N-CSR 1 d833095dncsr.htm AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND, INC. AB Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM N-CSR

 

 

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number: 811-09687

 

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

 

 

1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10105

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

 

 

Joseph J. Mantineo

AllianceBernstein L.P.

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10105

(Name and address of agent for service)

 

 

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

Date of fiscal year end: November 30, 2014

Date of reporting period: November 30, 2014

 

 

 


ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.


NOV    11.30.14

LOGO

 

ANNUAL REPORT

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

 


 

Investment Products Offered

 

• Are Not FDIC Insured

• May Lose Value

• Are Not Bank Guaranteed

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

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

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

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

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

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


January 21, 2015

 

Annual Report

This report provides management’s discussion of fund performance for AB Core Opportunities Fund (the “Fund”) for the annual reporting period ended November 30, 2014. Effective January 20, 2015, the Fund’s name changed from AllianceBernstein to AB.

Investment Objectives and Policies

The Fund’s investment objective is long-term growth of capital. The Fund invests primarily in the equity securities of U.S. companies that AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) believes are undervalued. The Adviser believes that, over time, a company’s stock price will come to reflect its intrinsic economic value. The Fund may invest in companies of any size and in any industry.

The Adviser depends heavily upon the fundamental analysis and research of its large internal research staff in making investment decisions for the Fund. The research staff follows a primary research universe of approximately 500, largely U.S., companies. In determining a company’s intrinsic economic value, the Adviser takes into account many fundamental and financial factors that it believes bear on the company’s ability to perform in the future, including earnings growth, prospective cash flows, dividend growth and growth in book value. The Adviser then ranks each of the companies in its research universe in the relative order of disparity between their intrinsic economic values and their current stock prices, with companies with the greatest disparities receiving the highest rankings (i.e., being considered the most

undervalued). The Adviser anticipates that the Fund’s portfolio normally will include companies ranking in the top three deciles of the Adviser’s valuation model.

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

The Fund may, at times, invest in shares of ETFs in lieu of making direct investments in equity securities. ETFs may provide more efficient and economical exposure to the type of companies and geographic locations in which the Fund seeks to invest than direct investments.

Investment Results

The table on page 4 shows the Fund’s performance compared to its primary benchmark, the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index, and secondary benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index, for the six- and 12-month periods ended November 30, 2014. Also included in the table are returns

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       1   


for the Fund’s peer group, as represented by the Lipper Large-Cap Growth Funds Average (the “Lipper Average”). Funds in the Lipper Average have generally similar investment mandates to the Fund, although some may have different investment policies and sales and management fees.

For the 12-month period, all share classes of the Fund underperformed the primary and secondary benchmarks, excluding Advisor Class shares, which outperformed the secondary benchmark. All share classes outperformed the Lipper Average. Versus the primary benchmark, sector allocation was responsible for the deficit. Security selection was positive. Stock selection in industrials and technology undercut relative performance. Stock selection in health care and underweight exposure to the energy sector mitigated some of the losses.

For the six-month period, all share classes of the Fund, excluding Class C shares, advanced in absolute terms and outperformed the primary and secondary benchmarks. All share classes underperformed the Lipper Average. Sector allocation was responsible for most of the premium, though security selection also contributed. Underweight exposure to the energy sector and stock selection in health care and consumer staples boosted relative performance. Stock selection in industrials and technology offset some of the gains.

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

Market Review and Investment Strategy

U.S. equity markets advanced for much of 2014 as a brightening U.S. economic outlook boosted risk appetites. Six years after the collapse of the global financial markets, investors grew increasingly confident that the U.S. economy was strengthening, buoyed by encouraging domestic data, strong corporate earnings and a slew of mergers and acquisitions activity. Though the U.S. Federal Reserve ended its quantitative easing program in October after gradually reducing its monthly government bond purchases during the course of the year, investors remained upbeat about U.S. stocks. The U.S. Federal Reserve repeated its commitment to an ultralow interest rate policy until at least mid-2015, allaying market anxiety about a premature end to the central bank’s stimulus campaign.

The Fund’s investment philosophy is focused on identifying companies that meet the criteria of the Relative Value Investment Team (the “Team”) healthy balance sheets, competitive advantages, strong cash-flow generation, transparent business models and sustainable growth. The Fund is conservatively positioned in an uncertain environment, with a bias toward companies demonstrating high profitability and dividend growth.

 

2     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


DISCLOSURES AND RISKS

Benchmark Disclosure

Neither the unmanaged S&P® 500 Index nor the Russell 1000® Value Index reflect fees and expenses associated with the active management of a mutual fund portfolio. The S&P 500 Index includes 500 U.S. stocks and is a common representation of the performance of the overall U.S. stock market. The Russell 1000 Value Index represents the performance of 1,000 large-cap value companies within the U.S. An investor cannot invest directly in an index or average, and their results are not indicative of the performance for any specific investment, including the Fund.

A Word About Risk

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

Focused Portfolio Risk: Investments in a limited number of companies may have more risk because changes in the value of a single security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Fund’s net asset value (“NAV”).

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

Currency Risk: Fluctuations in currency exchange rates may negatively affect the value of the Fund’s investments or reduce its returns.

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

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

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

An Important Note About Historical Performance

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

All fees and expenses related to the operation of the Fund have been deducted. NAV returns do not reflect sales charges; if sales charges were reflected, the Fund’s quoted performance would be lower. SEC returns reflect the applicable sales charges for each share class: a 4.25% maximum front-end sales charge for Class A shares; the applicable contingent deferred sales charge for Class B shares (4% year 1, 3% year 2, 2% year 3, 1% year 4); a 1% 1-year contingent deferred sales charge for Class C shares. Returns for the different share classes will vary due to different expenses associated with each class. Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       3   

Disclosures and Risks


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

 

       

THE FUND VS. ITS BENCHMARKS

PERIODS ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2014 (unaudited)

   NAV Returns      
   6 Months      12 Months       
AB Core Opportunities Fund*        

Class A

     8.84%         15.25%     

 

Class B

     8.71%         14.94%     

 

Class C

     8.47%         14.43%     

 

Advisor Class

     9.04%         15.63%     

 

Class R

     8.73%         14.99%     

 

Class K

     8.84%         15.28%     

 

Class I

     9.02%         15.61%     

 

Class Z

     8.96%         15.61%     

 

Primary Benchmark: S&P 500 Index      8.58%         16.86%     

 

Secondary Benchmark: Russell 1000 Value Index      6.86%         15.62%     

 

Lipper Large-Cap Growth Funds Average      9.23%         14.87%     

 

*    Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Fund resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the performance of all share classes of the Fund for the six- and 12-month periods ended November 30, 2014, by 0.02% and 0.05%, respectively.

 

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

 

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

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

(Historical Performance continued on next page)

 

4     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Historical Performance


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

(continued from previous page)

 

GROWTH OF A $10,000 INVESTMENT IN THE FUND

11/30/04 TO 11/30/14 (unaudited)

 

LOGO

This chart illustrates the total value of an assumed $10,000 investment in AB Core Opportunities Fund Class A shares (from 11/30/04 to 11/30/14) as compared to the performance of the Fund’s primary and secondary benchmarks. The chart reflects the deduction of the maximum 4.25% sales charge from the initial $10,000 investment in the Fund and assumes the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains distributions.

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

(Historical Performance continued on next page)

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       5   

Historical Performance


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

(continued from previous page)

 

AVERAGE ANNUAL RETURNS AS OF NOVEMBER 30, 2014 (unaudited)  
     NAV Returns        SEC Returns
(reflects applicable
sales charges)
 
       
Class A Shares        

1 Year

     15.25        10.33

5 Years

     16.69        15.68

10 Years

     7.84        7.38
       
Class B Shares        

1 Year

     14.94        10.94

5 Years

     16.30        16.30

10 Years(a)

     7.51        7.51
       
Class C Shares        

1 Year

     14.43        13.43

5 Years

     15.88        15.88

10 Years

     7.08        7.08
       
Advisor Class Shares*        

1 Year

     15.63        15.63

Since Inception

     16.32        16.32
       
Class R Shares*        

1 Year

     14.99        14.99

5 Years

     16.45        16.45

10 Years

     7.64        7.64
       
Class K Shares*        

1 Year

     15.28        15.28

5 Years

     16.76        16.76

Since Inception

     7.54        7.54
       
Class I Shares*        

1 Year

     15.61        15.61

5 Years

     17.10        17.10

Since Inception

     7.87        7.87
       
Class Z Shares*        

1 Year

     15.61        15.61

Since Inception

     19.32        19.32

 

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

(Historical Performance continued on next page)

 

6     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Historical Performance


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

(continued from previous page)

 

The Fund’s prospectus fee table shows the Fund’s total annual operating expense ratios as 1.41%, 2.13%, 2.11%, 1.11%, 1.63%, 1.35%, 0.99% and 0.95% for Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K, Class I and Class Z shares, respectively, gross of any fee waivers or expense reimbursements. Contractual fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements limit the Fund’s annual operating expense ratios to 1.20%, 1.90%, 1.90%, 0.90%, 1.40%, 1.15%, 0.90% and 0.90% for Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K, Class I and Class Z shares, respectively. These waivers/reimbursements may not

be terminated before March 1, 2015 and may be extended by the Adviser for additional one-year terms. Absent reimbursements or waivers, performance would have been lower. The Financial Highlights section of this report sets forth expense ratio data for the current reporting period; the expense ratios shown above may differ from the expense ratios in the Financial Highlights section since they are based on different time periods.

 

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

 

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

 

    Inception dates: 3/1/2005 for Class K and Class I shares; 3/31/2010 for Advisor Class shares; 10/15/2013 for Class Z shares.

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

(Historical Performance continued on next page)

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       7   

Historical Performance


HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE

(continued from previous page)

 

SEC AVERAGE ANNUAL RETURNS

AS OF THE MOST RECENT CALENDAR QUARTER-END

DECEMBER 31, 2014 (unaudited)

 
    

SEC Returns

(reflects applicable
sales charges)

 
  
Class A Shares   

1 Year

     7.73

5 Years

     15.05

10 Years

     6.85
  
Class B Shares   

1 Year

     8.40

5 Years

     15.68

10 Years(a)

     6.98
  
Class C Shares   

1 Year

     10.79

5 Years

     15.24

10 Years

     6.56
  
Advisor Class Shares*   

1 Year

     12.87

Since Inception

     16.05
  
Class R Shares*   

1 Year

     12.29

5 Years

     15.85

10 Years

     7.12
  
Class K Shares*   

1 Year

     12.57

5 Years

     16.13

Since Inception

     7.49
  
Class I Shares*   

1 Year

     12.87

5 Years

     16.45

Since Inception

     7.82
  
Class Z Shares*   

1 Year

     12.81

Since Inception

     18.01

 

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

 

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

 

    Inception dates: 3/1/2005 for Class K and Class I shares; 3/31/2010 for Advisor Class shares; 10/15/2013 for Class Z shares.

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

 

8     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Historical Performance


EXPENSE EXAMPLE

(unaudited)

 

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

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

Actual Expenses

The table below provides information about actual account values and actual expenses. You may use the information, together with the amount you invested, to estimate the expenses that you paid over the period. Simply divide your account value by $1,000 (for example, an $8,600 account value divided by $1,000 = 8.6), then multiply the result by the number under the heading entitled “Expenses Paid During Period” to estimate the expenses you paid on your account during this period.

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

The table below also provides information about hypothetical account values and hypothetical expenses based on the Fund’s actual expense ratio and an assumed annual rate of return of 5% before expenses, which is not the Fund’s actual return. The hypothetical account values and expenses may not be used to estimate the actual ending account balance or expenses you paid for the period. You may use this information to compare the ongoing costs of investing in the Fund and other funds by comparing this 5% hypothetical example with the 5% hypothetical examples that appear in the shareholder reports of other funds.

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

 

     Beginning
Account Value
June 1, 2014
     Ending
Account Value
November 30, 2014
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 
Class A            

Actual

   $     1,000       $ 1,088.40       $     6.28         1.20

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $     1,019.05       $ 6.07         1.20
Class B            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,087.10       $ 7.74         1.48

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,017.65       $ 7.49         1.48
Class C            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,084.70       $ 9.93         1.90

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,015.54       $ 9.60         1.90
Advisor Class            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,090.40       $ 4.72         0.90

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.56       $ 4.56         0.90
Class R            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,087.30       $ 7.33         1.40

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,018.05       $ 7.08         1.40
Class K            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,088.40       $ 6.02         1.15

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,019.30       $ 5.82         1.15
Class I            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,090.20       $ 4.72         0.90

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.56       $ 4.56         0.90
Class Z            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,089.60       $ 4.30         0.82

Hypothetical**

   $ 1,000       $ 1,020.96       $ 4.15         0.82
*   Expenses are equal to the classes’ annualized expense ratios multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 183/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

**   Assumes 5% annual return before expenses.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       9   

Expense Example


PORTFOLIO SUMMARY

November 30, 2014 (unaudited)

 

PORTFOLIO STATISTICS

Net Assets ($mil): $160.3

 

LOGO

TEN LARGEST HOLDINGS

November 30, 2014 (unaudited)

 

Company    U.S. $ Value        Percent of
Net Assets
 

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. – Class B

   $ 7,827,042           4.9

Apple, Inc.

     5,778,214           3.6   

Allergan, Inc./United States

     5,410,989           3.4   

CVS Health Corp.

     5,323,547           3.3   

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

     4,886,130           3.1   

Verizon Communications, Inc.

     4,512,628           2.8   

Visa, Inc. – Class A

     4,402,140           2.8   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

     4,056,941           2.5   

Medtronic, Inc.

     4,048,815           2.5   

Pfizer, Inc.

     3,890,635           2.4   
   $   50,137,081           31.3

 

*   All data are as of November 30, 2014. The Fund’s sector breakdown is expressed as a percentage of total investments and may vary over time.

 

    Long-term investments.

Please note: The sector classifications presented herein are based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) which was developed by Morgan Stanley Capital International and Standard & Poor’s. The components are divided into sector, industry group, and industry sub-indices as classified by the GICS for each of the market capitalization indices in the broad market. These sector classifications are broadly defined. The “Portfolio of Investments” section of the report reflects more specific industry information and is consistent with the investment restrictions discussed in the Fund’s prospectus.

 

10     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Portfolio Summary and Ten Largest Holdings


PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

November 30, 2014

 

Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

COMMON STOCKS – 82.5%

    

Health Care – 20.0%

    

Biotechnology – 4.6%

    

Biogen Idec, Inc.(a)

     10,623      $ 3,268,591   

Gilead Sciences, Inc.(a)

     40,440        4,056,941   
    

 

 

 
       7,325,532   
    

 

 

 

Health Care Equipment &
Supplies – 4.7%

    

Abbott Laboratories

     55,280        2,460,513   

Align Technology, Inc.(a)

     18,920        1,076,548   

Medtronic, Inc.

     54,810        4,048,815   
    

 

 

 
       7,585,876   
    

 

 

 

Health Care Providers & Services – 3.0%

    

UnitedHealth Group, Inc.

     49,540        4,886,130   
    

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals – 7.7%

    

Allergan, Inc./United States

     25,298        5,410,989   

Eli Lilly & Co.

     44,250        3,014,310   

Pfizer, Inc.

     124,900        3,890,635   
    

 

 

 
       12,315,934   
    

 

 

 
       32,113,472   
    

 

 

 

Information Technology – 18.0%

    

Communications Equipment – 1.0%

    

F5 Networks, Inc.(a)

     11,920        1,539,945   
    

 

 

 

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components – 0.8%

    

Amphenol Corp.—Class A

     23,800        1,276,394   
    

 

 

 

Internet Software & Services – 2.2%

    

Google, Inc.—Class C(a)

     6,440        3,489,385   
    

 

 

 

IT Services – 4.1%

    

Visa, Inc.–Class A

     17,050        4,402,140   

Xerox Corp.

     159,530        2,227,039   
    

 

 

 
       6,629,179   
    

 

 

 

Semiconductors & Semiconductor
Equipment – 3.5%

    

Intel Corp.

     63,610        2,369,472   

Micron Technology, Inc.(a)

     51,361        1,846,428   

NVIDIA Corp.

     64,650        1,355,711   
    

 

 

 
       5,571,611   
    

 

 

 

Software – 1.9%

    

Activision Blizzard, Inc.

     57,800        1,251,370   

ANSYS, Inc.(a)

     15,770        1,317,110   

Aspen Technology, Inc.(a)

     15,016        566,704   
    

 

 

 
       3,135,184   
    

 

 

 

Technology Hardware, Storage &
Peripherals – 4.5%

    

Apple, Inc.

     48,585        5,778,214   

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       11   

Portfolio of Investments


Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

NetApp, Inc.

     33,060      $ 1,406,703   
    

 

 

 
       7,184,917   
    

 

 

 
       28,826,615   
    

 

 

 

Financials – 14.4%

    

Banks – 1.9%

    

Wells Fargo & Co.

     56,480        3,077,030   
    

 

 

 

Capital Markets – 3.9%

    

BlackRock, Inc. – Class A

     7,250        2,603,330   

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The)

     19,250        3,626,892   
    

 

 

 
       6,230,222   
    

 

 

 

Diversified Financial Services – 4.9%

    

Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. – Class B(a)

     52,640        7,827,042   
    

 

 

 

Insurance – 3.7%

    

ACE Ltd.

     26,750        3,058,595   

Allstate Corp. (The)

     21,140        1,440,691   

Validus Holdings Ltd.

     35,000        1,452,500   
    

 

 

 
       5,951,786   
    

 

 

 
       23,086,080   
    

 

 

 

Consumer Discretionary – 9.4%

    

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure – 0.9%

    

Wyndham Worldwide Corp.

     17,750        1,479,640   
    

 

 

 

Internet & Catalog Retail – 1.8%

    

Liberty Interactive Corp. – Class A(a)

     48,232        1,405,963   

Liberty Ventures – Series A(a)

     6,857        251,240   

Priceline Group, Inc. (The)(a)

     1,080        1,253,005   
    

 

 

 
       2,910,208   
    

 

 

 

Media – 4.9%

    

Comcast Corp. – Class A

     67,090        3,826,814   

Time Warner, Inc.

     32,380        2,756,186   

Walt Disney Co. (The)

     13,930        1,288,664   
    

 

 

 
       7,871,664   
    

 

 

 

Specialty Retail – 1.8%

    

Home Depot, Inc. (The)

     28,770        2,859,738   
    

 

 

 
       15,121,250   
    

 

 

 

Industrials – 8.4%

    

Aerospace & Defense – 3.4%

    

Boeing Co. (The)

     18,510        2,487,004   

Raytheon Co.

     27,850        2,971,595   
    

 

 

 
       5,458,599   
    

 

 

 

Airlines – 0.9%

    

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

     30,790        1,436,969   
    

 

 

 

Electrical Equipment – 1.5%

    

AMETEK, Inc.

     47,000        2,395,120   
    

 

 

 

 

12     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Portfolio of Investments


Company    Shares     U.S. $ Value  

 

 
    

Industrial Conglomerates – 0.9%

    

Danaher Corp.

     17,840      $ 1,490,710   
    

 

 

 

Machinery – 1.7%

    

Pall Corp.

     27,920        2,683,391   
    

 

 

 
       13,464,789   
    

 

 

 

Consumer Staples – 7.1%

    

Beverages – 1.6%

    

Monster Beverage Corp.(a)

     22,930        2,571,600   
    

 

 

 

Food & Staples Retailing – 3.3%

    

CVS Health Corp.

     58,270        5,323,547   
    

 

 

 

Tobacco – 2.2%

    

Philip Morris International, Inc.

     39,950        3,472,853   
    

 

 

 
       11,368,000   
    

 

 

 

Telecommunication Services – 2.8%

    

Diversified Telecommunication
Services – 2.8%

    

Verizon Communications, Inc.

     89,200        4,512,628   
    

 

 

 

Energy – 2.4%

    

Energy Equipment & Services – 2.4%

    

Cameron International Corp.(a)

     34,110        1,749,161   

Schlumberger Ltd.

     23,420        2,012,949   
    

 

 

 
       3,762,110   
    

 

 

 

Total Common Stocks
(cost $100,639,794)

       132,254,944   
    

 

 

 
    

SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS – 17.6%

    

Investment Companies – 17.6%

    

AB Fixed-Income Shares, Inc. – Government STIF Portfolio, 0.08%(b)(c)
(cost $28,255,196)

     28,255,196        28,255,196   
    

 

 

 

Total Investments – 100.1%
(cost $128,894,990)

       160,510,140   

Other assets less liabilities – (0.1)%

       (182,116
    

 

 

 

Net Assets – 100.0%

     $ 160,328,024   
    

 

 

 

 

(a)   Non-income producing security.

 

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

 

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

See notes to financial statements.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       13   

Portfolio of Investments


STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES

November 30, 2014

 

Assets   

Investments in securities, at value

  

Unaffiliated issuers (cost $100,639,794)

   $ 132,254,944   

Affiliated issuers (cost $28,255,196)

     28,255,196   

Dividends and interest receivable

     154,851   

Receivable for capital stock sold

     109,337   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     160,774,328   
  

 

 

 
Liabilities   

Payable for capital stock redeemed

     186,601   

Advisory fee payable

     66,981   

Distribution fee payable

     51,960   

Audit and tax fee payable

     45,886   

Transfer Agent fee payable

     10,472   

Administrative fee payable

     8,767   

Accrued expenses

     75,637   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     446,304   
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

   $ 160,328,024   
  

 

 

 
Composition of Net Assets   

Capital stock, at par

   $ 7,828   

Additional paid-in capital

     108,458,343   

Accumulated net realized gain on investment transactions

     20,246,703   

Net unrealized appreciation on investments

     31,615,150   
  

 

 

 
   $     160,328,024   
  

 

 

 

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

 

Class   Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

 

 
A   $   110,672,246           5,285,976         $   20.94

 

 
B   $ 3,945,004           202,651         $ 19.47   

 

 
C   $ 31,443,471           1,659,523         $ 18.95   

 

 
Advisor   $ 6,582,190           310,079         $ 21.23   

 

 
R   $ 4,296,001           208,903         $ 20.56   

 

 
K   $ 2,922,372           138,818         $ 21.05   

 

 
I   $ 242,907           11,353         $ 21.40   

 

 
Z   $ 223,833           10,460         $ 21.40   

 

 

 

*   The maximum offering price per share for Class A shares was $21.87 which reflects a sales charge of 4.25%.

See notes to financial statements.

 

14     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Statement of Assets & Liabilities


STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

Year Ended November 30, 2014

 

Investment Income     

Dividends

    

Unaffiliated issuers

   $     1,762,395     

Affiliated issuers

     15,609      $ 1,778,004   
  

 

 

   
Expenses     

Advisory fee (see Note B)

     842,668     

Distribution fee—Class A

     326,884     

Distribution fee—Class B

     42,474     

Distribution fee—Class C

     290,934     

Distribution fee—Class R

     21,108     

Distribution fee—Class K

     6,248     

Transfer agency—Class A

     187,388     

Transfer agency—Class B

     8,992     

Transfer agency—Class C

     51,257     

Transfer agency—Advisor Class

     6,589     

Transfer agency—Class R

     9,214     

Transfer agency—Class K

     4,999     

Transfer agency—Class I

     151     

Transfer agency—Class Z

     5     

Custodian

     116,851     

Registration fees

     100,602     

Directors’ fees

     58,608     

Audit and tax

     50,307     

Administrative

     49,458     

Legal

     47,972     

Printing

     40,518     

Miscellaneous

     25,550     
  

 

 

   

Total expenses

     2,288,777     

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

     (214,566  

Less: expenses waived by the Distributor
(see Note C)

     (25,485  
  

 

 

   

Net expenses

       2,048,726   
    

 

 

 

Net investment loss

       (270,722
    

 

 

 
Realized and Unrealized Gain (Loss) on Investment Transactions     

Net realized gain on investment transactions

       23,751,513   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

       (1,900,205
    

 

 

 

Net gain on investment transactions

       21,851,308   
    

 

 

 

Net Increase in Net Assets from Operations

     $     21,580,586   
    

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       15   

Statement of Operations


STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

 

     Year Ended
November 30,
2014
    Year Ended
November 30,
2013
 
Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets
from Operations
    

Net investment loss

   $ (270,722   $ (403,516

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     23,751,513        16,496,738   

Net change in unrealized appreciation/depreciation of investments

     (1,900,205     17,167,853   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     21,580,586        33,261,075   
Capital Stock Transactions     

Net increase (decrease)

     (16,513,736     17,577,538   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total increase

     5,066,850        50,838,613   
Net Assets     

Beginning of period

     155,261,174        104,422,561   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

End of period (including accumulated net investment loss of ($ –0–) and ($400,248), respectively)

   $     160,328,024      $     155,261,174   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

16     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Statement of Changes in Net Assets


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

November 30, 2014

 

NOTE A

Significant Accounting Policies

AB Core Opportunities Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), organized as a Maryland corporation on July 6, 1999, is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as a diversified, open-end management investment company. Prior to January 20, 2015, the Fund was known as AllianceBernstein Core Opportunities Fund, Inc. The Fund offers Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K, Class I and Class Z shares. Effective October 15, 2013, the Fund commenced offering of Class Z shares. Class A shares are sold with a front-end sales charge of up to 4.25% for purchases not exceeding $1,000,000. With respect to purchases of $1,000,000 or more, Class A shares redeemed within one year of purchase may be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1%. Class B shares are currently sold with a contingent deferred sales charge which declines from 4% to zero depending on the period of time the shares are held. Effective January 31, 2009, sales of Class B shares of the Fund to new investors were suspended. Class B shares will only be issued (i) upon the exchange of Class B shares from another AB Mutual Fund, (ii) for purposes of dividend reinvestment, (iii) through the Fund’s Automatic Investment Program (the “Program”) for accounts that established the Program prior to January 31, 2009, and (iv) for purchases of additional shares by Class B shareholders as of January 31, 2009. The ability to establish a new Program for accounts containing Class B shares was suspended as of January 31, 2009. Class B shares will automatically convert to Class A shares eight years after the end of the calendar month of purchase. Class C shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1% on redemptions made within the first year after purchase. Class R and Class K shares are sold without an initial or contingent deferred sales charge. Advisor Class, Class I and Class Z shares are sold without an initial or contingent deferred sales charge and are not subject to ongoing distribution expenses. All eight classes of shares have identical voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights, except that the classes bear different distribution and transfer agency expenses. Each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to its distribution plan. The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Fund.

1. Security Valuation

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

In general, the market values of securities which are readily available and deemed reliable are determined as follows: securities listed on a national securities exchange (other than securities listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       17   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

(“NASDAQ”)) or on a foreign securities exchange are valued at the last sale price at the close of the exchange or foreign securities exchange. If there has been no sale on such day, the securities are valued at the last traded price from the previous day. Securities listed on more than one exchange are valued by reference to the principal exchange on which the securities are traded; securities listed only on NASDAQ are valued in accordance with the NASDAQ Official Closing Price; listed or over the counter (“OTC”) market put or call options are valued at the mid level between the current bid and ask prices. If either a current bid or current ask price is unavailable, AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) will have discretion to determine the best valuation (e.g. last trade price in the case of listed options); open futures are valued using the closing settlement price or, in the absence of such a price, the most recent quoted bid price. If there are no quotations available for the day of valuation, the last available closing settlement price is used; U.S. Government securities and any other debt instruments having 60 days or less remaining until maturity are generally valued at market by an independent pricing vendor, if a market price is available. If a market price is not available, the securities are valued at amortized cost. This methodology pertains to short term securities that have an original maturity of 60 days or less, as well as short term securities that had an original term to maturity that exceeded 60 days. Fixed-income securities, including mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, may be valued on the basis of prices provided by a pricing service or at a price obtained from one or more of the major broker-dealers. In cases where broker-dealer quotes are obtained, the Adviser may establish procedures whereby changes in market yields or spreads are used to adjust, on a daily basis, a recently obtained quoted price on a security. Swaps and other derivatives are valued daily, primarily using independent pricing services, independent pricing models using market inputs, as well as third party broker-dealers or counterparties. Investment companies are valued at their net asset value each day.

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

2. Fair Value Measurements

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

 

18     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

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

 

   

Level 1—quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

   

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

   

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

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

The following table summarizes the valuation of the Fund’s investments by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of November 30, 2014:

 

Investments in Securities:

  Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

Assets:

       

Common Stocks*

  $ 132,254,944      $ – 0  –    $ – 0  –    $ 132,254,944   

Short-Term Investments

    28,255,196        – 0  –      – 0  –      28,255,196   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Investments in Securities

    160,510,140        – 0  –      – 0  –      160,510,140   

Other Financial Instruments**

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

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total^

  $   160,510,140      $   – 0  –    $   – 0  –    $   160,510,140   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

*   See Portfolio of Investments for sector classifications.

 

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

 

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

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       19   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

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

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

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

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

3. Currency Translation

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

 

20     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

Net realized gain or loss on foreign currency transactions represents foreign exchange gains and losses from sales and maturities of foreign fixed income investments, foreign currency exchange contracts, holding of foreign currencies, currency gains or losses realized between the trade and settlement dates on foreign investment transactions, and the difference between the amounts of dividends, interest and foreign withholding taxes recorded on the Fund’s books and the U.S. dollar equivalent amounts actually received or paid. Net unrealized currency gains and losses from valuing foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities at period end exchange rates are reflected as a component of net unrealized appreciation or depreciation of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities.

4. Taxes

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

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

5. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

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

6. Class Allocations

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

7. Dividends and Distributions

Dividends and distributions to shareholders, if any, are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Income dividends and capital gains distributions are determined

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       21   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

in accordance with federal tax regulations and may differ from those determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. To the extent these differences are permanent, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax basis treatment; temporary differences do not require such reclassification.

NOTE B

Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Fund pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of .55% of the first $2.5 billion, .45% of the next $2.5 billion and .40% in excess of $5 billion, of the Fund’s average daily net assets. The fee is accrued daily and paid monthly. As of July 1, 2013 (effective October 15, 2013 with respect to Class Z shares), the Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to 1.20%, 1.90%, 1.90%, .90%, 1.40%, 1.15%, .90% and .90% of the daily average net assets for the Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K, Class I and Class Z shares, respectively (the “Expense Caps”). The Expense Caps will extend through March 1, 2015 and then may be extended by the Adviser for additional one year terms. For the year ended November 30, 2014, such reimbursement waivers amounted to $214,566. For the period of March 1, 2010, through July 1, 2013, the Adviser had agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to 1.35%, 2.05%, 2.05%, 1.05%, 1.55%, 1.30% and 1.05% of the daily average net assets for the Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K and Class I shares, respectively.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Fund may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Fund by the Adviser. For the year ended November 30, 2014, the reimbursement for such services amounted to $49,458.

The Fund compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Fund. ABIS may make payments to intermediaries that provide omnibus account services, sub-accounting services and/or networking services. Such compensation retained by ABIS amounted to $117,935 for the year ended November 30, 2014.

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, serves as the distributor of the Fund’s shares. The Distributor has advised the Fund that it has retained front-end sales charges of $8,951 from the sale of Class A shares and received $4,199, $694 and $1,858 in contingent deferred sales charges imposed upon redemptions by shareholders of Class A, Class B and Class C shares, respectively, for the year ended November 30, 2014.

 

22     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

The Fund may invest in the AB Fixed-Income Shares, Inc.—Government STIF Portfolio (“Government STIF Portfolio”), an open-end management investment company managed by the Adviser. The Government STIF Portfolio is offered as a cash management option to mutual funds and other institutional accounts of the Adviser, and is not available for direct purchase by members of the public. The Government STIF Portfolio pays no investment management fees but does bear its own expenses. A summary of the Fund’s transactions in shares of the Government STIF Portfolio for the year ended November 30, 2014 is as follows:

 

Market Value
November 30, 2013
(000)

  Purchases
at Cost
(000)
    Sales
Proceeds
(000)
    Market Value
November 30, 2014
(000)
    Dividend
Income
(000)
 
$    21,710   $     93,270      $     86,725      $     28,255      $     16   

Brokerage commissions paid on investment transactions for the year ended November 30, 2014 amounted to $103,759, of which $253 and $0, respectively, was paid to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. LLC and Sanford C. Bernstein Limited, affiliates of the Adviser.

NOTE C

Distribution Services Agreement

The Fund has adopted a Distribution Services Agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Under the Agreement, the Fund pays distribution and servicing fees to the Distributor at an annual rate of up to .30% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class A shares, 1% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to both Class B and Class C shares, .50% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class R shares and .25% of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to Class K shares. There are no distribution and servicing fees on the Advisor Class, Class I and Class Z shares. As of November 1, 2007, with respect to Class B shares, payments to the Distributor are voluntarily being limited to .40% of the average daily net assets attributable to Class B shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. For the year ended November 30, 2014, such waiver amounted to $25,485. The Agreement provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities. Since the commencement of the Fund’s operations, the Distributor has incurred expenses in excess of the distribution costs reimbursed by the Fund in the amounts of $83,537, $1,843,213, $208,276 and $44,726 for Class B, Class C, Class R and Class K shares, respectively. While such costs may be recovered from the Fund in future periods so long as the Agreement is in effect, the rate of the distribution and servicing fees payable under the Agreement may not be increased without a shareholder vote. In accordance with the Agreement, there is no provision for recovery of unreimbursed distribution costs incurred by the Distributor beyond the current fiscal year for Class A shares. The Agreement also provides that the Adviser may use its own resources to finance the distribution of the Fund’s shares.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       23   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

NOTE D

Investment Transactions

Purchases and sales of investment securities (excluding short-term investments) for the year ended November 30, 2014 were as follows:

 

     Purchases      Sales  

Investment securities (excluding
U.S. government securities)

   $     99,833,202       $     122,490,691   

The cost of investments for federal income tax purposes, gross unrealized appreciation and unrealized depreciation are as follows:

 

Cost

   $     129,020,592   
  

 

 

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 32,118,079   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (628,531
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 31,489,548   
  

 

 

 

1. Derivative Financial Instruments

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

The Fund did not engage in derivatives transactions for the year ended November 30, 2014.

2. Currency Transactions

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

 

24     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

NOTE E

Capital Stock

Each class consists of 3,000,000,000 authorized shares. Transactions in capital shares for each class were as follows:

 

            
     Shares         Amount      
     Year Ended
November 30,
2014
    Year Ended
November 30,
2013
        Year Ended
November 30,
2014
    Year Ended
November 30,
2013
     
  

 

 

   
Class A             

Shares sold

     747,086        1,922,841        $ 14,205,863      $ 30,966,550     

 

   

Shares converted from Class B

     58,087        119,541          1,102,439        1,855,653     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (1,764,480     (1,305,827       (33,526,229     (20,580,931  

 

   

Net increase (decrease)

     (959,307     736,555        $ (18,217,927   $ 12,241,272     

 

   
            
Class B             

Shares sold

     11,655        43,238        $ 204,745      $ 638,103     

 

   

Shares converted to Class A

     (62,377     (127,998       (1,102,439     (1,855,653  

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (28,643     (51,390       (509,504     (744,452  

 

   

Net decrease

     (79,365     (136,150     $ (1,407,198   $ (1,962,002  

 

   
            
Class C             

Shares sold

     235,821        481,065        $ 4,131,880      $ 7,005,006     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (262,386     (288,704       (4,568,559     (4,145,509  

 

   

Net increase (decrease)

     (26,565     192,361        $ (436,679   $ 2,859,497     

 

   
            
Advisor Class             

Shares sold

     276,159        128,898        $ 5,456,302      $ 2,110,670     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (129,990     (36,768       (2,527,631     (608,154  

 

   

Net increase

     146,169        92,130        $ 2,928,671      $ 1,502,516     

 

   
            
Class R             

Shares sold

     107,451        140,334        $ 1,992,378      $ 2,187,786     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (98,193     (37,648       (1,811,316     (598,025  

 

   

Net increase

     9,258        102,686        $ 181,062      $ 1,589,761     

 

   
            
Class K             

Shares sold

     43,867        106,057        $ 855,138      $ 1,667,604     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (33,472     (32,263       (657,889     (477,791  

 

   

Net increase

     10,395        73,794        $ 197,249      $ 1,189,813     

 

   
            
Class I             

Shares sold

     1,989        8,840        $ 37,834      $ 150,000     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (134     (213       (2,667     (3,319  

 

   

Net increase

     1,855        8,627        $ 35,167      $ 146,681     

 

   

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       25   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

            
     Shares         Amount      
     Year Ended
November 30,
2014
    Year Ended
November 30,
2013
        Year Ended
November 30,
2014
    Year Ended
November 30,
2013
     
  

 

 

   
Class Z*             

Shares sold

     9,919        570.13        $ 206,527      $ 10,000     

 

   

Shares redeemed

     (29     – 0  –        (608     – 0  –   

 

   

Net increase

     9,890        570.13        $ 205,919      $ 10,000     

 

   

 

*   Commenced distribution on October 15, 2013.

NOTE F

Risks Involved in Investing in the Fund

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

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

Focused Portfolio Risk—Investments in a limited number of companies may have more risk because changes in the value of a single security may have a more significant effect, either negative or positive, on the Fund’s NAV.

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

Indemnification Risk—In the ordinary course of business, the Fund enters into contracts that contain a variety of indemnifications. The Fund’s maximum

 

26     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Notes to Financial Statements


 

exposure under these arrangements is unknown. However, the Fund has not had prior claims or losses pursuant to these indemnification provisions and expects the risk of loss thereunder to be remote. Therefore, the Fund has not accrued any liability in connection with these indemnification provisions.

NOTE G

Joint Credit Facility

A number of open-end mutual funds managed by the Adviser, including the Fund, participate in a $280 million revolving credit facility (the “Facility”) intended to provide short-term financing, if necessary, subject to certain restrictions in connection with abnormal redemption activity. Commitment fees related to the Facility are paid by the participating funds and are included in miscellaneous expenses in the statement of operations. The Fund did not utilize the Facility during the year ended November 30, 2014.

NOTE H

Components of Accumulated Earnings (Deficit)

As of November 30, 2014, the components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 781,515   

Undistributed capital gains

     19,590,790 (a) 

Unrealized appreciation/(depreciation)

    
31,489,548
(b) 
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $ 51,861,853   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   

During the fiscal year ended November 30, 2014, the Fund utilized $240,939 of capital loss carryforwards to offset current year net realized gains.

 

(b)   

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

For tax purposes, net capital losses may be carried over to offset future capital gains, if any. Funds are permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after December 22, 2010 for an indefinite period, and such losses will retain their character as either short-term or long-term capital losses. As of November 30, 2014, the Fund did not have any capital loss carryforwards.

During the current fiscal year, permanent differences primarily due to the utilization of a net operating loss to offset capital gains and the utilization of earnings and profits distributed to shareholders on redemption of shares resulted in a net decrease in accumulated net investment loss, a net decrease in accumulated net realized gain on investment transactions and a net increase in additional paid-in capital. These reclassifications had no effect on net assets.

NOTE I

Subsequent Events

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

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       27   

Notes to Financial Statements


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

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

 

    Class A  
    Year Ended November 30,  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  18.17        $  13.93        $  12.04        $  10.95        $  9.68   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

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

    (.01     (.03     (.01     .02        (.01

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.78        4.27        1.90        1.07        1.28   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    2.77        4.24        1.89        1.09        1.27   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  20.94        $  18.17        $  13.93        $  12.04        $  10.95   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    15.25  %      30.44  %      15.70  %      9.95  %      13.12  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $110,672        $113,458        $76,759        $68,927        $66,587   

Ratio to average net assets of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    1.20  %      1.28  %      1.35  %      1.35  %      1.41  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    1.34  %      1.41  %      1.57  %      1.54  %      1.65  %+ 

Net investment income (loss)(b)

    (.04 )%      (.18 )%      (.06 )%      .17  %      (.14 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

28     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class B  
    Year Ended November 30,  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  16.94        $  13.02        $  11.29        $  10.31        $  9.15   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

Net investment loss(a)(d)

    (.06     (.06     (.06     (.02     (.05

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.59        3.98        1.79        1.00        1.21   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    2.53        3.92        1.73        .98        1.16   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  19.47        $  16.94        $  13.02        $  11.29        $  10.31   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    14.94  %      30.11  %      15.32  %      9.51  %      12.68  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $3,945        $4,777        $5,447        $9,397        $16,531   

Ratio to average net assets of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    1.48  %      1.53  %      1.75  %      1.71  %      1.81  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    2.08  %      2.13      2.35  %      2.31  %      2.41  %+ 

Net investment loss(d)

    (.33 )%      (.43 )%      (.48 )%      (.21 )%      (.54 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       29   

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class C  
    Year Ended November 30,  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  16.56        $  12.79        $  11.13        $  10.19        $  9.07   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

Net investment loss(a)(b)

    (.13     (.13     (.09     (.06     (.08

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.52        3.90        1.75        1.00        1.20   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    2.39        3.77        1.66        .94        1.12   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  18.95        $  16.56        $  12.79        $  11.13        $  10.19   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    14.43      29.48      14.91      9.22      12.35 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $31,444        $27,915        $19,100        $18,024        $17,854   

Ratio to average net assets
of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    1.90  %      1.98  %      2.05  %      2.05  %      2.12  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    2.05  %      2.11  %      2.28  %      2.26  %      2.37  %+ 

Net investment loss(b)

    (.73 )%      (.89 )%      (.76 )%      (.54 )%      (.85 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

30     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Advisor Class  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     March 31,
2010(e) to
November 30,
2010
 
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  18.36        $  14.05        $  12.10        $  10.97        $  10.48   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

Net investment income(a)(b)

    .06        .02        .03        .06        .01   

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.81        4.29        1.92        1.07        .48   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset
value from operations

    2.87        4.31        1.95        1.13        .49   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  21.23        $  18.36        $  14.05        $  12.10        $  10.97   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    15.63  %      30.68  %      16.12  %      10.30  %      4.68  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $6,582        $3,010        $1,008        $694        $16   

Ratio to average net assets
of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .90  %      .96  %      1.05  %      1.05  %      1.05  %+^ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    1.04  %      1.11  %      1.27  %      1.26  %      1.33  %+^ 

Net investment income(b)

    .30  %      .12  %      .25  %      .48  %      .17  %+^ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       31   

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class R  
    Year Ended November 30,  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  17.88        $  13.74        $  11.90        $  10.84        $  9.60   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

Net investment loss(a)(b)

    (.04     (.06     (.03     (.00 )(f)      (.04

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.72        4.20        1.87        1.06        1.28   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset
value from operations

    2.68        4.14        1.84        1.06        1.24   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  20.56        $  17.88        $  13.74        $  11.90        $  10.84   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    14.99  %      30.13  %      15.46      9.78  %      12.92  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $4,296        $3,570        $1,332        $735        $190   

Ratio to average net assets
of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    1.40  %      1.47  %      1.55  %      1.55  %      1.63  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    1.59  %      1.63  %      1.73  %      1.73  %      1.75  %+ 

Net investment loss(b)

    (.24 )%      (.39 )%      (.25 )%      (.02 )%      (.39 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

32     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class K  
    Year Ended November 30,  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  18.26        $  14.00        $  12.09        $  10.98        $  9.70   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

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

    .00 (f)      (.03     .00 (f)      .03        (.00 )(f) 

Net realized and unrealized
gain on investment transactions

    2.79        4.29        1.91        1.08        1.28   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset
value from operations

    2.79        4.26        1.91        1.11        1.28   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  21.05        $  18.26        $  14.00        $  12.09        $  10.98   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    15.28  %      30.43  %      15.80  %      10.11  %      13.20  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $2,922        $2,345        $765        $434        $390   

Ratio to average net assets
of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    1.15  %      1.22  %      1.30  %      1.30  %      1.33  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    1.32  %      1.35  %      1.48  %      1.43  %      1.49  %+ 

Net investment income (loss)(b)

    .02  %      (.16 )%      .02  %      .22  %      (.05 )%+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       33   

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class I  
    Year Ended November 30,  
    2014     2013     2012     2011     2010  
 

 

 

 
         

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  18.51        $  14.15        $  12.19        $  11.04        $  9.72   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

         

Net investment income(a)

    .05 (b)      .03 (b)      .03 (b)      .07        .03 (b) 

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.84        4.33        1.93        1.08        1.29   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset
value from operations

    2.89        4.36        1.96        1.15        1.32   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  21.40        $  18.51        $  14.15        $  12.19        $  11.04   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

         

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

    15.61  %      30.81  %      16.08  %      10.42  %      13.58  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

         

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

    $243        $176        $12        $40        $7   

Ratio to average net assets
of:

         

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .90  %      .90  %      1.05  %      1.04  %      1.02  %+ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    .94  %      .99  %      1.10  %      1.04  %      1.08  %+ 

Net investment income

    .28  %(b)      .22  %(b)      .21  %(b)      .66  %      .25  %(b)+ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  %      117  %      124  %      99  % 

See footnote summary on page 35.

 

34     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Financial Highlights


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

 

    Class Z  
    Year Ended
November 30,
2014
    October 15,
2013(e) to
November 30,
2013
 
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  18.51        $  17.54   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

   

Net investment income(a)(b)

    .11        .01   

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions

    2.78        .96   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    2.89        .97   
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  21.40        $  18.51   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

   

Total investment return based on net asset value(c)

    15.61  %*      5.53  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

   

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

    $224        $10   

Ratio to average net assets of:

   

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .83  %      .90  %^ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    .83  %      1.13  %^ 

Net investment income(b)

    .56  %      .30  %^ 

Portfolio turnover rate

    75  %      99  % 

 

(a)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

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

 

(c)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. Initial sales charges or contingent deferred sales charges are not reflected in the calculation of total investment return. Total return does not reflect the deduction of taxes that a shareholder would pay on fund distributions or the redemption of fund shares. Total investment return calculated for a period of less than one year is not annualized.

 

(d)   Net of fees and expenses waived by Distributor.

 

(e)   Commencement of distribution.

 

(f)   Amount is less than $.005.

 

*   Includes the impact of proceeds received and credited to the Fund resulting from class action settlements, which enhanced the Fund’s performance for the years ended November 30, 2014, November 30, 2013, November 30, 2012, November 30, 2011 and November 30, 2010 by 0.05%, 0.11%, 0.46%, 0.29% and 0.70%, respectively.

 

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

 

^   Annualized.

See notes to financial statements.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       35   

Financial Highlights


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of AB Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of AB Core Opportunities Fund, Inc. (formerly known as AllianceBernstein Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.) (the “Fund”), including the portfolio of investments, as of November 30, 2014, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated therein. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of November 30, 2014, by correspondence with the custodian and others, or by other appropriate auditing procedures where replies from others were not received. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of AB Core Opportunities Fund, Inc. at November 30, 2014, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the periods indicated therein, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

New York, New York

January 26, 2015

 

36     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm


FEDERAL TAX INFORMATION

(unaudited)

 

For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the earnings of the Fund for the taxable year ended November 30, 2014.

For the taxable year ended November 30, 2014, the Fund designates $1,564,533 as the maximum amount that may be considered qualified dividend income for individual shareholders.

Shareholders should not use the above information to prepare their income tax returns. The information necessary to complete your income tax returns will be included with your Form 1099-DIV which will be sent to you separately in January 2015.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       37   


BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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

John H. Dobkin(1)

Michael J. Downey(1)

William H. Foulk, Jr.(1)

D. James Guzy(1)

Nancy P. Jacklin(1)

Robert M. Keith, President and Chief Executive Officer

Garry L. Moody(1)

Earl D. Weiner(1)

OFFICERS

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

Frank V. Caruso(2) , Senior Vice President

Emilie D. Wrapp, Secretary

Joseph J. Mantineo, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Phyllis J. Clarke, Controller

Vincent S. Noto, Chief Compliance Officer

 

Custodian and Accounting Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company

State Street Corporation CCB/5
1 Iron Street
Boston, MA 02210

 

Principal Underwriter

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc.
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105

 

Transfer Agent

AllianceBernstein Investor
Services, Inc.
P.O. Box 786003
San Antonio, TX 78278-6003
Toll-Free (800) 221-5672

  

Independent Registered Public

Accounting Firm

Ernst & Young LLP
5 Times Square
New York, NY 10036

 

Legal Counsel

Seward & Kissel LLP
One Battery Park Plaza
New York, NY 10004

 

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

 

(2)   The management of, and investment decisions for, the Fund’s portfolio are made by the Adviser’s Relative Value Investment Team. While the members of the team work jointly to determine the investment strategy, including security selection, for the Fund, Mr. Frank Caruso, CFA, who is team leader of the U.S. Growth Equities, is primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

 

38     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Board of Directors


MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

 

Board of Directors Information

The business and affairs of the Fund are managed under the direction of the Board of Directors. Certain information concerning the Fund’s Directors is set forth below.

 

NAME,
ADDRESS*, AGE,
(FIRST YEAR ELECTED**)
  PRINCIPAL
OCCUPATION(S)
DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
AND OTHER RELEVANT
QUALIFICATIONS***
  PORTFOLIOS
IN FUND
COMPLEX
OVERSEEN BY
DIRECTOR
    OTHER
DIRECTORSHIPS
HELD BY
DIRECTOR IN THE
PAST FIVE YEARS
INTERESTED DIRECTOR    

Robert M. Keith, #

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

54
(2010)

  Senior Vice President of AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and head of AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”) since July 2008; Director of ABI and President of the AB Mutual Funds. Previously, he served as Executive Managing Director of ABI from December 2006 to June 2008. Prior to joining ABI in 2006, Executive Managing Director of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, and prior thereto, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Client Service and Sales of the Adviser’s institutional investment management business since 2004. Prior thereto, he was Managing Director and Head of North American Client Service and Sales in the Adviser’s institutional investment management business, with which he had been associated since prior to 2004.     116      None
     

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       39   

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,
ADDRESS*, AGE,
(FIRST YEAR ELECTED**)
  PRINCIPAL
OCCUPATION(S)
DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
AND OTHER RELEVANT
QUALIFICATIONS***
  PORTFOLIOS
IN FUND
COMPLEX
OVERSEEN BY
DIRECTOR
    OTHER
DIRECTORSHIPS
HELD BY
DIRECTOR IN THE
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS    

Chairman of the Board

Marshall C. Turner, Jr., ##
73
(2005)

  Private Investor since prior to 2010. Former CEO of Dupont Photomasks, Inc. (components of semi-conductor manufacturing), 2003-2006, and interim CEO 1999-2000. He has extensive operating and early-stage investment experience, including prior service as general partner of three institutional venture capital partnerships, and serves on the boards of three education and science-related non-profit organizations. He has served as a director of one AB fund since 1992, and director or trustee of multiple AB funds since 2005. He is Chairman of the AB Funds since January 2014, and the Chairman of the Independent Directors Committees of such Funds since February 2014.     116      Xilinx, Inc. (programmable logic semi-conductors) since prior to 2010 and SunEdison, Inc. (semi-conductor substrates, solar materials and solar power plants) since prior to 2010 until July 2014.
     
John H. Dobkin, ##
72
(1999)
  Independent Consultant since prior to 2010. Formerly, President of Save Venice, Inc. (preservation organization) from 2001-2002; Senior Advisor from June 1999-June 2000 and President of Historic Hudson Valley (historic preservation) from December 1989-May 1999. Previously, Director of the National Academy of Design. He has served as a director or trustee of various AB Funds since 1992, and as Chairman of the Audit Committees of a number of such Funds from 2001-2008.     116      None
     

 

40     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,
ADDRESS*, AGE,
(FIRST YEAR ELECTED**)
  PRINCIPAL
OCCUPATION(S)
DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
AND OTHER RELEVANT
QUALIFICATIONS***
  PORTFOLIOS
IN FUND
COMPLEX
OVERSEEN BY
DIRECTOR
    OTHER
DIRECTORSHIPS
HELD BY
DIRECTOR IN THE
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS
(continued)
   
Michael J. Downey, ##
71
(2005)
  Private Investor since prior to 2010. Formerly, managing partner of Lexington Capital, LLC (investment advisory firm) from December 1997 until December 2003. He served as a director of Prospect Acquisition Corp (financial services) from 2007 until 2009. From 1987 until 1993, Chairman and CEO of Prudential Mutual Fund Management, director of the Prudential mutual funds, and member of the Executive Committee of Prudential Securities, Inc. He has served as a director or trustee of the AB Funds since 2005 and is a director and Chairman of one other registered investment company.     116      Asia Pacific Fund, Inc. since prior to 2010, and The Merger Fund since prior to 2010 until 2013
     

William H. Foulk, Jr., ##

82
(1999)

  Investment Adviser and an Independent Consultant since prior to 2010. Previously, he was Senior Manager of Barrett Associates, Inc., a registered investment adviser. He was formerly Deputy Comptroller and Chief Investment Officer of the State of New York and, prior thereto, Chief Investment Officer of the New York Bank for Savings. He has served as a director or trustee of various AB Funds since 1983, and has been Chairman of the Independent Directors Committees of the AB Funds since 2003 until early February 2014. He served as Chairman of such Funds from 2003 through December 2013. He is also active in a number of mutual fund related organizations and committees.     116      None
     

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       41   

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,
ADDRESS*, AGE,
(FIRST YEAR ELECTED**)
  PRINCIPAL
OCCUPATION(S)
DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
AND OTHER RELEVANT
QUALIFICATIONS***
  PORTFOLIOS
IN FUND
COMPLEX
OVERSEEN BY
DIRECTOR
    OTHER
DIRECTORSHIPS
HELD BY
DIRECTOR IN THE
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS
(continued)
   
D. James Guzy, ##
78
(2005)
  Chairman of the Board of SRC Computers, Inc. (semi-conductors) with which he has been associated since prior to 2010. He served as Chairman of the Board of PLX Technology (semi-conductors) since prior to 2010 until November 2013. He was a director of Intel Corporation (semi-conductors) from 1969 until 2008 and served as Chairman of the Finance Committee of such company for several years until May 2008. He has served as a director or trustee of one or more of the AB Funds since 1982.     116      PLX Technology
(semi-conductors) since prior to 2010 until November 2013, and Cirrus Logic Corporation (semi-conductors) since prior to 2010 until July 2011
     
Nancy P. Jacklin, ##
66
(2006)
  Professorial Lecturer at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies since 2008. Formerly, U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (which is responsible for ensuring the stability of the international monetary system). (December 2002-May 2006); Partner, Clifford Chance (1992-2002); Sector Counsel, International Banking and Finance, and Associate General Counsel, Citicorp (1985-1992); Assistant General Counsel (International), Federal Reserve Board of Governors (1982-1985); and Attorney Advisor, U.S. Department of the Treasury (1973-1982). Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia and of New York; and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She has served as a director or trustee of the AB Funds since 2006 and has been Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committees of the Funds since August 2014.     116      None
     

 

42     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,
ADDRESS*, AGE,
(FIRST YEAR ELECTED**)
  PRINCIPAL
OCCUPATION(S)
DURING PAST FIVE YEARS
AND OTHER RELEVANT
QUALIFICATIONS***
  PORTFOLIOS
IN FUND
COMPLEX
OVERSEEN BY
DIRECTOR
    OTHER
DIRECTORSHIPS
HELD BY
DIRECTOR IN THE
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS
(continued)
   
Garry L. Moody, ##
62
(2008)
  Independent Consultant. Formerly, Partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP, (1995-2008) where he held a number of senior positions, including Vice Chairman, and U.S. and Global Investment Management Practice Managing Partner; President, Fidelity Accounting and Custody Services Company (1993-1995); and Partner, Ernst & Young LLP (1975-1993), where he served as the National Director of Mutual Fund Tax Services, and Managing Partner of its Chicago Office Tax department. He is a member of both the Governing Council of the Independent Directors Council (IDC), an organization of independent directors of mutual funds, and the Trustee Advisory Board of BoardIQ, a biweekly publication focused on issues and news affecting directors of mutual funds. He has served as a director or trustee, and as Chairman of the Audit Committees, of the AB Funds since 2008.     116     
     

Earl D. Weiner, ##

75

(2007)

  Of Counsel, and Partner prior to January 2007, of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and is a former member of the ABA Federal Regulation of Securities Committee Task Force to draft editions of the Fund Director’s Guidebook. He also serves as a director or trustee of various non-profit organizations and has served as Chairman or Vice Chairman of a number of them. He has served as a director or trustee of the AB Funds since 2007 and served as Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committees of the AB Funds from 2007 until August 2014.     116      None

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       43   

Management of the Fund


 

 

* The address for each of the Fund’s disinterested Directors is c/o AllianceBernstein L.P. Attention: Philip L. Kirstein, 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105.

 

** There is no stated term of office for the Fund’s Directors.

 

***   The information above includes each Director’s principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Director’s qualifications to serve as a Director, which led to the conclusion that each Director should serve as a Director for the Fund.

 

# Mr. Keith is an “interested person” of the Fund, as defined in the 1940 Act, due to his position as a Senior Vice President of the Adviser.

 

## Member of the Audit Committee, the Governance and Nominating Committee and the Independent Directors Committee.

 

44     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

Management of the Fund


 

Officer Information

Certain information concerning the Fund’s Officers is listed below.

 

NAME, ADDRESS*
AND AGE
   POSITION(S)
HELD WITH FUND
   PRINCIPAL OCCUPATION
DURING PAST FIVE YEARS

Robert M. Keith

54

   President and Chief Executive Officer    See biography above.
     
Philip L. Kirstein
69
   Senior Vice President and Independent Compliance Officer    Senior Vice President and Independent Compliance Officer of the AB Funds, with which he has been associated since October 2004. Prior thereto, he was Of Counsel to Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP from October 2003 to October 2004, and General Counsel of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, L.P. since prior to March 2003.
     
Frank V. Caruso
58
   Senior Vice President    Senior Vice President of the Adviser**, with which he has been associated since prior to 2010.
     
Emilie D. Wrapp
59
   Secretary    Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of ABI**, with which she has been associated since prior to 2010.
     
Joseph J. Mantineo
55
   Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer    Senior Vice President of AllianceBernstein Investor Services (“ABIS”)**, with which he has been associated since prior to 2010.
     
Phyllis J. Clarke
54
   Controller    Vice President of ABIS**, with which she has been associated since prior to 2010.
     

Vincent S. Noto

50

   Chief Compliance Officer    Vice President and Mutual Fund Chief Compliance Officer of the Adviser** since 2014. Prior thereto, he was Vice President and Director of Mutual Fund Compliance of the Adviser** since prior to 2010.

 

*   The address for each of the Fund’s Officers is 1345 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10105.

 

**   The Adviser, ABI and ABIS are affiliates of the Fund.

 

    The Fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) has additional information about the Fund’s Directors and Officers and is available without charge upon request. Contact your financial representative or AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618, or visit www.alliancebernstein.com, for a free prospectus or SAI.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       45   

Management of the Fund


 

 

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

SUMMARY OF SENIOR OFFICER’S EVALUATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT1

The following is a summary of the evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement between AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) and the AllianceBernstein Core Opportunities Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”),2,3 prepared by Philip L. Kirstein, the Senior Officer of the Fund for the Directors of the Fund, as required by the August 2004 agreement between the Adviser and the New York State Attorney General (the “NYAG”). The Senior Officer’s evaluation of the Investment Advisory Agreement is not meant to diminish the responsibility or authority of the Board of Directors to perform its duties pursuant to Section 15 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “40 Act”) and applicable state law. The purpose of the summary is to provide shareholders with a synopsis of the independent evaluation of the reasonableness of the advisory fees proposed to be paid by the Fund which was provided to the Directors in connection with their review of the proposed approval of the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement.

The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic

 

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

 

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

 

3   Prior to March 1, 2010, the Fund was known as Focused Growth & Income Fund, Inc.

 

46     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


 

 

formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arm’s length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., 130 S. Ct. 1418 (2010). In Jones, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arm’s length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”4

FUND ADVISORY FEES, EXPENSE CAPS, REIMBURSEMENTS & RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Fund pays the advisory fee set forth in the table below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement. The fee schedule below, implemented in January 2004 in consideration of the Adviser’s settlement with the NYAG in December 2003, is based on a master schedule that contemplates eight categories of funds with almost all funds in each category having the same advisory fee schedule.5

 

Fund   Category   Advisory Fee   Net Assets
3/31/14
($MIL)
 
Core Opportunities
Fund, Inc.
  Value  

0.55% on 1st $2.5 billion

0.45% on next $2.5 billion

0.40% on the balance

  $ 152.6   

The Adviser is reimbursed as specified in the Investment Advisory Agreement for certain clerical, legal, accounting, administrative and other services provided to the Fund. During the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year, the Adviser received $44,607 (0.035% of the Fund’s average daily net assets) for such services.

The Adviser agreed to waive that portion of its management fees and/or reimburse the Fund for that portion of the Fund’s total operating expenses to the degree necessary to limit the Fund’s total expense ratios to the amounts set forth below for the Fund’s current fiscal year. The waiver is terminable by the

 

4   Jones v. Harris at 1427.

 

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

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       47   


 

 

Adviser upon at least 60 days’ notice prior to the Fund’s prospectus update. Also, set forth below are the gross expense ratios of the Fund for the most recent annual period:

 

Fund   Expense Cap Pursuant to
Expense Limitation
Undertaking
     Gross
Expense
Ratio
    Fiscal
Year End
Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.6   Advisor Class A Class B Class C Class R Class K Class I Class Z    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0.90

1.20

1.90

1.90

1.40

1.15

0.90

0.90


    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.11

1.41

2.13

2.11

1.63

1.35

0.99

1.13


  November 30

 

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

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

 

6   Expense caps effective Expense caps effective July 1, 2013. Class Z expense cap effective October 15, 2013.

 

48     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


 

 

may be easier at times than managing a stable pool of assets. Finally, in recent years, investment advisers have been sued by institutional clients and have suffered reputational damage both by the attendant publicity and outcomes other than complete victories. Accordingly, the legal and reputational risks associated with institutional accounts are greater than previously thought, although still not equal to those related to the mutual fund industry.

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts with a similar investment style as the Fund.7 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below is what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Fund had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Fund based on March 31, 2014 net assets.8

 

Fund   Net Assets
3/31/14
($MM)
    AllianceBernstein
Institutional
Fee Schedule
  Effective
AB Inst.
Adv. Fee
    Fund
Advisory
Fee
Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.     $152.6      Relative Value
0.80% on 1st $25 million
0.50% on next $25 million
0.40%on next $50 million
0.30% on next $100 million
0.25% on the balance
Minimum account size: $25m
    0.447%      0.550%

The Adviser represented that it does not provide any sub-advisory investment services to other investment companies that have a substantially similar investment style as the Fund.

 

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

Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”), an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Fund with fees charged to other

 

7   The Supreme Court stated that “courts may give such comparisons the weight that they merit in light of the similarities and differences between the services that the clients in question require, but the courts must be wary of inapt comparisons.” Among the significant differences the Supreme Court noted that may exist between services provided to mutual funds and institutional accounts are “higher marketing costs.” Jones v. Harris at 1428.

 

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

 

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       49   


 

 

investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.9 Lipper’s analysis included the comparison of the Fund’s contractual management fee, estimated at the approximate current asset level of the Fund, to the median of the Fund’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)10 and the Fund’s contractual management fee ranking.11

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

 

Fund   Contractual
Management
Fee (%)12
    Lipper EG
Median (%)
    Lipper EG
Rank
 
Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.     0.550        0.880        1/12   

Lipper also compared the Fund’s total expense ratio to the medians of the Fund’s EG and Lipper Expense Universe (“EU”). The EU is a broader group compared to the EG, consisting of all funds that have the same investment classifications/objective and load type as the subject Fund.13 Set forth below is Lipper’s comparison of the Fund’s total expense ratio and the medians of the

 

9   The Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since “these comparisons are problematic because these fees, like those challenged, may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arm’s length.” Jones v. Harris at 1429.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

50     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


 

 

Fund’s EG and EU. The Fund’s total expense ratio ranking is also shown. Pro-forma total expense ratio is shown for the Fund to reflect the Fund’s expense cap level effective June 26, 2013.

 

Fund   Total
Expense
Ratio  (%)14
    Lipper
EG
Median (%)
   

Lipper

EG

Rank

  Lipper
EU
Median (%)
   

Lipper

EU

Rank

 
Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.15     1.280        1.358      4/12     1.281        33/67   

Pro-forma

    1.200        1.358      1/12     1.281        20/67   

Based on this analysis, considering pro-forma information, for total expense ratio, the Fund has equally favorable rankings on a contractual management fee basis and on a total expense ratio basis.

 

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

The Adviser utilizes two profitability reporting systems, which operate independently but are aligned with each other, to estimate the Adviser’s profitability in connection with investment advisory services provided to the Fund. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems. See Section IV for additional discussion.

 

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

The Fund’s profitability information, prepared by the Adviser for the Board of Directors, was reviewed by the Senior Officer and the consultant. The Adviser’s profitability from providing investment advisory services to the Fund increased during calendar year 2013, relative to 2012.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Fund, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Fund and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Fund. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Fund and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive and

 

14   Most recently completed fiscal year Class A share total expense ratio.

 

15   There may be slight differences in the total expense ratios estimated by Lipper and that of the Adviser. Lipper’s total expense ratio for Core Opportunities Fund, Inc. is 0.001% higher than the stated cap of the Fund and the Adviser’s own estimate.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       51   


 

 

the relationship otherwise complies with the 40 Act restrictions. These affiliates provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Fund and receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, front-end sales loads, contingent deferred sales charges (“CDSC”) and brokerage commissions. In addition, the Adviser benefits from soft dollar arrangements which offset expenses the Adviser would otherwise incur.

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

During the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year, ABI received from the Fund $9,445, $572,225 and $7,156 in front-end sales charges, Rule 12b-1 and CDSC fees, respectively.

Fees and reimbursements for out of pocket expenses charged by AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), the affiliated transfer agent for the Fund, are based on the level of the network account and the class of shares held by the account. ABIS also receives a fee per shareholder sub-account for each account maintained by an intermediary on an omnibus basis. During the Fund’s most recently completed fiscal year, ABIS received $121,995 in fees from the Fund.

The Fund effected brokerage transactions during the most recently completed fiscal year through the Adviser’s affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., LLC (“SCB & Co.”) and/or its U.K. affiliate, Sanford C. Bernstein Limited (“SCB Ltd.”), collectively “SCB,” and paid commissions for such transactions. The Adviser represented that SCB’s profitability from any business conducted with the Fund is comparable to the profitability of SCB’s dealings with other similar third party clients. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. In the ordinary course of business, SCB receives and pays liquidity rebates from electronic communications networks (“ECNs”) derived from trading for its clients. These credits and charges are not being passed onto any SCB client. The

Adviser also receives certain soft dollar benefits from brokers that execute agency trades for its clients. These soft dollar benefits reduce the Adviser’s cost of doing business and increase its profitability.

 

52     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


 

 

 

V. POSSIBLE ECONOMIES OF SCALE

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

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

Previously, in February 2008, the independent consultant provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli16 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.17 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.18 The independent consultant then discussed the results

 

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

 

17   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arm’s length. See Jones v. Harris at 1429.
18   The two dimensional analysis showed patterns of lower advisory fees for funds with larger asset sizes and funds from larger family sizes compared to funds with smaller asset sizes and funds from smaller family sizes, which according to the independent consultant is indicative of a sharing of economies of scale and scope. However, in less liquid and active markets, such is not the case, as the empirical analysis showed potential for diseconomies of scale in those markets. The empirical analysis also showed diminishing economies of scale and scope as funds surpassed a certain high level of assets.

 

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       53   


 

 

of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in fees predicted were explained by various factors, but substantially by fund AUM, family AUM, index fund indicator and investment style. The independent consultant also compared the advisory fees of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds to similar funds managed by 19 other large asset managers, regardless of the fund size and each Adviser’s proportion of mutual fund assets to non-mutual fund assets.

 

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

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

The information prepared by Lipper shows the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year performance returns and rankings19 of the Fund relative to its Lipper Performance Group (“PG”) and Lipper Performance Universe (“PU”)20 for the periods ended February 28, 2014.21

 

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

1 year

    25.82        29.59        31.63      10/13   74/84

3 year

    15.06        14.76        14.69      4/12   27/71

5 year

    22.06        23.18        23.69      9/12   49/65

10 year

    6.71        7.15        8.15      8/9   41/49

 

19   The performance returns and rankings of the Fund are for the Fund’s Class A shares. It should be noted that performance returns of the Fund were provided by Lipper.

 

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

 

21   The current Lipper investment classification/objective dictates the PG and PU throughout the life of the Fund even if a Fund had a different investment classification/objective at a different point in time.

 

 

54     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


 

 

Set forth below are the 1, 3, 5 and 10 year and since inception performance returns of the Fund (in bold)22 versus its benchmark.23 Fund and benchmark volatility and reward-to-variability ratio (“Sharpe Ratio”) information is also shown.24

 

    

Periods Ending February 28, 2014

Annualized Performance

 
                            Since
Inception
(%)
    Annualized     Risk
Period
(Year)
 
     1 Year
(%)
    3 Year
(%)
    5 Year
(%)
    10 Year
(%)
      Volatility
(%)
    Sharpe
(%)
   
Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.     25.82        15.06        22.06        6.71        7.62        15.40        0.39        10   
S&P 500 Index     25.37        14.35        23.00        7.16        3.77        14.65        0.43        10   
Inception Date: December 22, 1999   

CONCLUSION:

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

Dated: June 5, 2014

 

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

 

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

 

24   Fund and benchmark volatility and Sharpe Ratio information was obtained through Lipper LANA, a database maintained by Lipper. Volatility is a statistical measure of the tendency of a market price or yield to vary over time. The Sharpe Ratio is a risk adjusted measure of return that divides a fund’s return in excess of the riskless return by the fund’s standard deviation. A fund with a greater volatility would be viewed as more risky than a fund with equivalent performance but lower volatility; for that reason, a greater return would be demanded for the more risky fund. A fund with a higher Sharpe Ratio would be viewed as better performing than a fund with a lower Sharpe Ratio.

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       55   


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

AB FAMILY OF FUNDS

 

US Equity

US Core

Core Opportunities Fund

Select US Equity Portfolio

US Growth

Concentrated Growth Fund

Discovery Growth Fund

Growth Fund

Large Cap Growth Fund

Small Cap Growth Portfolio

US Value

Discovery Value Fund

Equity Income Fund

Growth & Income Fund

Value Fund

International/Global Equity

International/Global Core

Global Equity & Covered Call Strategy Fund

Global Thematic Growth Fund

International Portfolio

Tax-Managed International Portfolio

International/Global Growth

International Growth Fund

International/Global Value

International Value Fund

Fixed Income

Municipal

High Income Municipal Portfolio

Intermediate California Portfolio

Intermediate Diversified Portfolio

Intermediate New York Portfolio

Municipal Bond Inflation Strategy

Tax-Aware Fixed Income Portfolio

National Portfolio

Arizona Portfolio

California Portfolio

Massachusetts Portfolio

Michigan Portfolio

Minnesota Portfolio

New Jersey Portfolio

New York Portfolio

Ohio Portfolio

Pennsylvania Portfolio

Virginia Portfolio

Taxable

Bond Inflation Strategy

Global Bond Fund

Fixed Income (continued)

Taxable

High Income Fund

High Yield Portfolio

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

Limited Duration High Income Portfolio

Short Duration Portfolio

Alternatives

All Market Real Return Portfolio*

Credit Long/Short Portfolio

Global Real Estate Investment Fund

Long/Short Multi-Manager Fund

Market Neutral Strategy-U.S.

Multi-Manager Alternative Strategies Fund

Select US Long/Short Portfolio

Unconstrained Bond Fund

Multi-Asset

All Market Growth Portfolio*

Emerging Markets Multi-Asset Portfolio

Global Risk Allocation Fund

Retirement Strategies

2000 Retirement Strategy

2005 Retirement Strategy

2010 Retirement Strategy

2015 Retirement Strategy

2020 Retirement Strategy

2025 Retirement Strategy

2030 Retirement Strategy

2035 Retirement Strategy

2040 Retirement Strategy

2045 Retirement Strategy

2050 Retirement Strategy

2055 Retirement Strategy

Wealth Strategies

Balanced Wealth Strategy

Conservative Wealth Strategy

Wealth Appreciation Strategy

Tax-Managed Balanced Wealth Strategy

Tax-Managed Conservative Wealth Strategy

Tax-Managed Wealth Appreciation Strategy

Closed-End Funds

Alliance California Municipal Income Fund

Alliance New York Municipal Income Fund

AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund

AllianceBernstein Income Fund

AllianceBernstein Multi-Manager Alternative Fund

AllianceBernstein National Municipal Income Fund

 

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

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

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

 

56       AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

AB Family of Funds


NOTES

 

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       57   


NOTES

 

 

58     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


NOTES

 

 

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND       59   


NOTES

 

 

60     AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND


LOGO

AB CORE OPPORTUNITIES FUND

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

800.221.5672

 

 

CO-0151-1114                 LOGO

 


ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

(a) The registrant has adopted a code of ethics that applies to its principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer. A copy of the registrant’s code of ethics is filed herewith as Exhibit 12(a)(1).

(b) During the period covered by this report, no material amendments were made to the provisions of the code of ethics adopted in 2(a) above.

(c) During the period covered by this report, no implicit or explicit waivers to the provisions of the code of ethics adopted in 2(a) above were granted.

 

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.

The registrant’s Board of Directors has determined that independent directors Garry L. Moody and William H. Foulk, Jr. qualify as audit committee financial experts.

 

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

(a) - (c) The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed by the independent registered public accounting firm Ernst & Young LLP, for the Fund’s last two fiscal years for professional services rendered for: (i) the audit of the Fund’s annual financial statements included in the Fund’s annual report to stockholders; (ii) assurance and related services that are reasonably related to the performance of the audit of the Fund’s financial statements and are not reported under (i), which include advice and education related to accounting and auditing issues and quarterly press release review (for those Funds which issue press releases), and preferred stock maintenance testing (for those Funds that issue preferred stock); and (iii) tax compliance, tax advice and tax return preparation.

 

           

Audit Fees

     Audit-Related
Fees
     Tax Fees  

AB Core Opportunities

     2013       $ 29,000       $ 1,000       $ 14,378   
     2014       $ 32,357       $ —         $ 15,052   

(d) Not applicable.

(e) (1) Beginning with audit and non-audit service contracts entered into on or after May 6, 2003, the Fund’s Audit Committee policies and procedures require the pre-approval of all audit and non-audit services provided to the Fund by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm. The Fund’s Audit Committee policies and procedures also require pre-approval of all audit and non-audit services provided to the Adviser and Service Affiliates to the extent that these services are directly related to the operations or financial reporting of the Fund.


(e) (2) All of the amounts for Audit Fees, Audit-Related Fees and Tax Fees in the table under Item 4 (a) – (c) are for services pre-approved by the Fund’s Audit Committee.

(f) Not applicable.

(g) The following table sets forth the aggregate non-audit services provided to the Fund, the Fund’s Adviser and entities that control, are controlled by or under common control with the Adviser that provide ongoing services to the Fund:

 

            All Fees for
Non-Audit Services
Provided to the
Portfolio, the Adviser
and Service
Affiliates
     Total Amount of
Foregoing Column Pre-
approved by the Audit
Committee
(Portion Comprised of
Audit Related Fees)
(Portion Comprised of
Tax Fees)
 

AB Core Opportunities

     2013       $ 363,599       $ 15,378   
         $ (1,000
         $ (14,378
     2014       $ 421,657       $ 15,052   
         $ —     
         $ (15,052

(h) The Audit Committee of the Fund has considered whether the provision of any non-audit services not pre-approved by the Audit Committee provided by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to the Adviser and Service Affiliates is compatible with maintaining the auditor’s independence.

 

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.

Please see Schedule of Investments contained in the Report to Shareholders included under Item 1 of this Form N-CSR.

 

ITEM 7. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 8. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable to the registrant.


ITEM 9. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.

Not applicable to the registrant.

 

ITEM 10. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS.

There have been no material changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Fund’s Board of Directors since the Fund last provided disclosure in response to this item.

 

ITEM 11. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

(a) The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3 (c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) are effective at the reasonable assurance level based on their evaluation of these controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this document.

(b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the second fiscal quarter of the period that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 12. EXHIBITS.

The following exhibits are attached to this Form N-CSR:

 

EXHIBIT NO.

 

DESCRIPTION OF EXHIBIT

12 (a) (1)   Code of Ethics that is subject to the disclosure of Item 2 hereof
12 (b) (1)   Certification of Principal Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
12 (b) (2)   Certification of Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
12 (c)   Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

(Registrant): AB Core Opportunities Fund, Inc.

 

By:

/s/ Robert M. Keith

Robert M. Keith
President
Date: January 22, 2015

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

By:

/s/ Robert M. Keith

Robert M. Keith
President
Date: January 22, 2015
By:

/s/ Joseph J. Mantineo

Joseph J. Mantineo
Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer
Date: January 22, 2015