration and of the Fund’s other holdings.

The Fund may invest in mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, loan participations and assignments, inflation-indexed securities, variable, floating, and inverse floating-rate instruments and preferred stock, and may use other investment techniques. The Fund intends, among other things, to enter into transactions such as reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls. The Fund may invest in derivatives, such as options, futures contracts, forwards, or swaps.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

 

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with all investments, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

6

BAR CHART AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The bar chart and performance information provide an indication of the historical risk of an investment in the Fund by showing:

 

 

You may obtain updated performance information on the website at www.abfunds.com (click on “Investments—Mutual Funds”).

The Fund’s past performance before and after taxes, of course, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Effective July 12, 2019, the Fund made certain changes to its investment objective and principal strategies (the changes included the elimination of the guidelines for the average duration and maturity of the Fund) and also changed its name from AB Intermediate Bond Portfolio to AB Total Return Bond Portfolio. Accordingly, the performance shown for periods prior to July 12, 2019 is based on the Fund’s prior investment objective and principal strategies and may not be representative of the Fund’s performance under its current investment objective and principal strategies.

Bar Chart

During the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s:

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

 

				1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
Advisor Class*		Return Before Taxes			2.21%				-0.24%				1.57%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions			0.38%				-1.73%				0.16%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			1.30%				-0.76%				0.61%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)					1.25%				-0.33%				1.35%

 

 

 

 

7

INVESTMENT ADVISER

AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following table lists the persons responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

Employee		Length of Service		Title
Michael Canter		Since 2016		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Matthew S. Sheridan		Since 2023		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Serena Zhou		Since 2024		Senior Vice President of the Adviser

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

8

AB Global Bond Fund

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Fund’s investment objective is to generate current income consistent with preservation of capital.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

		Class A Shares		Class C Shares		Advisor Class Shares		Class I and Z Shares
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)		4.25%		None		None		None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)		None(a)		1.00%(b)		None		None
Exchange Fee		None		None		None		None

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class				Class I				Class Z
Management Fees			.47%				.47%				.47%				.47%				.47%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			.25%				1.00%				None				None				None
Other Expenses:
Transfer Agent			.05%				.05%				.05%				.09%				.02%
Other Expenses(c)			.03%				.03%				.03%				.03%				.03%
Total Other Expenses			.08%				.08%				.08%				.12%				.05%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			.80%				1.55%				.55%				.59%				.52%

 

 

 

(c)	“Other Expenses” includes acquired fund fees and expenses totaling less than .01%.

Examples

The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund’s operating expenses stay the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class				Class I				Class Z
After 1 Year		$	503			$	258	*		$	56			$	60			$	53
After 3 Years		$	670			$	490			$	176			$	189			$	167
After 5 Years		$	850			$	845			$	307			$	329			$	291
After 10 Years		$	1,373			$	1,643			$	689			$	738			$	653

 

 

9

Portfolio Turnover

PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES

The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in fixed-income securities. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests significantly in fixed-income securities of non-U.S. companies. In addition, the Fund invests, under normal circumstances, in the fixed-income securities of companies located in at least three countries. The Fund may invest in a broad range of fixed-income securities in both developed and emerging markets. The Fund may invest across all fixed-income sectors, including U.S. and non-U.S. Government and corporate debt securities. The Fund’s investments may be denominated in local currency or U.S. Dollar-denominated. The Fund may invest in debt securities with a range of maturities from short- to long-term. The Fund may use borrowings or other leverage for investment purposes.

The Adviser selects securities for purchase or sale based on its assessment of the securities’ risk and return characteristics as well as the securities’ impact on the overall risk and return characteristics of the Fund. In making this assessment, the Adviser takes into account various factors, including the credit quality and sensitivity to interest rates of the securities under consideration and of the Fund’s other holdings.

The Adviser actively manages the Fund’s assets in relation to market conditions and general economic conditions and adjusts the Fund’s investments in an effort to best enable the Fund to achieve its investment objective. Thus, the percentage of the Fund’s assets invested in a particular country or denominated in a particular currency will vary in accordance with the Adviser’s assessment of the relative yield and appreciation potential of such securities and the relationship of the country’s currency to the U.S. Dollar.

Under normal circumstances, the Fund invests at least 75% of its net assets in fixed-income securities rated investment grade at the time of investment and may invest up to 25% of its net assets in below investment grade fixed-income securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”).

The Fund may invest in mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities, loan participations and assignments, inflation-indexed securities, structured securities, variable, floating, and inverse floating-rate instruments and preferred stock, and may use other investment techniques. The Fund intends, among other things, to enter into transactions such as reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls. The Fund may invest in derivatives, such as options, futures contracts, forwards, or swaps.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

 

 

 

 

10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with all investments, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

BAR CHART AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The bar chart and performance information provide an indication of the historical risk of an investment in the Fund by showing:

 

 

You may obtain updated performance information on the website at www.abfunds.com (click on “Investments—Mutual Funds”).

The Fund’s past performance before and after taxes, of course, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

 

11

Bar Chart

The annual returns in the bar chart are for the Fund’s Class A shares and do not reflect sales loads. If sales loads were reflected, returns would be less than those shown.

 

 

During the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s:

Best Quarter was up 6.68%, 4th quarter, 2023; and Worst Quarter was down -5.33%, 2nd quarter, 2022.

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

 

				1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
Class A*		Return Before Taxes			-2.06%				-0.97%				1.10%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions			-2.40%				-2.31%				-0.21%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			-1.22%				-1.26%				0.28%
Class C		Return Before Taxes			0.54%				-0.85%				0.76%
Advisor Class		Return Before Taxes			2.71%				0.18%				1.80%
Class I		Return Before Taxes			2.67%				0.16%				1.79%
Class Z**		Return Before Taxes			2.74%				0.21%				1.85%
Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (U.S. hedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)					3.40%				0.48%				2.01%

 

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT ADVISER

AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following table lists the persons responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

Employee		Length of Service		Title
Christian DiClementi		Since 2024		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Scott A. DiMaggio		Since 2005		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Matthew S. Sheridan		Since 2007		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
John Taylor		Since 2019		Senior Vice President of the Adviser

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

12

AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The Fund’s investment objective is to maximize total return through current income and long-term capital appreciation.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

		Class A				Advisor Class
Management Fees			.45%				.45%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			.25%				None
Other Expenses:
Transfer Agent			.01%				.01%
Other Expenses			.18%				.18%
Total Other Expenses			.19%				.19%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			.89%				.64%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(b)			(.04)%				(.04)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement			.85%				.60%

 

 

(b)

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fee and/or to bear certain expenses of the Fund through January 31, 2026 to the extent necessary to prevent total Fund operating expenses (excluding expenses associated with acquired fund fees and expenses other than the advisory fees of any AB Funds in which the Fund may invest, interest expense and extraordinary expenses), on an annualized basis, from exceeding .85% and .60% of average daily net assets, respectively, for Class A and Advisor Class shares (“expense limitations”). Any fees waived and expenses borne by the Adviser may be reimbursed by the Fund until the end of the third fiscal year after the fiscal period in which the fee was waived or the expense was borne, provided that no reimbursement payment will be made that would cause the Fund’s covered operating expenses to exceed the applicable expense limitations. The expense limitations will remain in effect until January 31, 2026 and may only be terminated or changed with the consent of the Fund’s Board of Directors. In addition, the expense limitations will be automatically extended for one-year terms unless the Adviser provides notice of termination to the Fund at least 60 days prior to the end of the period.

 

13

Examples

The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of the periods. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses stay the same and that any fee waiver and/or expense limitation is in effect for only the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

		Class A				Advisor Class
After 1 Year		$	508			$	61
After 3 Years		$	693			$	201
After 5 Years		$	893			$	353
After 10 Years		$	1,471			$	795

Portfolio Turnover

PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES

The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in fixed-income securities of corporate issuers whose business activities the Adviser believes position the issuer to benefit from certain sustainable investment themes that align with one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”). These themes principally include the advancement of health, climate, and empowerment. Under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets will be invested in fixed-income securities of corporate issuers that satisfy the Fund’s sustainability criteria. An issuer that derives at least 25% of its total revenues from activities consistent with the achievement of the SDGs meets such criteria, although many of the issuers in which the Fund invests will derive a much greater portion of their revenues from such activities.

The Adviser employs a combination of “top-down” and “bottom-up” investment processes with the goal of identifying, based on its internal research and analysis, securities and issuers that fit into sustainable investment themes. First, the Adviser identifies through its top-down process the sustainable investment themes. In addition to this top-down thematic approach, the Adviser then uses a bottom-up analysis of individual bond issues that focuses on the use of proceeds, issuer fundamentals and valuation and on evaluating an issuer’s risks, including those related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors. ESG factors, which can vary across companies and industries, may include environmental impact, corporate governance, ethical business practices, diversity and employee practices, product safety, supply chain management and community impact. Eligible investments include securities of issuers that the Adviser believes will maximize total return while also contributing to positive societal impact aligned with one or more SDGs. While the Adviser emphasizes focusing on individual issuers with favorable ESG attributes over the use of broad-based negative screens (e.g., disqualifying business activities) in assessing an issuer’s exposure to ESG factors, the Fund will not invest in companies that derive significant revenue from involvement in adult entertainment, alcohol, coal, controversial weapons, firearms, gambling, genetically modified organisms, military contracting, prisons, or tobacco. The Fund also typically invests in ESG bond structures, including “Use of Proceeds” bonds, which are instruments the proceeds of which are specifically earmarked for environmental, social or sustainability projects.

The Fund may invest up to 20% of its net assets in securities rated below investment grade (“junk bonds”). The Fund may invest up to 30% of its net assets in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. Foreign investments may include securities issued by emerging market companies and governments. The Adviser expects under normal circumstances to hedge the majority of the Fund’s foreign currency exposure through the use of currency-related derivatives, although it is not required to do so.

The Fund expects to use derivatives, such as options, futures contracts, forwards and swaps. Derivatives may provide a more efficient and economical exposure to market segments than direct investments, and may also be a more efficient way to alter the Fund’s exposure. The Fund may, for example, use interest rate futures contracts or swaps to manage the Fund’s average duration and may, as noted above, use currency-related derivatives to hedge foreign currency exposure.

The Adviser may use derivatives to effectively leverage the Fund by creating aggregate market exposure significantly in excess of the Fund’s net assets.

 

14

PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15

 

As with all investments, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

BAR CHART AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The bar chart and performance information provide an indication of the historical risk of an investment in the Fund by showing:

 

 

You may obtain updated performance information on the website at www.abfunds.com (click on “Investments—Mutual Funds”).

The Fund’s past performance before and after taxes, of course, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart

The annual returns in the bar chart are for the Fund’s Class A shares and do not reflect sales loads. If sales loads were reflected, returns would be less than those shown.

 

 

During the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s:

Best Quarter was up 8.67%, 4th quarter, 2023; and Worst Quarter was down -8.73%, 2nd quarter, 2022.

 

16

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

 

				1 Year				Since Inception*
Class A**		Return Before Taxes			-2.41%				-3.23%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions			-3.90%				-4.45%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			-1.44%				-2.93%
Advisor Class		Return Before Taxes			2.25%				-1.83%
Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)					2.13%				-1.22%

 

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT ADVISER

AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following table lists the persons responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

Employee		Length of Service		Title
Gershon M. Distenfeld		Since 2021		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Timothy Kurpis		Since 2024		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Tiffanie Wong		Since 2021		Senior Vice President of the Adviser

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

17

 

 

 

 

		Class A Shares		Class C Shares		Advisor Class Shares		Class I and Z Shares
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)		4.25%		None		None		None
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as a percentage of offering price or redemption proceeds, whichever is lower)		None(a)		1.00%(b)		None		None
Exchange Fee		None		None		None		None

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class				Class I				Class Z
Management Fees			.49%				.49%				.49%				.49%				.49%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			.25%				1.00%				None				None				None
Other Expenses:
Transfer Agent			.08%				.08%				.08%				.08%				.02%
Interest Expense			.04%				.04%				.04%				.04%				.04%
Other Expenses			.04%				.03%				.04%				.04%				.04%
Total Other Expenses			.16%				.15%				.16%				.16%				.10%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses(c)			.90%				1.64%				.65%				.65%				.59%

 

 

 

(c)	If interest expense were excluded, net expenses would be as follows:

 

Class A		Class C				Advisor Class				Class I				Class Z
.86%			1.60%				.61%				.61%				.55%

 

18

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class				Class I				Class Z
After 1 Year		$	513			$	267	*		$	66			$	66			$	60
After 3 Years		$	700			$	517			$	208			$	208			$	189
After 5 Years		$	902			$	892			$	362			$	362			$	329
After 10 Years		$	1,486			$	1,746			$	810			$	810			$	738

 

 

 

 

19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20

 

 

 

 

During the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s:

Best Quarter was up 11.74%, 2nd quarter, 2020; and Worst Quarter was down -18.73%, 1st quarter, 2020.

 

				1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
Class A*		Return Before Taxes			3.96%				2.51%				3.76%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions			0.99%				-0.19%				1.11%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			2.28%				0.69%				1.64%
Class C		Return Before Taxes			6.85%				2.56%				3.38%
Advisor Class		Return Before Taxes			8.88%				3.66%				4.48%
Class I		Return Before Taxes			8.87%				3.64%				4.50%
Class Z**		Return Before Taxes			8.94%				3.71%				4.55%
Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index*** (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)					-1.69%				-1.96%				0.15%
Bloomberg Global High Yield Index (USD Hedged) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)					10.71%				3.95%				5.23%

 

 

 

 

 

 

***

Effective July 24, 2024, the primary broad-based index used for comparison with the Fund’s performance changed from the Bloomberg Global High Yield Index (USD Hedged) to the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index to comply with new regulations that require the Fund’s primary benchmark to reflect the overall market in which the Fund may invest. The Fund’s previous primary benchmark, the Bloomberg Global High Yield Index (USD Hedged), which more closely reflects the market segments in which the Fund invests, is the Fund’s secondary benchmark.

 

21

INVESTMENT ADVISER

AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following table lists the persons responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

22

AB Income Fund

 

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE:

The investment objective of the Fund is to seek high current income consistent with preservation of capital.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND:

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class				Class Z
Management Fees			.45%				.45%				.45%				.45%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			.25%				1.00%				None				None
Other Expenses:
Transfer Agent			.08%				.08%				.08%				.02%
Interest Expense			.03%				.03%				.03%				.03%
Other Expenses			.04%				.04%				.04%				.04%
Total Other Expenses			.15%				.15%				.15%				.09%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			.85%				1.60%				.60%				.54%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(c)			(.05)%				(.05)%				(.05)%				(.00)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(d)			.80%				1.55%				.55%				.54%

 

 

 

(c)

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fees and/or to bear certain expenses of the Fund until January 31, 2026 to the extent necessary to prevent total Fund operating expenses (excluding acquired fund fees and expenses other than the advisory fees of any AB Funds in which the Fund may invest, interest expense, taxes, extraordinary expenses, and brokerage commissions and other transaction costs), on an annualized basis, from exceeding .77%, 1.52%, .52% and .52% of average daily net assets, respectively, for Class A, Class C, Advisor Class and Class Z shares (“expense limitations”). The expense limitations will remain in effect until January 31, 2026 and may only be terminated or changed with the consent of the Fund’s Board of Directors. In addition, the agreement will be automatically extended for one-year terms unless the Adviser provides notice of termination to the Fund at least 60 days prior to the end of the period.

 

 

Class A				Class C				Advisor Class				Class Z
	.77%				1.52%				.52%				.51%

 

23

Examples

The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses stay the same and that any fee waiver and/or expense limitation is in effect for only the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

		Class A					Class C					Advisor Class					Class Z
After 1 Year			$	503				$	258	*			$	56				$	55
After 3 Years			$	680				$	500				$	187				$	173
After 5 Years			$	872				$	866				$	330				$	302
After 10 Years			$	1,425				$	1,695				$	745				$	677

 

Portfolio Turnover

PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES:

The Fund pursues its objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in income-producing securities. The Fund also normally invests at least 65% of its total assets in securities of U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies or instrumentalities and repurchase agreements relating to U.S. Government securities.

The Fund normally invests at least 65% of its total assets in U.S. Dollar-denominated securities. The Fund may also invest up to 35% of its total assets in non-government fixed-income securities, including corporate debt securities, non-government mortgage-backed and other asset-backed securities, certificates of deposit and commercial paper. The Fund may invest up to 35% of its net assets in below investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”). The Fund may invest no more than 25% of its total assets in securities of issuers in any one country other than the U.S. The Fund’s investments in foreign securities may include investments in securities of emerging market countries or of issuers in emerging markets.

The Adviser selects securities for purchase or sale based on its assessment of the securities’ risks and return characteristics as well as the securities’ impact on the overall risks and return characteristics of the Fund. In making this assessment, the Adviser takes into account various factors, including the credit quality and sensitivity to interest rates of the securities under consideration and of the Fund’s other holdings. The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities with any maturity or duration.

The Fund utilizes derivatives, such as options, futures contracts, forwards and swaps to a significant extent, subject to the limits of applicable law. The Fund may, for example, use credit default, interest rate and total return swaps to establish exposure to the fixed-income markets or particular fixed-income securities. Derivatives may provide a more efficient and economical exposure to market segments than direct investments, and may also be a more efficient way to alter the Fund’s exposure. The Fund may also enter into transactions such as reverse repurchase agreements that are similar to borrowings for investment purposes. The Fund’s use of derivatives and these borrowing transactions may create aggregate exposure that is substantially in excess of its net assets, effectively leveraging the Fund.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

 

 

24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with all investments, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

25

BAR CHART AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION:

The bar chart and performance information provide an indication of the historical risk of an investment in the Fund by showing:

 

 

You may obtain updated performance information on the Fund’s website at www.abfunds.com (click on “Investments—Mutual Funds”).

The Fund’s past performance before and after taxes, of course, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

The Fund commenced operations on April 22, 2016. The Fund acquired the assets and liabilities of the AllianceBernstein Income Fund, Inc., a closed-end fund (the “Predecessor Fund”), effective at the close of business on April 21, 2016 (the “Reorganization”). The Fund has the same investment objective and similar investment strategies and policies as those of the Predecessor Fund. In addition, the Fund has higher expenses (including transfer agency and shareholder servicing fees), and a different advisory fee arrangement, than those of the Predecessor Fund.

Performance information prior to April 22, 2016 shown below reflects the historical performance of the Predecessor Fund based on its NAV. Such performance information may not be representative of performance the Fund would have achieved as an open-end fund under its current investment strategies and policies and expense levels.

Bar Chart

The annual returns in the bar chart are for the Fund’s Advisor Class shares. Shares of the Predecessor Fund were exchanged for Advisor Class shares of the Fund in the Reorganization.

 

 

Best Quarter was up 7.71%, 2nd quarter, 2020; and Worst Quarter was down -7.28%, 2nd quarter, 2022.

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

 

				1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
Class A*		Return Before Taxes			-2.36%				-1.38%				1.35%
Class C*		Return Before Taxes			0.09%				-1.30%				1.02%
Advisor Class**		Return Before Taxes			2.08%				-0.31%				2.04%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions			-0.11%				-2.01%				0.11%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			1.22%				-0.93%				0.72%
Class Z*		Return Before Taxes			2.24%				-0.25%				2.08%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses, or taxes)					1.25%				-0.33%				1.35%

 

 

 

 

 

 

26

INVESTMENT ADVISER

AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following table lists the persons responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

Employee		Length of Service		Title
Scott A. DiMaggio		Since 2019		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Gershon M. Distenfeld		Since 2016		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Fahd Malik		Since 2022		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
Matthew S. Sheridan		Since 2016		Senior Vice President of the Adviser
William Smith		Since 2024		Senior Vice President of the Adviser

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

27

TAX-AWARE

 

 

AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio

 

INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE

The investment objective of the Fund is to seek to maximize after-tax return and income.

FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE FUND

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class
Management Fees			.45%				.45%				.45%
Distribution and/or Service (12b-1) Fees			.25%				1.00%				None
Other Expenses:
Transfer Agent			.03%				.03%				.03%
Interest Expense			.31%				.31%				.31%
Other Expenses			.12%				.12%				.12%
Total Other Expenses			.46%				.46%				.46%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses			1.16%				1.91%				.91%
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(c)			(.10)%				(.10)%				(.10)%
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement(d)			1.06%				1.81%				.81%

 

 

 

(c)

The Adviser has contractually agreed to waive its management fees and/or to bear expenses of the Fund until January 31, 2026 to the extent necessary to prevent total Fund operating expenses (excluding expenses associated with securities sold short, acquired fund fees and expenses other than the advisory fees of any AB Funds in which the Fund may invest, interest expense, taxes, extraordinary expenses, and brokerage commissions and other transaction costs), on an annualized basis, from exceeding .75%, 1.50% and .50% of average daily net assets, respectively, for Class A, Class C and Advisor Class shares (“expense limitations”). The expense limitations will remain in effect until January 31, 2026 and may only be terminated or changed with the consent of the Fund’s Board of Directors. In addition, the agreement will be automatically extended for one‑year terms unless the Adviser provides notice of termination to the Fund at least 60 days prior to the end of the period.

 

 

Class A				Class C				Advisor Class
	.75%				1.50%				.50%

 

28

Examples

The Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Examples assume that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year, that the Fund’s operating expenses stay the same and that any fee waiver and/or expense limitation is in effect for only the first year. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

		Class A				Class C				Advisor Class
After 1 Year		$	405			$	284	*		$	83
After 3 Years		$	648			$	590			$	280
After 5 Years		$	910			$	1,022			$	494
After 10 Years		$	1,658			$	2,029			$	1,110

 

Portfolio Turnover

PRINCIPAL STRATEGIES

The Fund pursues its objective by investing principally in a national portfolio of both municipal and taxable fixed-income securities. The Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its net assets in fixed-income securities. The Fund also invests, under normal circumstances, at least 65% of its total assets in municipal securities that pay interest that is exempt from federal income tax. These securities may pay interest that is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax (“AMT”) for certain taxpayers. The income earned and distributed to shareholders on non-municipal securities would not be exempt from federal income tax. The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities rated below investment grade (commonly known as “junk bonds”), although such securities are not expected to be the Fund’s primary focus.

The Adviser selects securities for the Fund based on a variety of factors, including credit quality, maturity, diversification benefits, and the relative expected after-tax returns of taxable and municipal securities (considering federal tax rates and without regard to state and local income taxes). As the objective is to increase the after-tax return of the Fund, an investor in the Fund may incur a tax liability that will generally be greater than the same investor would have in a fund investing exclusively in municipal securities, and that will be higher if the investor is in a higher tax bracket. In addition, the tax implications of the Fund’s trading activity, such as realizing taxable gains, are considered in making purchase and sale decisions for the Fund. The Fund may invest in fixed-income securities of any maturity from short- to long-term.

The Fund may also invest in forward commitments, zero-coupon municipal securities and variable, floating and inverse floating-rate municipal securities.

The Fund may use derivatives, such as swaps, options, futures contracts and forwards, to achieve its investment strategies. For example, the Fund may enter into tender option bonds (“TOBs”) and credit default and interest rate swaps relating to municipal and taxable fixed-income securities or securities indices. Derivatives may provide more efficient and economical exposure to fixed-income securities markets than direct investments.

PRINCIPAL RISKS

 

 

 

29

In addition, changes in tax rates or the treatment of income from certain types of municipal securities, among other things, could negatively affect the municipal securities markets.

The municipal securities issued by Puerto Rico and its government agencies and municipalities may have more risks than those of other U.S. issuers of municipal securities. Puerto Rico continues to face a very challenging economic and fiscal environment. If the general economic situation in Puerto Rico continues to persist or worsens, the volatility and credit quality of Puerto Rican municipal securities could continue to be adversely affected, and the market for such securities may deteriorate further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with all investments, you may lose money by investing in the Fund.

 

30

BAR CHART AND PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

The bar chart and performance information provide an indication of the historical risk of an investment in the Fund by showing:

 

 

•

how the Fund’s average annual returns for one, five and ten years compare to those of a broad-based securities market index.

The Fund’s past performance before and after taxes, of course, does not necessarily indicate how it will perform in the future.

Bar Chart

The annual returns in the bar chart are for the Fund’s Class A shares and do not reflect sales loads. If sales loads were reflected, returns would be less than those shown.

 

 

During the period shown in the bar chart, the Fund’s:

Performance Table

Average Annual Total Returns

 

				1 Year				5 Years				10 Years
Class A*		Return Before Taxes			0.37%				1.26%				2.33%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions			0.29%				1.10%				2.18%
		Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares			1.56%				1.46%				2.24%
Class C		Return Before Taxes			1.73%				1.10%				1.88%
Advisor Class		Return Before Taxes			3.77%				2.12%				2.90%
Bloomberg Municipal Bond Unhedged Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)					1.05%				0.99%				2.25%

 

 

 

 

 

31

INVESTMENT ADVISER

AllianceBernstein L.P. is the investment adviser for the Fund.

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following table lists the persons responsible for day-to-day management of the Fund’s portfolio:

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

32

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES, TAXES AND FINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIES

 

Purchase Minimums

The following table describes the initial and subsequent minimum purchase amounts for each class of shares, which are subject to waiver in certain circumstances.

 

		Initial		Subsequent
Class A/Class C shares, including traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs		$2,500		$50
Automatic Investment Program		None		$50 If initial minimum investment is less than $2,500, then $200 monthly until account balance reaches $2,500
Advisor Class shares (only available to fee-based programs or through other limited arrangements and certain commission-based brokerage arrangements)		None		None
Class A, Class I and Class Z shares are available at NAV, without an initial sales charge, to 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing and money purchase pension plans, defined benefit plans, and non-qualified deferred compensation plans and, for Class Z shares, to persons participating in certain fee-based programs sponsored by a financial intermediary, where in each case plan level or omnibus accounts are held on the books of a Fund.		None		None

You may sell (redeem) your shares each day the New York Stock Exchange (the “Exchange”) is open. You may sell your shares through your financial intermediary or by mail (AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc., P.O. Box 786003, San Antonio, TX 78278-6003) or telephone (800-221-5672).

 

Each Fund may pay income dividends or make capital gains distributions, which may be subject to federal income taxes and taxable as ordinary income or capital gains, and may also be subject to state and local taxes.

 

If you purchase shares of a Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank or a group retirement plan), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other financial intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

 

33

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUNDS’ STRATEGIES, RISKS AND INVESTMENTS

 

 

ESG Integration

The Adviser integrates environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) considerations into its research and investments analysis with the goal of maximizing return and considering risk within the Fund’s investment objective and strategies. Combining third-party ESG data with its own views and research, the Adviser analyzes the ESG practices of companies and issuers to identify potentially material ESG factors that can vary across companies and issuers. ESG considerations may include but are not limited to environmental impact, corporate governance and ethical business practices. ESG considerations may not be applicable to all types of instruments or investments.

For additional information with respect to the ESG integration for the AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio, please refer to the Fund’s Principal Strategies section in this Prospectus.

Sustainable Investment Themes

The AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio’s sustainable investment themes include the advancement of health, climate, and empowerment, and align with one or more of the SDGs.

The SDGs, adopted by 193 countries in 2015, are the world’s shared plan to end extreme poverty, reduce inequality, and protect the planet by 2030. The SDGs are a collection of 17 global goals: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation, and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals.

The SDGs provide the Adviser a helpful framework for identifying sustainable investment themes and potential investments. The Fund’s Climate theme investments include companies that improve overall resource efficiency and provide environmentally positive solutions in fields such as energy production, manufacturing, construction, transportation, agriculture and sanitation. The Fund’s Climate theme, for example, aligns with SDGs such as climate action; affordable and clean energy; and clean water and sanitation. The Fund’s Health theme investments include companies that develop innovative health treatments and therapies, broaden access to high-quality and affordable care, ensure a steady supply of nutritious food and clean water, and promote overall physical and emotional well-being. The Fund’s Health theme aligns with SDGs such as good health and well-being; and clean water and sanitation. The Fund’s Empowerment theme investments include companies that provide the physical, financial and technological infrastructure and services that allow more people to gain control of their lives by enabling sustainable economic development, employment growth, poverty eradication, knowledge sharing and social inclusion. The Fund’s Empowerment theme aligns with SDGs such as quality education; decent work and economic growth; and no poverty.

ESG Bonds

“Use of Proceeds” bonds are instruments the proceeds of which are specifically earmarked for environmental, social or sustainability projects. “Green” bonds are bonds whose proceeds are used principally for climate change mitigation, climate adaptation or other environmentally beneficial projects, such as, but not limited to, the development of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, pollution prevention or mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and preservation of natural resources. Sustainability-linked bonds are instruments where the proceeds are for general purposes but the bond features (e.g., coupon rate or principal) may adjust based on whether the company meets a specific key performance indicator related to sustainability. For example, a company may pay a financial penalty (e.g., a higher bond coupon) and an investor may receive a corresponding benefit if the company fails to meet a particular ESG target related to emissions reductions.

Investment in ESG bonds involves certain risks. ESG bonds may face challenges such as a limited number of issuers and limited liquidity in the market, including a lack of a robust secondary market. In addition, some ESG investments may be dependent on government tax incentives and subsidies and on political support for certain environmental technologies and companies.

Market Risk

The market value of a security may move up or down, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably. These fluctuations may cause a security to be worth less than the price originally paid for it, or less than it was worth at an earlier time. Market risk may affect a single issuer, industry, sector of the economy or the market as a whole. Global economies and financial markets are increasingly interconnected, which increases the probabilities that conditions in one country or region might adversely impact issuers in a different country or region. Conditions affecting the general economy, including interest rate levels and political, social, or

 

34

Derivatives

Each Fund may, but is not required to, use derivatives for hedging or other risk management purposes or as part of its investment strategies. Derivatives are financial contracts whose value depends on, or is derived from, the value of an underlying asset, reference rate or index. A Fund may use derivatives to earn income and enhance returns, to hedge or adjust the risk profile of its investments, to replace more traditional direct investments and to obtain exposure to otherwise inaccessible markets.

There are four principal types of derivatives—options, futures contracts, forwards and swaps—each of which is described below. Derivatives include listed and cleared transactions where a Fund’s derivatives trade counterparty is an exchange or clearinghouse and non-cleared bilateral “over-the-counter” transactions that are privately negotiated and where a Fund’s derivatives trade counterparty is a financial institution. Exchange-traded or cleared derivatives transactions tend to be subject to less counterparty credit risk than those that are bilateral and privately negotiated.

A Fund’s use of derivatives may involve risks that are different from, or possibly greater than, the risks associated with investing directly in securities or other more traditional instruments. These risks include the risk that the value of a derivative instrument may not correlate perfectly, or at all, with the value of the assets, reference rates, or indices that they are designed to track. Other risks include: the possible absence of a liquid secondary market for a particular instrument and possible exchange-imposed price fluctuation limits, either of which may make it difficult or impossible to close out a position when desired; and the risk that the counterparty will not perform its obligations. Certain derivatives may have a leverage component and involve leverage risk. Adverse changes in the value or level of the underlying asset, note or index can result in a loss substantially greater than the Fund’s investment (in some cases, the potential loss is unlimited).

The Funds’ investments in derivatives may include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

 

 

 

 

35

 

 

 

 

•

Swap Transactions. A swap is an agreement that obligates two parties to exchange a series of cash flows at specified intervals (payment dates) based upon or calculated by reference to changes in specified prices, rates (e.g., interest rates in the case of interest rate swaps or currency exchange rates in the case of currency swaps), or indices for a specified amount of an underlying asset (the “notional” principal amount). Generally, the notional principal amount is used solely to calculate the payment stream, but is not exchanged. Most swaps are entered into on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out, with a Fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments). Payments received by AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio from swap agreements will result in taxable income, either as ordinary income or capital gains, rather than tax-exempt income, which will increase the amount of taxable distributions received by shareholders. Certain standardized swaps, including certain interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, are subject to mandatory central clearing and are required to be executed through a regulated swap execution facility. Cleared swaps are transacted through futures commission merchants (“FCMs”) that are members of central clearinghouses with the clearinghouse serving as central counterparty, similar to transactions in futures contracts. Funds post initial and variation margin to support their obligations under cleared swaps by making payments to their clearing member FCMs. Central clearing is intended to reduce counterparty credit risks and increase liquidity, but central clearing does not make swap transactions risk free. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has recently adopted similar execution requirements in respect of certain security-based swaps under its jurisdiction and may in the future adopt similar clearing requirements for such security-based swaps. Privately negotiated swap agreements are two-party contracts entered into primarily by institutional investors and are not cleared through a third party, nor are these required to be executed on a regulated swap execution facility. The Funds’ investments in swap transactions include the following:

 

An option on a swap agreement, also called a “swaption”, is an option that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to enter into a swap on a future date in exchange for paying a market-based “premium”. A receiver swaption gives the owner the right to receive the total return of a specified asset, reference rate, or index. A payer swaption gives the owner the right to pay the total return of a specified asset, reference rate, or index. Swaptions also include options that allow an existing swap to be terminated or extended by one of the counterparties.

The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a contractually-based principal amount from the party selling the interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on an agreed principal amount from the party selling the interest rate floor. It may be more difficult for a Fund to trade or close out interest rate caps and floors in comparison to other types of swaps.

There is no limit on the amount of interest rate transactions that may be entered into by a Fund. The value of these transactions will fluctuate based on changes in interest rates.

Interest rate swap, swaption, cap and floor transactions may, for example, be used in an effort to preserve a return

 

36

or spread on a particular investment or a portion of a Fund’s portfolio or to protect against an increase in the price of securities a Fund anticipates purchasing at a later date. Interest rate swaps may also be used to leverage a Fund’s investments by creating positions that are functionally similar to purchasing a municipal or other fixed-income security but may only require payments to a swap counterparty under certain circumstances and allow the Fund to efficiently increase (or decrease) its duration and income.

 

 

Credit default swaps may involve greater risks than if a Fund had invested in the reference obligation directly. Credit default swaps are subject to general market risk and credit risk and may be illiquid.

 

 

 

 

37

 

 

–

Eurodollar Contracts. Eurodollars are time deposits denominated in U.S. dollars and are held at banks outside the U.S., which could be foreign banks or overseas branches of U.S. banks. Eurodollar contracts are U.S. Dollar-denominated futures contracts or options thereon that are tied to a reference rate, such as the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), paid on such deposits. Eurodollar futures contracts enable purchasers to obtain a fixed rate for the lending of funds and sellers to obtain a fixed rate for borrowings. A Fund may use Eurodollar instruments to hedge against changes in the reference rate.

 

Convertible Securities

Prior to conversion, convertible securities have the same general characteristics as non-convertible debt securities, which generally provide a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than those of equity securities of the same or similar issuers. The price of a convertible security will normally vary with changes in the price of the underlying equity security, although the higher yield tends to make the convertible security less volatile than the underlying equity security. As with debt securities, the market value of convertible securities tends to decrease as interest rates rise and increase as interest rates decline. While convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible debt securities of similar quality, they offer investors the potential to benefit from increases in the market prices of the underlying common stock. Convertible debt securities that are rated Baa3 or lower by Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”), or BBB- or lower by S&P Global Ratings (“S&P”) or Fitch Ratings (“Fitch”), or the equivalent rating by any other nationally recognized statistical rating organization (“NRSRO”), and comparable unrated securities may share some or all of the risks of debt securities with those ratings. For a description of credit ratings, see Appendix A—Bond Ratings.

Depositary Receipts and Securities of Supranational Entities

A supranational entity is an entity designated or supported by the national government of one or more countries to promote economic reconstruction or development. Examples of supranational entities include the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and the European Investment Bank. “Semi-governmental securities” are securities issued by entities owned by either a national, state or equivalent government or are obligations of one of such government jurisdictions that are not backed by its full faith and credit and general taxing powers.

Event-Linked Securities

Event-linked securities are variable or fixed-rate fixed-income securities or types of equity securities for which the return of principal and payment of interest are contingent on the non-occurrence of various specified catastrophic events, which may be specific trigger events or a diversified group of events, such as hurricanes, typhoons, wind events or earthquakes. The most common type of event-linked fixed-income bonds are known as “catastrophe” or “cat” bonds. If the trigger events do not occur, a Fund will recover its principal and interest. If a trigger event occurs, a Fund may lose a portion of or its entire principal invested in the securities. These securities are generally illiquid and may be rated below investment grade or the unrated equivalent and have the same or equivalent risks as higher yield debt securities (“junk bonds”).

 

38

Forward Commitments

Forward commitments for the purchase or sale of securities may include purchases on a when-issued basis or purchases or sales on a delayed delivery basis. In some cases, a forward commitment may be conditioned upon the occurrence of a subsequent event, such as approval and consummation of a merger, corporate reorganization or debt restructuring or approval of a proposed financing by appropriate authorities (i.e., a “when, as and if issued” trade).

When forward commitments with respect to fixed-income securities are negotiated, the price, which is generally expressed in yield terms, is fixed at the time the commitment is made, but payment for and delivery of the securities take place at a later date. Securities purchased or sold under a forward commitment are subject to market fluctuation and no interest or dividends accrue to the purchaser prior to the settlement date. There is a risk of loss if the value of either a purchased security declines before the settlement date or the security sold increases before the settlement date. The use of forward commitments helps a Fund to protect against anticipated changes in interest rates and prices.

Illiquid Securities

Each Fund limits its investments in illiquid securities to 15% of its net assets. Under Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), the term “illiquid securities” means any security or investment that a Fund reasonably expects cannot be sold or disposed of in current market conditions in seven calendar days or less without the sale or disposition significantly changing the market value of the investment.

A Fund that invests in illiquid securities may not be able to sell such securities and may not be able to realize their full value upon sale. Restricted securities (securities subject to legal or contractual restrictions on resale) may be illiquid. Some restricted securities (such as securities issued pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Rule 144A Securities”) or certain commercial paper) may be treated as liquid, although they may be more difficult to trade than other types of securities.

Indexed Commercial Paper

Indexed commercial paper may have its principal linked to changes in foreign currency exchange rates whereby its principal amount is adjusted upwards or downwards (but not below zero) at maturity to reflect changes in the referenced exchange rate. A Fund will receive interest and principal payments on such commercial paper in the currency in which such commercial paper is denominated, but the amount of principal payable by the issuer at maturity will change in proportion to the change (if any) in the exchange rate between the two specified currencies between the date the instrument is issued and the date the instrument matures. While such commercial paper entails the risk of loss of principal, the potential for realizing gains as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates enables a Fund to hedge (or cross-hedge) against a decline in the U.S. Dollar value of investments denominated in foreign currencies while providing an attractive money market rate of return. A Fund will purchase such commercial paper for hedging purposes only, not for speculation.

Inflation-Indexed Securities

Inflation-indexed securities are fixed-income securities whose value is periodically adjusted according to the rate of inflation. If the index measuring inflation falls, the principal value of these securities will be adjusted downward, and consequently the interest payable on these securities (calculated with respect to a smaller principal amount) will be reduced.

The value of inflation-indexed securities tends to react to changes in real interest rates. In general, the price of inflation-indexed securities can fall when real interest rates rise, and can rise when real interest rates fall. In addition, the value of these securities can fluctuate based on fluctuations in expectations of inflation. Interest payments on these securities can be unpredictable and will vary as the principal and/or interest is adjusted for inflation.

Investment in Exchange-Traded Funds and Other Investment Companies

 

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AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio invests in other AB Mutual Funds and ETFs, including AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF (the “Underlying Fund”). A brief description of the Underlying Fund in which one or more of the Funds may invest follows. Additional details are available in the Underlying Fund’s prospectus and SAI. You may request a free copy of the prospectus and/or SAI of the Underlying Fund by contacting the Adviser:

 

AB Tax-Aware Short Duration Municipal ETF, a series of AB Active ETFs Inc., seeks to provide relative stability of principal and a moderate rate of after-tax return and income. The Underlying Fund pursues its objective by investing principally in a national portfolio of both municipal and taxable fixed-income securities. The Underlying Fund invests, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its total assets in municipal securities that pay interest that is exempt from federal income tax. These securities may pay interest that is subject to the federal alternative minimum tax for certain taxpayers. The income earned and distributed to shareholders on non-municipal securities would not be exempt from federal income tax. The Adviser selects securities for the Underlying Fund based on a variety of factors, including credit quality, maturity, diversification benefits, and the relative expected after-tax returns of taxable and municipal securities (considering federal tax rates and without regard to state and local income taxes).

Loan Participations and Assignments

A Fund may invest in loans (which may be syndicated) to corporate, governmental or other borrowers, either by participating as co-lender at the time the loan is originated or by buying an interest in the loan in the secondary market from a financial institution or institutional investor. The financial status of an institution interposed between a Fund and a borrower may affect the ability of the Fund to receive principal and interest payments.

The success of a Fund may depend on the skill with which an agent bank administers the terms of the corporate loan agreements, monitors borrower compliance with covenants, collects principal, interest and fee payments from borrowers and, where necessary, enforces creditor remedies against borrowers. Agent banks typically have broad discretion in enforcing loan agreements.

The lack of a liquid secondary market may have an adverse impact on the value of loan participations and assignments and a Fund’s ability to dispose of such investments when necessary to meet the Fund’s liquidity needs in response to a specific economic event such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the borrower. The lack of a liquid secondary market for loan assignments and participations also may make it more difficult for the Fund to assign a value to these investments for purposes of valuing the Fund’s portfolio and calculating its asset value.

Mortgage-Related Securities, Other Asset-Backed Securities and Structured Securities

A Fund may invest in mortgage-related or other asset-backed securities. Mortgage-related securities include mortgage pass-through securities, collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), commercial mortgage-backed securities, mortgage dollar rolls, CMO residuals, stripped mortgage-backed securities (“SMBS”) and other securities that directly or indirectly represent a participation in or are secured by and payable from mortgage loans on real property. These securities may be issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government or one of its sponsored entities or may be issued by private organizations.

The value of mortgage-related or other asset-backed securities may be particularly sensitive to changes in prevailing interest rates. Early payments of principal on some mortgage-related securities may occur during periods of falling mortgage interest rates and expose a Fund to a lower rate of return upon reinvestment of principal. Early payments associated with mortgage-related securities cause these securities to experience significantly greater price and yield volatility than is experienced by traditional fixed-income securities. During periods of rising interest rates, a reduction in prepayments may increase the effective life of mortgage-related securities, subjecting them to greater risk of decline in market value in response to rising interest rates. If the life of a mortgage-related security is inaccurately predicted, a Fund may not be able to realize the rate of return it expected.

One type of SMBS has one class receiving all of the interest from the mortgage assets (the interest-only, or “IO” class), while the other class will receive all of the principal (the principal-only, or “PO” class). The yield to maturity on an IO class is extremely sensitive to the rate of principal payments (including prepayments) on the underlying mortgage assets, and a rapid rate of principal payments may have a material adverse effect on a Fund’s yield to maturity from these securities.

Another type of mortgage-related security, known as a Government Sponsored Enterprise (“GSE”) Risk-Sharing Bond or Credit Risk Transfer Security (“CRT”), is issued by GSEs (and sometimes banks or mortgage insurers) and structured without any government or GSE guarantee in respect of borrower defaults or underlying collateral. The risks associated with an investment in CRTs differ from the risks associated with an investment in mortgage-backed securities issued by GSEs because, in CRTs, some or all of the credit risk associated with the underlying mortgage loans is transferred to the end-investor.

A Fund may invest in collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), which include collateralized bond obligations (“CBOs”), collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), and other similarly structured securities. CBOs and CLOs are types of asset-backed securities. A CBO is a trust that is backed by a diversified pool of high-risk, below investment grade fixed-income securities. A CLO is a trust typically collateralized by a

 

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pool of loans, which may include, among others, domestic and foreign senior secured loans, senior unsecured loans, and subordinate corporate loans, including loans that may be rated below investment grade or equivalent unrated loans. A Fund may invest in other types of asset-backed securities that have been offered to investors.

The securitization techniques used to develop mortgage-related securities are being applied to a broad range of financial assets. Through the use of trusts and special purpose corporations, various types of assets, including automobile loans and leases, credit card receivables, home equity loans, equipment leases and trade receivables, are being securitized in structures similar to the structures used in mortgage securitizations.

A Fund may also invest in various types of structured securities and basket securities. Structured securities are securities issued in structured financing transactions, which generally involve aggregating types of debt assets in a pool or special purpose entity and then issuing new securities. Types of structured financings include securities described elsewhere in this Prospectus, such as mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities. A Fund’s investments include investments in structured securities that represent interests in entities organized and operated solely for the purpose of restructuring the investment characteristics of particular debt obligations. This type of restructuring involves the deposit with or purchase by an entity, such as a corporation or trust, of specified instruments (such as commercial bank loans or high-yield bonds) and the issuance by that entity of one or more classes of structured securities backed by, or representing interests in, the underlying instruments. The cash flow on the underlying instruments may be apportioned among the newly issued structured securities to create securities with different investment characteristics such as varying maturities, payment priorities and interest rate provisions, and the extent of the payments made with respect to structured securities is dependent on the extent of the cash flow from the underlying instruments. Structured securities of a given class may be either subordinated or un-subordinated to the payment of another class. Subordinated structured securities typically have higher yields and present greater risks than unsubordinated structured securities.

Basket securities in which a Fund may invest may consist of entities organized and operated for the purpose of holding a basket of other securities. Baskets involving debt obligations may be designed to represent the characteristics of some portion of the debt securities market or the entire debt securities market.

Municipal Securities

The two principal classifications of municipal securities are bonds and notes. Municipal bonds are intended to meet longer-term capital needs while municipal notes are intended to fulfill short-term capital needs. Municipal notes generally have original maturities not exceeding one year. Municipal notes include tax anticipation notes, revenue anticipation notes, bond anticipation notes, variable-rate demand obligations, and tax-exempt commercial paper.

Municipal bonds are typically classified as “general obligation” or “revenue” or “special obligation” bonds. General obligation bonds are secured by the issuer’s pledge of its full faith, credit, and taxing power for the payment of principal and interest. Revenue or special obligation bonds are payable only from the revenues derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other tax, but not from general tax revenues. The AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio may invest in revenue bonds, which generally do not have the pledge of the credit of the issuer. The payment of the principal and interest on revenue bonds is dependent solely on the ability of the user of the facilities financed by the bonds to meet its financial obligations and the pledge, if any, of real and personal property financed as security for such payment. The AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities or obligations that are related in such a way that business or political developments or changes affecting one such security could also affect the others (for example, securities with interest that is paid from projects of a similar type). The AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio may invest more than 25% of its net assets in revenue bonds.

The AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio may invest in municipal lease obligations. A municipal lease obligation is not backed by the full faith and credit of the issuing municipality, but is usually backed by the municipality’s pledge to make annual appropriations for lease payments. Thus, it is possible that a municipality will not appropriate money for lease payments. Additionally, some municipal lease obligations may allow for lease cancellation prior to the maturity date of the security. Municipal lease obligations may be less readily marketable than other municipal securities and some may be illiquid.

Current federal tax law distinguishes between municipal securities issued to finance certain private activities (“private activity bonds”) and other municipal securities. Private activity bonds, most of which are AMT-Subject bonds and are also revenue bonds, include bonds issued to finance such projects as airports, housing projects, resource recovery programs, solid waste disposal facilities, and student loan programs. Bonds of certain sectors have special risks. For example, the health-care industry can be affected by federal or state legislation, electric utilities are subject to governmental regulation, and private activity bonds are not government-backed. Attempts to restructure the tax system may have adverse effects on the value of municipal securities or make them less attractive to investors relative to taxable treatments.

The AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio may purchase municipal securities that are insured as to the payment of principal and interest under policies issued by certain insurance companies. Historically, insured municipal securities typically received a higher credit rating, which meant that the issuer of the securities paid a lower interest rate. As a result of declines in the credit quality and associated downgrades of most fund insurers, insurance has less value than it did

 

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in the past. The market now values insured municipal securities primarily based on the credit quality of the issuer of the security with little value given to the insurance feature. In purchasing such insured municipal securities, the Adviser currently evaluates the risk and return of municipal securities through its own research.

If an insurance company’s rating is downgraded or the company becomes insolvent, the prices of municipal securities insured by the insurance company may decline. The Adviser believes that downgrades in insurance company ratings or insurance company insolvencies will present limited risk to the Fund. The underlying credit quality of the issuers of the insured municipal securities (generally investment grade) reduces the risk of a significant reduction in the value of the insured municipal security.

Preferred Stock

A Fund may invest in preferred stock. Preferred stock is a class of capital stock that typically pays dividends at a specified rate. Preferred stock is generally senior to common stock, but is subordinated to any debt the issuer has outstanding. Accordingly, preferred stock dividends are not paid until all debt obligations are first met. Preferred stock may be subject to more fluctuations in market value, due to changes in market participants’ perceptions of the issuer’s ability to continue to pay dividends, than debt of the same issuer. These investments include convertible preferred stock, which includes an option for the holder to convert the preferred stock into the issuer’s common stock under certain conditions, among which may be the specification of a future date when the conversion must begin, a certain number of shares of common stock per share of preferred stock, or a certain price per share for the common stock. Convertible preferred stock tends to be more volatile than non-convertible preferred stock, because its value is related to the price of the issuer’s common stock as well as the dividends payable on the preferred stock.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in income-producing real estate or real estate related loans or interests. REITs are generally classified as equity REITs, mortgage REITs or a combination of equity and mortgage REITs. Equity REITs invest the majority of their assets directly in real property and derive income primarily from the collection of rents. Equity REITs can also realize capital gains by selling properties that have appreciated in value. Mortgage REITs invest the majority of their assets in real estate mortgages and derive income from the collection of interest and principal payments. Similar to investment companies such as the Funds, REITs are not taxed on income distributed to shareholders, provided they comply with several requirements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). A Fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of expenses incurred by REITs in which the Fund invests in addition to the expenses incurred directly by the Fund.

Repurchase Agreements and Buy/Sell Back Transactions

Each Fund may enter into repurchase agreements. In a repurchase agreement transaction the Fund buys a security and simultaneously agrees to sell it back to the counterparty at a specified price in the future. However, a repurchase agreement is economically similar to a secured loan, in that the Fund lends cash to a counterparty for a specific term, normally a day or a few days, and is given acceptable collateral (the purchased securities) to hold in case the counterparty does not repay the loan. The difference between the purchase price and the repurchase price of the securities reflects an agreed-upon “interest rate”. Given that the price at which a Fund will sell the collateral back is specified in advance, a Fund is not exposed to price movements on the collateral unless the counterparty defaults. If the counterparty defaults on its obligation to buy back the securities at the maturity date and the liquidation value of the collateral is less than the outstanding loan amount, a Fund would suffer a loss. In order to further mitigate any potential credit exposure to the counterparty, if the value of the securities falls below a specified level that is linked to the loan amount during the life of the agreement, the counterparty must provide additional collateral to support the loan.

A Fund may enter into buy/sell back transactions, which are similar to repurchase agreements. In this type of transaction, a Fund enters a trade to buy securities at one price and simultaneously enters a trade to sell the same securities at another price on a specified date. Similar to a repurchase agreement, the repurchase price is higher than the sale price and reflects current interest rates. Unlike a repurchase agreement, however, the buy/sell back transaction is considered two separate transactions.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements and Dollar Rolls

A Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls, subject to the Fund’s limitations on borrowings. The terms of reverse repurchase agreements are essentially the reverse of “repurchase agreements” described above. In a reverse repurchase agreement transaction, the Fund sells a security and simultaneously agrees to repurchase it at a specified time and price. The economic effect of a reverse repurchase agreement is that of the Fund borrowing money on a secured basis, and reverse repurchase agreements may be considered a form of borrowing for some purposes. Even though the Fund posts securities as collateral, the Fund maintains exposure to price declines on these securities since it has agreed to repurchase the securities at a fixed price. Accordingly, reverse repurchase agreements create leverage risk for the Fund because the Fund maintains exposure to price declines of both the securities it sells in the reverse repurchase agreement and any securities it purchases with the cash it receives under the reverse repurchase agreement. If the value of the posted collateral declines, the counterparty would require the Fund to post additional collateral. If the value of the collateral increases, the Fund may ask for some of its collateral back. If the counterparty defaults and fails to sell the securities back to the Fund at a time when the market purchase price of the securities exceeds the agreed-upon repurchase price, the Fund would suffer a loss.

Dollar rolls involve sales by a Fund of securities for delivery in the current month and the Fund’s simultaneously contracting to repurchase substantially similar (same type and coupon) securities on a specified future date. During the roll period, a Fund forgoes principal and interest paid on the securities. A

 

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Fund is compensated by the difference between the current sales price and the lower forward price for the future purchase (often referred to as the “drop”) as well as by the interest earned on the cash proceeds of the initial sale.

Reverse repurchase agreements and dollar rolls involve the risk that the market value of the securities a Fund is obligated to repurchase under the agreement may decline below the repurchase price. In the event the buyer of securities under a reverse repurchase agreement or dollar roll files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, a Fund’s use of the proceeds of the agreement may be restricted pending a determination by the other party, or its trustee or receiver, whether to enforce the Fund’s obligation to repurchase the securities.

Rights and Warrants

Rights and warrants are option securities permitting their holders to subscribe for other securities. Rights are similar to warrants except that they have a substantially shorter duration. Rights and warrants do not carry with them dividend or voting rights with respect to the underlying securities, or any rights in the assets of the issuer. As a result, an investment in rights and warrants may be considered more speculative than certain other types of investments. In addition, the value of a right or a warrant does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities, and a right or a warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date.

Short Sales

A Fund may make short sales as a part of overall portfolio management or to offset a potential decline in the value of a security. A short sale involves the sale of a security that a Fund does not own, or if the Fund owns the security, is not to be delivered upon consummation of the sale. When the Fund makes a short sale of a security that it does not own, it must borrow from a broker-dealer the security sold short and deliver the security to the broker-dealer upon conclusion of the short sale.

If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time a Fund replaces the borrowed security, the Fund will incur a loss; conversely, if the price declines, the Fund will realize a short-term capital gain. The potential for the price of a fixed-income security sold short to rise is a function of the combination of the remaining maturity of the obligation, its creditworthiness and its yield. Unlike short sales of equities or other instruments, potential for the price of a fixed-income security to rise may be limited due to the fact that the security will be no more than par at maturity. However, the short sale of other instruments or securities generally, including fixed-income securities convertible into equities or other instruments, a fixed-income security trading at a deep discount from par or that pays a coupon that is high in relative and/or absolute terms, or that is denominated in a currency other than the U.S. Dollar, involves the possibility of a theoretically unlimited loss since there is a theoretically unlimited potential for the market price of the security sold short to increase.

Standby Commitment Agreements

Standby commitment agreements are similar to put options that commit a Fund, for a stated period of time, to purchase a stated amount of a security that may be issued and sold to the Fund at the option of the issuer. The price and coupon of the security are fixed at the time of the commitment. At the time of entering into the agreement, the Fund is paid a commitment fee, regardless of whether the security ultimately is issued. A Fund will enter into such agreements only for the purpose of investing in the security underlying the commitment at a yield and price considered advantageous to the Fund and unavailable on a firm commitment basis.

There is no guarantee that a security subject to a standby commitment will be issued. In addition, the value of the security, if issued, on the delivery date may be more or less than its purchase price. Since the issuance of the security is at the option of the issuer, a Fund will bear the risk of capital loss in the event the value of the security declines and may not benefit from an appreciation in the value of the security during the commitment period if the issuer decides not to issue and sell the security to the Fund.

Sovereign Debt Obligations

No established secondary markets may exist for many sovereign debt obligations. Reduced secondary market liquidity may have an adverse effect on the market price and a Fund’s ability to dispose of particular instruments when necessary to meet its liquidity requirements or in response to specific economic events such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the issuer. Reduced secondary market liquidity for certain sovereign debt obligations may also make it more difficult for a Fund to obtain accurate market quotations for the purpose of valuing its portfolio. Market quotations are generally available on many sovereign debt obligations only from a limited number of dealers and may not represent firm bids of those dealers or prices for actual sales.

By investing in sovereign debt obligations, a Fund will be exposed to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social, and economic changes in various countries. Political changes in a country may affect the willingness of a foreign government to make or provide for timely payments of its obligations. The country’s economic status, as reflected in, among other things, its inflation rate, the amount of its external debt and its gross domestic product, will also affect the government’s ability to honor its obligations. In addition, countries that issue debt obligations denominated in a foreign currency and countries that do not have their own currency (e.g., Eurozone countries) may have a higher risk of default than other countries.

The Funds are permitted to invest in sovereign debt obligations of issuers that are not current in the payment of interest or principal or are in default so long as the Adviser believes it to be consistent with the Funds’ investment objectives. The Funds may have limited legal recourse in the event of a default with respect to certain sovereign debt obligations they hold. For example, remedies from defaults on certain sovereign debt obligations, unlike those on private debt, must, in some cases, be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself. Legal recourse therefore may be significantly diminished. Bankruptcy, moratorium, and other similar laws applicable to issuers of sovereign debt obligations may be substantially different

 

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from those applicable to issuers of private debt obligations. The political context, expressed as the willingness of an issuer of sovereign debt obligations to meet the terms of the debt obligation, for example, is of considerable importance. In addition, no assurance can be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest payments to the holders of securities issued by foreign governments in the event of default under commercial bank loan agreements.

Structured Products

A Fund may invest in certain hybrid derivatives-type instruments that combine features of a traditional stock or bond with those of, for example, a futures contract or an option. These instruments include structured notes and indexed securities, commodity-linked notes and commodity index-linked notes and credit-linked securities. The performance of the structured product, which is generally a fixed-income security, is tied (positively or negatively) to the price or prices of an unrelated reference indicator such as a security or basket of securities, currencies, commodities, a securities or commodities index or a credit default swap or other kinds of swaps. The structured product may not pay interest or protect the principal invested. The structured product or its interest rate may be a multiple of the reference indicator and, as a result, may be leveraged and move (up or down) more rapidly than the reference indicator. Investments in structured products may provide a more efficient and less expensive means of obtaining exposure to underlying securities, commodities or other derivatives, but may potentially be more volatile and carry greater trading and market risk than investments in traditional securities. The purchase of a structured product also exposes a Fund to the credit risk of the issuer of the structured product.

Structured notes are derivative debt instruments. The interest rate or principal of these notes is determined by reference to an unrelated indicator (for example, a currency, security, or index thereof) unlike a typical note where the borrower agrees to make fixed or floating interest payments and to pay a fixed sum at maturity. Indexed securities may include structured notes as well as securities other than debt securities, the interest or principal of which is determined by an unrelated indicator.

Commodity-linked notes and commodity index-linked notes provide exposure to the commodities markets. These are derivative securities with one or more commodity-linked components that have payment features similar to commodity futures contracts, commodity options, commodity indices or similar instruments. Commodity-linked products may be either equity or debt securities, leveraged or unleveraged, and have both security- and commodity-like characteristics. A portion of the value of these instruments may be derived from the value of a commodity, futures contract, index or other economic variable.

A Fund may also invest in certain hybrid derivatives-type investments that combine features of a traditional bond with those of certain derivatives such as a credit default swap, an interest rate swap or other securities. These investments include credit-linked securities. The issuers of these securities frequently are limited purpose trusts or other special purpose vehicles that invest in a derivative instrument or basket of derivative instruments in order to provide exposure to certain fixed-income markets. For instance, a Fund may invest in credit-linked securities as a cash management tool to gain exposure to a certain market or to remain fully invested when more traditional income-producing securities are not available. The performance of the structured product, which is generally a fixed-income security, is linked to the receipt of payments from the counterparties to the derivative instruments or other securities. A Fund’s investments in credit-linked securities are indirectly subject to the risks associated with derivative instruments, including among others, credit risk, default risk, counterparty risk, interest rate risk and leverage risk. These securities are generally structured as Rule 144A Securities so that they may be freely traded among qualified institutional buyers. However, changes in the market for credit-linked securities or the availability of willing buyers may result in reduced liquidity for the securities.

Tender Option Bond Transactions

The AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio may enter into and has, from time to time, entered into tender option bonds (“TOBs”) in which the Fund transfers one or more municipal securities into a special purpose entity (the “Trust”). The Fund receives cash and a residual interest security (sometimes referred to as “inverse floaters”) issued by the Trust in return. The Trust simultaneously issues securities, which pay an interest rate that is reset each week based on an index of high-grade short-term demand notes. These securities (sometimes referred to as “floaters”) are bought by third parties, including tax-exempt money market funds, and can be tendered by these holders to a liquidity provider at par, unless certain events occur. The floaters typically have first priority on the cash flow from the underlying municipal securities held by the Trust, and the remaining cash flow, less certain expenses, is paid to holders of the inverse floaters. The interest rate payable on the inverse floaters bears an inverse relationship to the interest rate on the floaters. Under certain circumstances, the Trust may be terminated or collapsed, either by the Fund or upon the occurrence of certain events, such as a downgrade in the credit quality of the underlying municipal securities or in the event holders of the floaters tender their securities to the liquidity provider. The Fund continues to earn all the interest from the transferred municipal securities less the amount of interest paid on the floaters and the expenses of the Trust, which may include payments to the trustee and the liquidity provider and organizational costs. The Fund receives cash proceeds from the Trust’s sale of the floaters as consideration for the transferred municipal securities and uses the cash proceeds for investment purposes (e.g., the purchase of longer-term municipal securities), which involves leverage risk.

To the extent that a Fund, rather than a third-party bank or financial institution, serves as the sponsor of a TOB trust, the Fund’s duties and responsibilities under such an arrangement may give rise to certain risks including compliance, securities law and operational risks.

 

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For a discussion of the risks of TOBs, see “Borrowings and Leverage” below.

Variable, Floating and Inverse Floating-Rate Instruments

Variable and floating-rate securities pay interest at rates that are adjusted periodically, according to a specified formula. A “variable” interest rate adjusts at predetermined intervals (e.g., daily, weekly or monthly), while a “floating” interest rate adjusts whenever a specified benchmark rate (such as the bank prime lending rate) changes.

A Fund may also invest in inverse floating-rate debt instruments (“inverse floaters”). The interest rate on an inverse floater resets in the opposite direction from the market rate of interest to which the inverse floater is indexed. An inverse floater may have greater volatility in market value, in that, during periods of rising interest rates, the market values of inverse floaters will tend to decrease more rapidly than those of fixed-rate securities.

Zero-Coupon and Principal-Only Securities

Zero-coupon securities and principal-only (PO) securities are debt securities that have been issued without interest coupons or stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, and include receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations and coupons. Such a security pays no interest to its holder during its life. Its value to an investor consists of the difference between its face value at the time of maturity and the price for which it was acquired, which is generally an amount significantly less than its face value. Such securities usually trade at a deep discount from their face or par value and are subject to greater fluctuations in market value in response to changing interest rates than debt obligations of comparable maturities and credit quality that make current distributions of interest. On the other hand, because there are no periodic interest payments to be reinvested prior to maturity, these securities eliminate reinvestment risk and “lock in” a rate of return to maturity.

ADDITIONAL RISK AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Investments in the Funds involve the risk considerations described below.

Borrowings and Leverage

A Fund may use borrowings for investment purposes subject to its investment policies and procedures and to applicable statutory or regulatory requirements. Borrowings by a Fund result in leveraging of the Fund’s shares. Each of the Funds may also use leverage for investment purposes by entering into transactions such as reverse repurchase agreements, forward contracts, and dollar rolls and, with respect to AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio, TOB transactions. This means that the Fund uses cash made available during the term of these transactions to make investments in other securities.

Utilization of leverage, which is usually considered speculative, involves certain risks to a Fund’s shareholders. These include a higher volatility of the NAV of the Fund’s shares of common stock and the relatively greater effect of changes in the value of the Fund’s portfolio on the NAV of the shares caused by favorable or adverse changes in market conditions or interest rates. In the case of borrowings for investment purposes, so long as the Fund is able to realize a net return on the leveraged portion of its investment portfolio that is higher than the interest expense paid on borrowings, the effect of leverage will be to cause the Fund’s shareholders to realize a higher net return than if the Fund were not leveraged. If the interest expense on borrowings or other costs of leverage approach the net return on the Fund’s investment portfolio or investments made through leverage, as applicable, the benefit of leverage to the Fund’s shareholders will be reduced. If the interest expense on borrowings or other costs of leverage were to exceed the net return to the Fund, the Fund’s use of leverage could result in a lower rate of net return than if the Fund were not leveraged. Similarly, the effect of leverage in a declining market could normally be a greater decrease in NAV than if the Fund were not leveraged.

During periods of rising short-term interest rates, the interest paid on floaters in TOBs would increase, which may adversely affect the AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio’s net return. If rising short-term rates coincide with a period of rising long-term rates, the value of securities with longer-term maturities purchased with the proceeds of leverage would decline, adversely affecting the Fund’s NAV. In certain circumstances, adverse changes in interest rates or other events could cause a TOB trust to terminate or collapse, potentially requiring the Fund to liquidate the longer-term securities at unfavorable prices to meet the Trust’s outstanding obligations.

Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act imposes limits on a fund’s utilization of certain derivatives and other forms of leverage. Rule 18f-4, among other things, permits a fund to treat TOBs (and other similar financing transactions) either as borrowings (subject to asset coverage requirements under the 1940 Act) or as “derivatives transactions” subject to certain risk-based limits of Rule 18f-4.

Foreign (Non-U.S.) Securities

Investing in foreign securities involves special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. securities. The securities markets of many foreign countries are relatively small, with the majority of market capitalization and trading volume concentrated in a limited number of companies representing a small number of industries. A Fund that invests in foreign securities may experience greater price volatility and significantly lower liquidity than a portfolio invested solely in securities of U.S. companies. These markets may be subject to greater influence by adverse events generally affecting the market, and by large investors trading significant blocks of securities, than is usual in the United States. Sanctions imposed by the U.S. or a foreign country may restrict a Fund’s ability to purchase or sell foreign securities or may require a Fund to divest its holdings in foreign securities, which could adversely affect the value or liquidity of such holdings. The imposition of sanctions could also adversely affect global sectors and economies and thereby negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments beyond any direct exposure to the countries or

 

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regions subject to the sanctions. In addition, the securities markets of some foreign countries may be closed on certain days (e.g., local holidays) when the Funds are open for business. On such days, a Fund may be unable to add to or exit its positions in foreign securities traded in such markets even though it may otherwise be attractive to do so.

Securities registration, custody, and settlement may in some instances be subject to delays and legal and administrative uncertainties. Foreign investment in the securities markets of certain foreign countries is restricted or controlled to varying degrees. These restrictions or controls may at times limit or preclude investment in certain securities and may increase the costs and expenses of a Fund. In addition, the repatriation of investment income, capital or the proceeds of sales of securities from certain of the countries is controlled under regulations, including in some cases the need for certain advance government notification or authority, and if a deterioration occurs in a country’s balance of payments, the country could impose temporary restrictions on foreign capital remittances. Income from certain investments held by a Fund could be reduced by foreign income taxes, including withholding taxes.

A Fund also could be adversely affected by delays in, or a refusal to grant, any required governmental approval for repatriation, as well as by the application to it of other restrictions on investment. Investing in local markets may require a Fund to adopt special procedures or seek local governmental approvals or other actions, any of which may involve additional costs to a Fund. These factors may affect the liquidity of a Fund’s investments in any country and the Adviser will monitor the effect of any such factor or factors on a Fund’s investments. Transaction costs, including brokerage commissions for transactions both on and off the securities exchanges, in many foreign countries are generally higher than in the United States.

Issuers of securities in foreign jurisdictions are generally not subject to the same degree of regulation as are U.S. issuers with respect to such matters as insider trading rules, restrictions on market manipulation, shareholder proxy requirements, and timely disclosure of information. The reporting, accounting, and auditing standards of foreign countries may differ, in some cases significantly, from U.S. standards in important respects, and less information may be available to investors in foreign securities than to investors in U.S. securities.

A non-U.S. company or non-U.S. issuer is an entity that (i) is organized under the laws of a foreign country and conducts business in a foreign country, (ii) derives 50% or more of its total revenue from business in foreign countries, or (iii) issues equity or debt securities that are traded principally on an exchange in a foreign country.

The economies of individual foreign countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product or gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency, and balance of payments position. Nationalization, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, currency blockage, political changes, government regulation, political or social instability, public health crises (including the occurrence of a contagious disease or illness) revolutions, wars or diplomatic developments could affect adversely the economy of a foreign country. In the event of nationalization, expropriation, or other confiscation, a Fund could lose its entire investment in securities in the country involved. In addition, laws in foreign countries governing business organizations, bankruptcy and insolvency may provide less protection to security holders such as the Funds than that provided by U.S. laws.

Investments in securities of companies in emerging markets involve special risks. There are approximately 100 countries identified by the World Bank as Low Income, Lower Middle Income and Upper Middle Income countries that are generally regarded as emerging markets. Emerging market countries that the Adviser currently considers for investment include:

 

Countries may be added to or removed from this list at any time.

 

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Additional risks of emerging market securities may include: greater social, economic and political uncertainty and instability; more substantial governmental involvement in the economy; less governmental supervision and regulation; unavailability of currency hedging techniques; companies that are newly organized and small; less developed legal systems with fewer security holder rights and practical remedies to pursue claims, including class actions or fraud claims; the limited ability of U.S. authorities to bring and enforce actions against non-U.S. companies and non-U.S. persons; and differences in the nature and quality of financial information, including (i) auditing and financial reporting standards, which may result in unavailability or unreliability of material information about issuers and (ii) the risk that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) may not be able to inspect audit practices and work conducted by PCAOB-registered audit firms in certain emerging market countries, such as China. Thus there can be no assurance that the quality of financial reporting or the audits conducted by such audit firms of U.S.-listed emerging market companies meet PCAOB standards. Furthermore, in December 2021, the SEC finalized rules to implement the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which requires the SEC to prohibit the trading of securities of foreign issuers (including those based in China) on a national securities exchange or through any other method regulated by the SEC (including through over-the-counter trading) if the PCAOB is unable to inspect the work papers of the auditors of such companies for three years. To the extent a Fund invests in the securities of a company whose securities become subject to such a trading prohibition, the Fund’s ability to transact in such securities, and the liquidity of the securities, as well as their market price, would likely be adversely affected. A Fund would also have to seek other markets in which to transact in such securities, which could increase the Fund’s costs. In addition, emerging securities markets may have different clearance and settlement procedures, which may be unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions or otherwise make it difficult to engage in such transactions. Settlement problems may cause a Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities, hold a portion of its assets in cash pending investment, or be delayed in disposing of a portfolio security. Such a delay could result in possible liability to a purchaser of the security.

A Fund may invest in securities of frontier market countries. Frontier market countries generally have smaller, less diverse economies and even less developed capital markets and legal, regulatory, and political systems than traditional emerging markets. As a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries. Frontier market risks include the potential for extreme price volatility and illiquidity—economic or political instability may cause larger price changes in frontier market securities than in securities of issuers located in more developed markets. The risks of investing in frontier market countries may also be magnified by: government ownership or control of parts of the private sector and of certain companies; trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values, impaired or limited access to issuer information and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which frontier market countries trade; and the relatively new and unsettled securities laws in many frontier market countries. The actions of a relatively few major investors in these markets are more likely to result in significant changes in local stock prices and the value of fund shares. The risk also exists that an emergency situation may arise in one or more frontier market countries as a result of which trading of securities may cease or may be substantially curtailed and prices for investments in such markets may not be readily available. All of these factors can make investing in frontier markets riskier than investing in more developed emerging markets or other foreign markets.

Foreign (Non-U.S.) Currencies

Investing in and exposure to foreign currencies involve special risks and considerations. A Fund that invests some portion of its assets in securities denominated in, and receives revenues in, foreign currencies will be adversely affected by reductions in the value of those currencies relative to the U.S. Dollar. Foreign currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly. They are determined by supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets, the relative merits of investments in different countries, actual or perceived changes in interest rates, and other complex factors. Currency exchange rates also can be affected unpredictably by intervention (or the failure to intervene) by U.S. or foreign governments or central banks or by currency controls or political developments. In light of these risks, a Fund may engage in certain currency hedging transactions, as described above, which involve certain special risks.

A Fund may also invest directly in foreign currencies for non-hedging purposes on a spot basis (i.e., cash) or through derivatives transactions, such as forward currency exchange contracts, futures contracts and options thereon, swaps and options as described above. These investments will be subject to the same risks. In addition, currency exchange rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time, causing a Fund’s NAV to fluctuate.

 

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Investment in Below Investment Grade Fixed-Income Securities

Below investment grade fixed-income securities (commonly called “junk bonds”) are those rated Ba1 or lower by Moody’s, or BB+ or lower by S&P or Fitch, or the equivalent by any other NRSRO, as well as unrated securities considered by the Adviser to be of comparable quality. For a description of credit ratings, see Appendix A—Bond Ratings.

Investments in below investment grade securities are subject to greater risk of loss of principal and interest than higher-rated securities. These securities are also generally considered to be subject to greater market risk than higher-rated securities. The capacity of issuers of these securities to pay interest and repay principal is more likely to weaken than is that of issuers of higher-rated securities in times of deteriorating economic conditions or rising interest rates. In addition, below investment grade securities may be more susceptible to real or perceived adverse economic conditions than investment grade securities.

The market for these securities may be thinner and less active than that for higher-rated securities, which can adversely affect the prices at which these securities can be sold. To the extent that there is no established secondary market for these securities, a Fund may experience difficulty in valuing such securities and, in turn, the Fund’s assets.

Unrated Securities

A Fund may invest in unrated securities when the Adviser believes that the financial condition of the issuers of such securities, or the protection afforded by the terms of the securities themselves, limits the risk to the Fund to a degree comparable to that of rated securities that are consistent with the Fund’s objective and policies.

Management Risk – Quantitative Models

The Adviser may use investment techniques that incorporate, or rely upon, quantitative models. These models may not work as intended and may not enable a Fund to achieve its investment objective. In addition, certain models may be constructed using data from external providers, and these inputs may be incorrect or incomplete, thus potentially limiting the effectiveness of the models. Finally, the Adviser may change, enhance and update its models and its usage of existing models at its discretion.

With respect to a portion of AB Global Bond Fund’s portfolio, the Adviser employs a systematic investment process using a dynamic multifactor approach. This approach, which is implemented by the Adviser through its proprietary research, investment and trading models and algorithms, considers a number of factors in seeking to generate alpha through a bottom-up security selection process. These models are subject to the risks discussed above.

Future Developments

A Fund may take advantage of other investment practices that are not currently contemplated for use by the Fund, or are not available but may yet be developed, to the extent such investment practices are consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and legally permissible for the Fund. Such investment practices, if they arise, may involve risks that exceed those involved in the activities described above.

Changes in Investment Objectives and Policies

A Fund’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) may change the Fund’s investment objective without shareholder approval. The Fund will provide shareholders with 60 days’ prior written notice of any change to the Fund’s investment objective. Funds that have a policy to invest at least 80% of their net assets in securities indicated by their name will not change their policies without 60 days’ prior written notice to shareholders. Unless otherwise noted, all other investment policies of a Fund may be changed without shareholder approval.

Temporary Defensive Position

For temporary defensive purposes in an attempt to respond to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, each Fund may invest in certain types of short-term, liquid, investment grade or high-quality (depending on the Fund) debt securities or, with respect to AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio and AB Income Fund, high-quality municipal notes or variable-rate demand obligations, or in taxable cash equivalents. While a Fund is investing for temporary defensive purposes, it may not meet its investment objective.

Portfolio Holdings

A description of the Funds’ policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio securities is available in the Funds’ SAI.

Cyber Security Risk

As the use of the Internet and other technologies has become more prevalent in the course of business, the Funds and their service providers, including the Adviser, have become more susceptible to operational and financial risks associated with cyber security. Cyber security incidents can result from deliberate attacks such as gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption, or from unintentional events, such as the inadvertent release of confidential information. Cyber security failures or breaches of a Fund or its service providers or the issuers of securities in which the Fund invests have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, the inability of Fund shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, and/or additional compliance costs. While measures have been developed which are designed to reduce the risks associated with cyber security incidents, there can be no assurance that those measures will be effective, particularly since a Fund does not control the cyber security defenses or plans of its service providers, financial intermediaries and companies with which those entities do business and companies in which the Fund invests.

Cyber security incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund or

 

48

shareholder assets, Fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, or cause a Fund, the Adviser, and/or a Fund’s service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or lose operational functionality, or prevent Fund shareholders from purchasing, redeeming, or exchanging shares or receiving distributions. The Funds and the Adviser have limited ability to prevent or mitigate cyber security incidents affecting third-party service providers. Cyber security incidents may result in financial losses to a Fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in seeking to prevent or minimize future cyber security incidents.

 

49

INVESTING IN THE FUNDS

 

 

Each share class represents an investment in the same portfolio of securities, but the classes may have different sales charges and bear different ongoing distribution expenses. For additional information on the differences between the different classes of shares and factors to consider when choosing among them, please see “The Different Share Class Expenses” and “Choosing a Share Class” below. Only Class A shares offer Quantity Discounts on sales charges, as described below.

To effect an order for the purchase, exchange or redemption of a Fund’s shares, the Fund must receive the order in “proper form.” Proper form generally means that your instructions:

 

 

 

Written instructions also must include:

 

 

The Funds reserve the right, without notice, to revise the requirements for proper form.

HOW TO BUY SHARES

The purchase of a Fund’s shares is priced at the next-determined NAV after your order is received in proper form.

Class A and Class C Shares – Shares Available to Retail Investors

You may purchase a Fund’s Class A or Class C shares through financial intermediaries, such as broker-dealers or banks. You also may purchase shares directly from the Funds’ principal underwriter, AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc., or ABI, if you are: (i) making an initial investment and the Fund has received and accepted a completed Mutual Fund Application identifying a financial intermediary with which ABI has an agreement; (ii) an existing Fund shareholder with an account held directly with a Fund; or (iii) an employee of the Adviser or any of its affiliates. These purchases may be subject to an initial sales charge, an asset-based sales charge or CDSC as described below.

 

Minimums:*

 

 

Maximum Individual Purchase Amount:

 

—Class A shares			None
—Class C shares:
—AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio		$	500,000
—All Other Funds		$	1,000,000

Class Z Shares – Shares Available to Persons Participating in Certain Fee-Based Programs

Class Z shares are available to persons participating in certain fee-based programs sponsored and maintained by registered broker-dealers or other financial intermediaries with omnibus account arrangements with a Fund.

Other Purchase Information

Your broker or financial intermediary must receive your purchase request by the Fund Closing Time, which is the close of regular trading on any day the Exchange is open (ordinarily, 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, but sometimes earlier, as in the case of scheduled half-day trading or unscheduled suspensions of trading), for you to receive the next-determined NAV, less any applicable initial sales charge.

If you are an existing Fund shareholder and you have completed the appropriate section of the Mutual Fund Application, you may purchase additional shares by telephone with payment by electronic funds transfer in amounts not exceeding $500,000. ABIS must receive and confirm telephone requests before the Fund Closing Time, to receive that day’s public offering price. Call (800) 221-5672 to arrange a transfer from your bank account.

Shares of the Funds are generally available for purchase in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Except to the extent otherwise permitted by the Funds, the Funds will only accept purchase orders directly from U.S. citizens with a U.S. address (including an APO or FPO address) or resident aliens with a U.S. address (including an APO or FPO address) and a U.S. taxpayer identification number (i.e., W-9 tax status). Subject to the

 

50

requirements of local law applicable to the offering of Fund shares, U.S. citizens (i.e., W-9 tax status) residing in foreign countries are permitted to purchase shares of the Funds through their accounts at U.S. registered broker-dealers and other similar U.S. financial intermediaries, provided the broker-dealer or intermediary has an agreement with the Funds’ distributor permitting it to accept orders for the purchase and sale of Fund shares.

The Funds will not accept purchase orders (including orders for the purchase of additional shares) from foreign persons or entities or from resident aliens who, to the knowledge of a Fund, have reverted to non-resident status (e.g., a resident alien who has a non-U.S. address at time of purchase).

Tax-Deferred Accounts

Class A shares are also available to the following tax-deferred arrangements:

 

 

 

Advisor Class Shares

You may purchase Advisor Class shares through your financial advisor at NAV. Advisor Class shares may be purchased and held solely:

 

 

 

 

Advisor Class shares may also be available on brokerage platforms of firms that have agreements with ABI to offer such shares when acting solely on an agency basis for the purchase or sale of such shares. If you transact in Advisor Class shares through one of these programs, you may be required to pay a commission and/or other forms of compensation to the broker. Shares of the Funds are available in other share classes that have different fees and expenses.

The Funds’ SAI has more detailed information about who may purchase and hold Advisor Class shares.

Class I and Class Z shares are also available to certain institutional clients of the Adviser that invest at least $2,000,000 in a Fund.

Required Information

Each Fund is required by law to obtain, verify, and record certain personal information from you or persons authorized to act on your behalf in order to establish an account. Required information includes name, date of birth, physical address and taxpayer identification number (for most investors, your social security number). A Fund may also ask to see other identifying documents. If you do not provide the information, the Fund will not be able to open your account. If a Fund is unable to verify your identity, or that of another person(s) authorized to act on your behalf, or, if the Fund believes it has identified potentially criminal activity, the Fund reserves the right to take action it deems appropriate or as required by law, which may include closing your account. If you are not a U.S. citizen or resident alien, your account must be affiliated with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, member firm.

A Fund is required to withhold 24% of taxable dividends, capital gains distributions, and redemptions paid to any shareholder who has not provided the Fund with his or her correct taxpayer identification number. To avoid this, you must provide your correct taxpayer identification number on your Mutual Fund Application.

General

IRA custodians, plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, plan recordkeepers, and other financial intermediaries may establish their own eligibility requirements as to the purchase, sale or exchange of Fund shares, including minimum and maximum investment requirements. A Fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decisions of any plan sponsor,

 

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fiduciary or other financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements.

ABI may refuse any order to purchase shares. Each Fund reserves the right to suspend the sale of its shares to the public in response to conditions in the securities markets or for other reasons.

THE DIFFERENT SHARE CLASS EXPENSES

This section describes the different expenses of investing in each class and explains factors to consider when choosing a class of shares. The expenses can include distribution and/or service (Rule 12b-1) fees, initial sales charges and/or CDSCs. Only Class A shares offer Quantity Discounts as described below.

Asset-Based Sales Charges or Distribution and/or Service (Rule 12b-1) Fees

 

The amount of these fees for each class of a Fund’s shares is:

 

		Distribution and/or Service (Rule 12b‑1) Fee (as a Percentage of Aggregate Average Daily Net Assets)
Class A				0.25	%*
Class C				1.00	%
Advisor Class				None
Class I				None
Class Z				None

 

*	The maximum fee allowed under any Rule 12b-1 Plan for the Class A shares is .30% (.25% for AB Income Fund and AB Sustainable Thematic Credit Portfolio) of the aggregate average daily net assets. The Board currently limits the payments to .25%.

Sales Charges

The initial sales charge you pay each time you buy Class A shares differs depending on the amount you invest and may be reduced or eliminated for larger purchases as indicated below. These discounts, which are also known as Breakpoints or Quantity Discounts, can reduce or, in some cases, eliminate the initial sales charges that would otherwise apply to your investment in Class A shares.

The sales charge schedule of Class A share Quantity Discounts is as follows:

 

AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opportunities Portfolio:

 

All Other Funds:

 

Class A share purchases not subject to sales charges. The Funds may sell their Class A shares at NAV without an initial sales charge or CDSC to some categories of investors, including:

 

 

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–

plan participants who roll over amounts distributed from employer maintained retirement plans to AllianceBernstein-sponsored IRAs where the plan is a client of or serviced by the Adviser’s Institutional Investment Management Division or Bernstein Private Wealth Management Division, including subsequent contributions to those IRAs;

 

 

The availability of certain sales charge waivers and discounts will depend on whether you purchase your shares directly from a Fund or through a financial intermediary. Intermediaries may have different policies and procedures regarding the availability of front-end sales load waivers and discounts or CDSC waivers. In all instances, it is the purchaser’s responsibility to notify a Fund or the purchaser’s financial intermediary at the time of purchase of any relationship or other facts qualifying the purchaser for sales charge waivers or discounts. For waivers and discounts not available through a particular intermediary, shareholders will have to purchase Fund shares directly from the Fund or through another intermediary to receive these waivers or discounts.

Please see the Funds’ SAI for more information about purchases of Class A shares without sales charges.

Certain intermediaries impose different eligibility criteria for sales load waivers and discounts, which are described in Appendix C—Financial Intermediary Waivers.

Class C Shares. You can purchase Class C shares at NAV without an initial sales charge. This means that the full amount of your purchase is invested in the Fund. Your investment is subject to a 1% CDSC if you redeem your shares within one year. If you exchange your shares for the Class C shares of another AB Mutual Fund, the 1% CDSC also will apply to the Class C shares received. The 1-year period for the CDSC begins with the date of your original purchase, not the date of the exchange for the other Class C shares.

Class C shares purchased for cash automatically convert to Class A shares eight years after the end of the month of your purchase. If you purchase shares by exchange for the Class C shares of another AB Mutual Fund, the conversion period runs from the date of your original purchase.

 

SALES CHARGE REDUCTION PROGRAMS FOR CLASS A SHARES

This section includes important information about sales charge reduction programs available to investors in Class A shares and describes information or records you may need to provide to a Fund or your financial intermediary in order to be eligible for sales charge reduction programs. Your financial intermediary may have different policies and procedures regarding eligibility for sales charge reduction programs. See Appendix C—Financial Intermediary Waivers.

Information about Quantity Discounts and sales charge reduction programs also is available free of charge and in a clear and prominent format on our website at www.abfunds.com (click on “Investments—Mutual Funds”, select the Fund, then click on “Literature-Understanding Sales Charges & Expenses”).

Rights of Accumulation

To determine if a new investment in Class A shares is eligible for a Quantity Discount, a shareholder can combine the value of the new investment in a Fund with the higher of cost or NAV of existing investments in the Fund and any other AB Mutual Fund. The AB Mutual Funds use the higher of cost or current NAV of your existing investments when combining them with your new investment.

Combined Purchase Privileges

A shareholder may qualify for a Quantity Discount by combining purchases of shares of a Fund into a single “purchase”. A “purchase” means a single purchase or concurrent purchases of shares of a Fund or any other AB Mutual Fund by:

 

 

 

 

 

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Letter of Intent

An investor may not immediately invest a sufficient amount to reach a Quantity Discount, but may plan to make one or more additional investments over a period of time that, in the end, would qualify for a Quantity Discount. For these situations, the Funds offer a Letter of Intent, which permits new investors to express the intention, in writing, to invest at least $100,000 in Class A shares of a Fund or any other AB Mutual Fund within 13 months. The Fund will then apply the Quantity Discount to each of the investor’s purchases of Class A shares that would apply to the total amount stated in the Letter of Intent. In the event an existing investor chooses to initiate a Letter of Intent, the AB Mutual Funds will use the higher of cost or current NAV of the investor’s existing investments and of those accounts with which investments are combined via Combined Purchase Privileges toward the fulfillment of the Letter of Intent. For example, if the combined cost of purchases totaled $80,000 and the current NAV of all applicable accounts is $85,000 at the time a $100,000 Letter of Intent is initiated, the subsequent investment of an additional $15,000 would fulfill the Letter of Intent. If an investor fails to invest the total amount stated in the Letter of Intent, the Funds will retroactively collect the sales charge otherwise applicable by redeeming shares in the investor’s account at their then current NAV. Investors qualifying for Combined Purchase Privileges may purchase shares under a single Letter of Intent.

Required Shareholder Information and Records

In order for shareholders to take advantage of sales charge reductions, a shareholder or his or her financial intermediary must notify the Fund that the shareholder qualifies for a reduction. Without notification, the Fund is unable to ensure that the reduction is applied to the shareholder’s account. A shareholder may have to provide information or records to his or her financial intermediary or a Fund to verify eligibility for breakpoint privileges or other sales charge waivers. This may include information or records, including account statements, regarding shares of the Fund or other AB Mutual Funds held in:

 

 

CDSC WAIVERS AND OTHER PROGRAMS

 

CDSC Waivers

The Funds will waive the CDSCs on redemptions of shares in the following circumstances, among others:

 

 

 

 

Please see the Funds’ SAI for a list of additional circumstances in which a Fund will waive the CDSCs on redemptions of shares.

Your financial intermediary may have different policies and procedures regarding eligibility for CDSC waivers. See Appendix C—Financial Intermediary Waivers.

Other Programs

Dividend Reinvestment Program

Unless you specifically have elected to receive dividends or distributions in cash, they will automatically be reinvested, without an initial sales charge or CDSC, in the same class of additional shares of a Fund. If you elect to receive distributions in cash, you will only receive a check if the amount of the distribution is equal to or exceeds $25.00. Distributions of less than $25.00 will automatically be reinvested in shares of the Fund. To receive distributions of less than $25.00 in cash, you must have bank instructions associated to your account so that distributions can be delivered to you electronically via Electronic Funds Transfer using the Automated Clearing House or “ACH”. In addition, the Fund may reinvest your distribution check (and future checks) in additional shares of the Fund if your check (i) is returned as undeliverable or (ii) remains uncashed for nine months.

Dividend Direction Plan

A shareholder who already maintains accounts in more than one AB Mutual Fund may direct the automatic investment of income dividends and/or capital gains by one Fund, in any amount, without the payment of any sales charges, in shares of any eligible class of one or more other AB Mutual Fund(s) in which the shareholder maintains an account.

Automatic Investment Program

The Automatic Investment Program allows investors to purchase shares of a Fund through pre-authorized transfers of funds from the investor’s bank account. Under the Automatic Investment Program, an investor may (i) make an initial purchase of at least $2,500 and invest at least $50 monthly or (ii) make an initial purchase of less than $2,500 and commit to a monthly investment of $200 or more until the investor’s account balance is $2,500 or more. Please see the Funds’ SAI for more details.

Reinstatement Privilege

A shareholder who has redeemed all or any portion of his or her Class A shares may reinvest all or any portion of the proceeds from the redemption in Class A shares of any AB Mutual Fund at NAV without any sales charge, if the reinvestment is made within 120 calendar days after the redemption date.

 

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Systematic Withdrawal Plan

The Funds offer a systematic withdrawal plan that permits the redemption of Class A or Class C shares without payment of a CDSC. Under this plan, redemptions equal to 1% a month, 2% every two months or 3% a quarter of the value of a Fund account would be free of a CDSC. For Class A and Class C shares, shares held the longest would be redeemed first.

CHOOSING A SHARE CLASS

Each share class represents an interest in the same portfolio of securities, but each class has its own sales charge and expense structure allowing you to choose the class that best fits your situation. In choosing a class of shares, you should consider:

 

 

 

 

 

•

whether a share class is available for purchase (Class I shares are only offered to group retirement plans, not individuals).

Among other things, Class A shares, with their lower Rule 12b-1 fees, are designed for investors with a long-term investing time frame. Class C shares should not be considered as a long-term investment because they are subject to a higher distribution fee for eight years. Class C shares do not, however, have an initial sales charge or a CDSC so long as the shares are held for one year or more. Class C shares are designed for investors with a short-term investing time frame.

A transaction, service, administrative or other similar fee may be charged by your broker-dealer, agent or other financial intermediary, with respect to the purchase, sale or exchange of Class A, Class C, Advisor Class or Class Z shares made through your financial advisor, or in connection with participation on the intermediary’s platform. Financial intermediaries, a fee-based program, or, for group retirement plans, a plan sponsor or plan fiduciary, also may impose requirements on the purchase, sale or exchange of shares that are different from, or in addition to, those described in this Prospectus and the Funds’ SAI, including requirements as to the minimum initial and subsequent investment amounts. In addition, group retirement plans may not offer all classes of shares of a Fund. A Fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any financial intermediary, plan sponsor or fiduciary to impose such differing requirements.

You should consult your financial advisor for assistance in choosing a class of Fund shares.

PAYMENTS TO FINANCIAL ADVISORS AND THEIR FIRMS

Financial intermediaries market and sell shares of the Funds. These financial intermediaries employ financial advisors and receive compensation for selling shares of the Funds. This compensation is paid from various sources, including any sales charge, CDSC, and/or Rule 12b-1 fee that you or the Funds may pay. Your individual financial advisor may receive some or all of the amounts paid to the financial intermediary that employs him or her.

 

All or a portion of the initial sales charge that you pay is paid by ABI to financial intermediaries selling Class A shares. ABI may also pay financial intermediaries a fee of up to 1% on purchases of Class A shares that are sold without an initial sales charge.

ABI pays, at the time of your purchase, a commission to financial intermediaries in an amount equal to 1% of your investment for sales of Class C shares.

 

-

upfront sales commissions;

-

Rule 12b-1 fees;

-

additional distribution support;

-

defrayal of costs for educational seminars and training; and

-

payments related to providing shareholder recordkeeping and/or transfer agency services.

Other Payments for Distribution Services and Educational Support

In addition to the commissions paid to or charged by financial intermediaries at the time of sale and Rule 12b-1 fees, some or all of which are paid to financial intermediaries (and, in turn, may be paid to your financial advisor), ABI, at its expense, currently provides additional payments to firms that sell shares of the AB Mutual Funds. The Adviser and its affiliates, at their own expense, provide similar payments to firms for providing distribution, marketing, promotional, educational and other services to the AB ETFs. Although the individual components may be higher and the total amount of payments made to each qualifying firm in any given year may vary, the total amount paid to a financial intermediary in connection with the services

 

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A number of factors are considered in determining the additional payments, including each firm’s AB Fund sales, assets and redemption rates, and the willingness and ability of the firm to give the Adviser and ABI and their affiliates access to its financial advisors for educational and marketing purposes. In some cases, firms will include the AB Funds on a “preferred list”. The goal is to make the financial advisors who interact with current and prospective investors and shareholders more knowledgeable about the AB Funds so that they can provide suitable information and advice about the funds and related investor services.

The Funds and ABI also make payments for recordkeeping and other transfer agency services to financial intermediaries that sell AB Fund shares. Please see “Management of the Funds—Transfer Agency and Retirement Plan Services” below. If paid by the Funds, these expenses are included in “Other Expenses” under “Fees and Expenses of the Fund—Annual Fund Operating Expenses” in the Summary Information at the beginning of this Prospectus.

 

As of the date of this Prospectus, ABI anticipates that the firms that will receive additional payments for distribution services and/or educational support include:

ADP Retirement Services

American Enterprise Investment Services

Citigroup Global Markets

Citizens Securities

Equitable Advisors

FIS Brokerage

Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co.

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

JP Morgan Securities

LPL Financial

Merrill Lynch

Morgan Stanley

Northwestern Mutual Investment Services

One America

Osaic, Inc.

PNC Investments

Principal Life

Raymond James

RBC Wealth Management

Robert W. Baird

Rockefeller Financial, LLC

The Standard Retirement Services

Truist Investment Services

UBS Financial Services

US Bancorp Investments

Wells Fargo Advisors

Although the Funds may use brokers and dealers that sell shares of the Funds to effect portfolio transactions, the Funds do not consider the sale of AB Fund shares as a factor when selecting brokers or dealers to effect portfolio transactions.

HOW TO EXCHANGE SHARES

You may exchange your Fund shares for shares of the same class of other AB Mutual Funds provided that the other fund offers the same class of shares and, in the case of retirement plans, is an investment option under the plan. Exchanges of shares are made at the next-determined NAV, without sales or service charges, after your order is received in proper form. All exchanges are subject to the minimum investment restrictions set forth in the prospectus for the AB Mutual Fund whose shares are being acquired. You may request an exchange either directly or through your financial intermediary or, in the case of retirement plan participants, by following the procedures specified by your plan sponsor or plan recordkeeper. In order to receive a day’s NAV, ABIS must receive and confirm your telephone exchange request by the Fund Closing Time on that day. The Funds may modify, restrict, or terminate the exchange privilege on 60 days’ written notice.

HOW TO SELL OR REDEEM SHARES

You may “redeem” your shares (i.e., sell your shares to a Fund) on any day the Exchange is open, either directly or through your financial intermediary or, in the case of retirement plan participants, by following the procedures specified by your plan

 

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sponsor or plan recordkeeper. For Advisor Class and Class Z shares, if you are in doubt about what procedures or documents are required by your fee-based program or employee benefit plan to sell your shares, you should contact your financial intermediary.

Your sale price will be the next-determined NAV, less any applicable CDSC, after a Fund receives your redemption request in proper form. Each Fund expects that it will typically take one to three business days following the receipt of your redemption request in proper form to pay out redemption proceeds. However, while not expected, payment of redemption proceeds may take up to seven days from the day your request is received in proper form by the Fund by the Fund Closing Time. If you recently purchased your shares by check or electronic funds transfer, your redemption payment may be delayed until the Fund is reasonably satisfied that the check or electronic funds transfer has been collected (which may take up to 10 days).

Each Fund expects, under normal circumstances, to use cash or cash equivalents held by the Fund to satisfy redemption requests. A Fund may also determine to sell portfolio assets to meet such requests. Under certain circumstances, including stressed market conditions, a Fund may determine to pay a redemption request by accessing a bank line of credit or by distributing wholly or partly in kind securities from its portfolio, instead of cash.

Sale In-Kind. Each Fund normally pays proceeds of a sale of Fund shares in cash. However, each Fund has reserved the right to pay the sale price in whole or in part by a distribution in-kind of securities in lieu of cash. If the redemption payment is made in-kind, the securities received will be subject to market risk and may decline in value. In addition, you may incur brokerage commissions if you elect to sell the securities for cash.

Selling Shares Through Your Financial Intermediary or Retirement Plan

Your financial intermediary or plan recordkeeper must receive your sales request by the Fund Closing Time for you to receive that day’s NAV, less any applicable CDSC. Your financial intermediary, plan sponsor or plan recordkeeper is responsible for submitting all necessary documentation to the Fund and may charge you a fee for this service.

Selling Shares Directly to the Fund

By Mail:

AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc.

P.O. Box 786003

San Antonio, TX 78278-6003

 

AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc.

8000 IH 10 W, 13th floor

San Antonio, TX 78230