N-CSR 1 d724143dncsr.htm ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND, INC. - AB GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc. - AB Government Reserves Portfolio

 

 

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: 811-02383

 

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND 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: April 30, 2014

Date of reporting period: April 30, 2014

 

 

 


ITEM 1. REPORTS TO STOCKHOLDERS.


ANNUAL REPORT

 

AllianceBernstein Bond Fund Government Reserves Portfolio

 

 

 

 

April 30, 2014

 

Annual Report

 

LOGO


 

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.alliancebernstein.com or contact your AllianceBernstein Investments 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 AllianceBernstein’s website at www.alliancebernstein.com, or go to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) website at www.sec.gov, or call AllianceBernstein at (800) 227-4618.

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

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

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


EXPENSE EXAMPLE

(unaudited)

 

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

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

Actual Expenses

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

Hypothetical Example for Comparison Purposes

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

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

 

     Beginning
Account Value
November 1, 2013
     Ending
Account Value
April 30, 2014
     Expenses Paid
During Period*
     Annualized
Expense Ratio*
 
Class 1            

Actual

   $ 1,000       $ 1,000.10       $ 0.35         0.07

Hypothetical**

   $     1,000       $     1,024.45       $     0.35         0.07
*   Expenses are equal to the classes’s annualized expense ratio, multiplied by the average account value over the period, multiplied by 181/365 (to reflect the one-half year period).

 

**   Assumes 5% annual return before expenses.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       1   

Expense Example


PORTFOLIO OF INVESTMENTS

April 30, 2014

 

     Yield*     Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  

 

 
      

SHORT-TERM
INVESTMENTS – 99.9%

      

U.S. Government & Government Sponsored Agency
Obligations – 97.9%

      

Federal Farm Credit Bank

      

3/04/15(a)

     0.097   $ 5,000      $ 4,999,787   

8/06/14(a)

     0.103     7,500        7,500,000   

4/20/15(a)

     0.112     5,000        5,000,296   

5/12/14(a)

     0.113     1,480        1,480,001   

7/25/14(a)

     0.122     600        600,046   

7/16/14(a)

     0.132     4,000        4,000,258   

11/26/14(a)

     0.132     475        475,057   

6/06/14(a)

     0.133     1,600        1,600,049   

9/19/14(a)

     0.140     11,170        11,170,875   

3/26/15(a)

     0.152     2,140        2,140,878   

3/20/15(a)

     0.152     1,000        1,000,484   

8/27/14(a)

     0.162     1,400        1,400,281   

2/27/15(a)

     0.162     3,000        3,001,505   

4/27/15(a)

     0.167     5,700        5,703,466   

4/15/15(a)

     0.172     5,000        5,003,189   

4/23/15(a)

     0.172     300        300,180   

9/29/14(a)

     0.182     11,115        11,119,312   

9/08/14(a)

     0.193     1,085        1,085,353   

1/26/15(a)

     0.230     4,250        4,253,650   

5/05/15(a)

     0.230     500        500,563   

8/28/14

     0.250     500        500,240   

7/14/14(a)

     0.280     1,200        1,200,371   

9/15/14(a)

     0.310     1,500        1,500,970   

5/19/14(a)

     0.350     225        225,024   

6/13/14(a)

     0.360     10,100        10,103,257   

5/29/14(a)

     0.380     2,650        2,650,553   

6/02/14

     1.900     2,525        2,528,945   

9/22/14

     3.000     500        505,579   

9/30/14

     8.160     500        516,637   

Federal Home Loan Bank

      

8/15/14(a)

     0.067     4,100        4,099,672   

8/22/14(a)

     0.082     9,200        9,199,512   

6/06/14(a)

     0.093     14,400        14,400,093   

8/12/14(a)

     0.098     15,000        15,000,024   

6/11/14

     0.100     2,490        2,489,984   

7/30/14

     0.100     15,000        14,999,250   

7/15/14(a)

     0.102     10,350        10,349,994   

7/21/14(a)

     0.103     15,000        15,000,000   

8/19/14(a)

     0.110     16,800        16,800,005   

6/10/14(a)

     0.120     20,000        20,001,068   

6/03/14(a)

     0.121     20,800        20,800,903   

6/17/14(a)

     0.121     5,000        5,000,207   

 

2     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Portfolio of Investments


 

     Yield*     Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  

 

 
      

5/23/14(a)

     0.122   $ 13,015      $ 13,015,288   

6/25/14(a)

     0.132     24,300        24,301,831   

12/09/14(a)

     0.135     4,000        4,000,394   

7/25/14

     0.190     940        940,192   

6/11/14(a)

     0.240     3,000        3,000,476   

6/04/14(a)

     0.250     12,170        12,171,941   

6/18/15(a)

     0.735     1,000        1,006,722   

5/28/14

     1.375     800        800,750   

6/13/14

     2.500     2,780        2,787,885   

6/03/14

     3.050     2,000        2,005,302   

6/18/14

     5.250     2,405        2,421,184   

6/13/14

     5.375     4,410        4,437,559   

Federal Home Loan Bank Discount Notes

      

6/11/14

     0.050     4,300        4,299,755   

6/11/14

     0.060     1,795        1,794,888   

5/21/14

     0.070     20,500        20,499,203   

5/07/14

     0.080     12,100        12,099,833   

5/07/14

     0.100     430        429,993   

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

      

7/30/14

     1.000     1,465        1,468,221   

7/28/14

     3.000     3,165        3,187,059   

7/15/14

     5.000     4,129        4,170,409   

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. Discount Notes
5/12/14

     0.100     16,667        16,666,491   

Federal National Mortgage Association

      

6/20/14(a)

     0.132     1,900        1,900,100   

1/20/15(a)

     0.162     3,882        3,883,536   

6/23/14(a)

     0.360     1,075        1,075,378   

8/25/14(a)

     0.370     1,500        1,501,170   

1/27/15(a)

     0.370     1,800        1,803,239   

11/21/14(a)

     0.490     945        946,915   

12/19/14

     0.750     500        501,886   

8/28/14

     0.875     2,893        2,900,313   

5/15/14

     2.500     9,384        9,392,697   

Federal National Mortgage Association Discount Notes
7/02/14

     0.055     3,000        2,999,716   

U.S. Treasury Notes

      

7/15/14

     0.625     20,000        20,022,192   

5/15/14

     1.000     10,000        10,003,460   

8/31/14

     2.375     21,100        21,259,547   

10/31/14

     2.375     15,000        15,170,656   

6/30/14

     2.625     3,000        3,012,615   

7/31/14

     2.625     15,000        15,095,215   
      

 

 

 
         487,181,529   
      

 

 

 

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       3   

Portfolio of Investments


 

         Principal
Amount
(000)
    U.S. $ Value  

 

 
      

Repurchase Agreements – 2.0%

      

Deutsche Bank 0.05% dated 4/30/14 due 5/01/14 in the amount of $10,000,014 (collateralized by $10,198,800 U.S. Treasury Note, 0.25%, due 10/31/15, value $10,000,024)

     $ 10,000      $ 10,000,000   
      

 

 

 

Total Investments – 99.9%
(cost $497,181,529)

         497,181,529   

Other assets less liabilities – 0.1%

         603,588   
      

 

 

 

Net Assets – 100.0%

       $ 497,785,117   
      

 

 

 

 

*   Represents annualized yield from date of purchase for discount securities, and stated interest rate for interest-bearing securities.

 

(a)   Floating Rate Security. Stated interest rate was in effect at April 30, 2014.

See notes to financial statements.

 

4     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Portfolio of Investments


STATEMENT OF ASSETS & LIABILITIES

April 30, 2014

 

Assets   

Investments in securities, at value (cost $497,181,529)

   $ 497,181,529   

Cash

     36,859   

Interest receivable

     751,961   

Unamortized offering expense

     608   
  

 

 

 

Total assets

     497,970,957   
  

 

 

 
Liabilities   

Payable to Advisor

     90,080   

Audit fee payable

     31,017   

Custody fee payable

     19,265   

Legal fee payable

     10,289   

Payable for shares of beneficial interest redeemed

     123   

Accrued expenses

     35,066   
  

 

 

 

Total liabilities

     185,840   
  

 

 

 

Net Assets

   $ 497,785,117   
  

 

 

 
Composition of Net Assets   

Shares of beneficial interest, at par

   $ 497,790   

Additional paid-in capital

     497,282,515   

Distributions in excess of net investment income

     (3,740

Accumulated net realized gain on investment transactions

     8,552   
  

 

 

 
   $     497,785,117   
  

 

 

 

Net Asset Value Per Share—27 billion shares of beneficial interest authorized, $.001 par value

 

Class   Net Assets        Shares
Outstanding
       Net Asset
Value
 

 

 
1   $   497,785,117           497,790,491         $   1.00   

 

 

See notes to financial statements.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       5   

Statement of Assets & Liabilities


STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS

For the Period May 6, 2013(a) to April 30, 2014

 

Investment Income     

Interest

     $     393,849   
    

 

 

 
Expenses     

Advisory fee (see Note B)

   $ 836,295     

Distribution fee—Class 1

     418,147     

Transfer agency—Class 1

     25,820     

Custodian

     112,854     

Amortization of offering expenses

     93,592     

Administrative

     76,355     

Legal

     37,001     

Audit

     36,020     

Registration fees

     31,149     

Printing

     15,040     

Trustees’ fees

     8,216     

Miscellaneous

     29,335     
  

 

 

   

Total expenses

         1,719,824     

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

     (965,646  

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

     (418,147  

Less: expenses waived by the Transfer Agent
(see Note B)

     (25,820  
  

 

 

   

Net expenses

       310,211   
    

 

 

 

Net investment income

       83,638   
    

 

 

 
Realized Gain on Investment Transactions     

Net realized gain on investment transactions

       8,552   
    

 

 

 

Net Increase in Net Assets from Operations

     $     92,190   
    

 

 

 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

6     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Statement of Operations


STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS

 

     May 6,
2013(a)  to
April 30,

2014
 
Increase in Net Assets from Operations   

Net investment income

   $ 83,638   

Net realized gain on investment transactions

     8,552   
  

 

 

 

Net increase in net assets from operations

     92,190   
Dividends to Shareholders from   

Net investment income

  

Class 1

     (97,564
Transactions in Shares of Beneficial Interest   

Net increase

     497,790,491   
  

 

 

 

Total increase

     497,785,117   
Net Assets   

Beginning of period

     – 0  – 
  

 

 

 

End of Period (including distributions in excess of net investment income of ($3,740))

   $     497,785,117   
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

See notes to financial statements.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       7   

Statement of Changes in Net Assets


NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

April 30, 2014

 

NOTE A

Significant Accounting Policies

AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 as an open-end management investment company. The Fund, which is a Maryland corporation, operates as a series company comprised of seven portfolios currently in operation: the Intermediate Bond Portfolio, the Bond Inflation Strategy Portfolio, the Municipal Bond Inflation Strategy Portfolio, the Real Asset Strategy Portfolio, the Limited Duration High Income Portfolio, the Government Reserves Portfolio, and the Tax-Aware Fixed Income Portfolio. They are each diversified portfolios, with the exception of the Limited Duration High Income Portfolio, which is non-diversified. The Government Reserves Portfolio commenced operations on May 6, 2013. The Tax-Aware Fixed Income Portfolio commenced operations on December 11, 2013. Each portfolio is considered to be a separate entity for financial reporting and tax purposes. This report relates only to the Government Reserves Portfolio (the “Portfolio”). The Portfolio has authorized the issuance of Class A, Class B, Class C, Advisor Class, Class R, Class K, Class I, Class 1 and Class 2 shares. Only Class 1 shares are currently being offered. The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) which require management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities in the financial statements and amounts of income and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The following is a summary of significant accounting policies followed by the Portfolio.

1. Security Valuation

Securities in which the Portfolio invests are traded primarily in the over-the-counter market and are valued at amortized cost, which approximates market value. Under such method a portfolio instrument is valued at cost and any premium or discount is amortized or accreted, respectively, on a constant basis to maturity.

2. Fair Value Measurements

In accordance with U.S. GAAP regarding fair value measurements, fair value is defined as the price that the Portfolio would receive to sell an asset or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. 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. Inputs may be observable or unobservable and refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Observable inputs reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on market data obtained from sources independent of the Portfolio. Unobservable inputs reflect the Portfolio’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability based on

 

8     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Notes to Financial Statements


 

the best information available in the circumstances. Each investment is assigned a level based upon the observability of the inputs which are significant to the overall valuation. The three-tier hierarchy of inputs is summarized below.

 

   

Level 1—quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

   

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

   

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

The fair value of debt instruments, such as bonds, and over-the-counter derivatives is generally based on market price quotations, recently executed market transactions (where observable) or industry recognized modeling techniques and are generally classified as Level 2. Pricing vendor inputs to Level 2 valuations may include quoted prices for similar investments in active markets, interest rate curves, coupon rates, currency rates, yield curves, option adjusted spreads, default rates, credit spreads and other unique security features in order to estimate the relevant cash flows which are then discounted to calculate fair values. If these inputs are unobservable and significant to the fair value, these investments will be classified as Level 3. In addition, non-agency rated investments are classified as Level 3.

Other fixed income investments, including non-U.S. government and corporate debt, are generally valued using quoted market prices, if available, which are typically impacted by current interest rates, maturity dates and any perceived credit risk of the issuer. Additionally, in the absence of quoted market prices, these inputs are used by pricing vendors to derive a valuation based upon industry or proprietary models which incorporate issuer specific data with relevant yield/spread comparisons with more widely quoted bonds with similar key characteristics. Those investments for which there are observable inputs are classified as Level 2. Where the inputs are not observable, the investments are classified as Level 3.

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

 

Investments in
Securities:

   Level 1     Level 2      Level 3     Total  

Assets:

         

U.S. Government & Government Sponsored Agency Obligations

   $   – 0  –    $   487,181,529       $   – 0  –    $   487,181,529   

Repurchase Agreement

     – 0  –      10,000,000         – 0  –      10,000,000   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total^

   $   – 0  –    $ 497,181,529       $   – 0  –    $ 497,181,529   
  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       9   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

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

AllianceBernstein L.P. (the “Adviser”) has established a Valuation Committee (the “Committee”) which is responsible for overseeing the pricing and valuation of all securities held in the Portfolio. The Committee operates under pricing and valuation policies and procedures established by the Adviser and approved by the Board of Directors, 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. Taxes

It is the Portfolio’s policy to meet the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to regulated investment companies and to distribute all of its investment company taxable income and net realized gains, if any, to shareholders. Therefore, no provisions for federal income or excise taxes are required.

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

 

10     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Notes to Financial Statements


 

4. Investment Income and Investment Transactions

Interest income is accrued daily and includes amortization of premiums and accretions of discounts as adjustments to interest income. Investment transactions are accounted for on the date the securities are purchased or sold.

5. Dividends and Distributions

The Portfolio declares dividends daily from net investment income and is paid monthly. Net realized gains distributions, if any, will be made at least annually. Income dividends and capital gains distributions to shareholders are recorded on the ex-dividend date.

6. Repurchase Agreements

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

7. Offering Expenses

Offering expenses of $94,200 have been deferred and are being amortized on a straight line basis over a one year period starting from May 6, 2013 (commencement of the Portfolio’s operations).

NOTE B

Advisory Fee and Other Transactions with Affiliates

Under the terms of the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio pays the Adviser an advisory fee at an annual rate of 0.20% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets. The Adviser has agreed to waive its fees and bear certain expenses to the extent necessary to limit total operating expenses on an annual basis to 0.19% of daily average net assets for Class 1. This fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreement will remain in effect until May 1, 2014 and will be automatically extended for one-year periods thereafter unless terminated by the Adviser upon 60 days’ notice to the Portfolio prior to that date. For the period ended April 30, 2014, the Adviser waived a portion of such fees in the amount of $836,295. Such amount is subject to repayment, not to exceed the amount of offering expenses. To prevent the Portfolio’s expenses from exceeding its total income on a daily basis, the Adviser voluntarily reimbursed the Portfolio an additional amount of $52,996.

Pursuant to the investment advisory agreement, the Portfolio may reimburse the Adviser for certain legal and accounting services provided to the Portfolio by the Adviser. For the period ended April 30, 2014, the Adviser voluntarily agreed to waive such fees in the amount of $76,355.

The Portfolio compensates AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Adviser, under a Transfer Agency Agreement for

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       11   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

providing personnel and facilities to perform transfer agency services for the Portfolio. ABIS may make payments to intermediaries that provide omnibus account services, sub-accounting services and/or networking services. During the period ended April 30, 2014, there was no reimbursement paid to ABIS.

For the period ended April 30, 2014, the Transfer Agent has voluntarily agreed to waive all transfer agency fees in the amount of $25,820 for Class 1.

NOTE C

Distribution Services Agreement

The Portfolio has adopted a Distribution Services Agreement (the “Agreement”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 for Class 1. Under the Agreement, the Portfolio pays distribution and servicing fees to AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (the “Distributor”) at an annual rate of 0.10% of the Portfolio’s average daily net assets attributable to Class 1 shares. The fees are accrued daily and paid monthly. The Agreement provides that the Distributor will use such payments in their entirety for distribution assistance and promotional activities. For the period ended April 30, 2014, the Distributor has voluntarily agreed to waive all of the distribution fees in the amount of $418,147 for Class 1 shares, limiting the effective annual rate to 0.00%.

NOTE D

Investment Transactions, Income Taxes and Distributions to Shareholders

At April 30, 2014, the cost of investments for federal income tax purposes was the same as the cost for financial reporting purposes.

The tax character of distributions paid during the fiscal period ended April 30, 2014 were as follows:

 

     2014  

Distributions paid from:

  

Ordinary income

   $ 97,564   
  

 

 

 

Total taxable distributions

     97,564   
  

 

 

 

Total distributions paid

   $     97,564   
  

 

 

 

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

 

Undistributed ordinary income

   $ 30,937   
  

 

 

 

Total accumulated earnings/(deficit)

   $     30,937 (a) 
  

 

 

 

 

(a)   

The difference between book-basis and tax-basis components of accumulated earnings/(deficit) is attributable primarily to the amortization of offering costs.

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

 

12     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Notes to Financial Statements


 

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 April 30, 2014, the Portfolio did not have any capital loss carryforwards.

During the current fiscal period, permanent differences primarily due to the tax treatment of offering costs resulted in a net decrease in distributions in excess of net investment income and a net decrease in additional paid-in capital. This reclassification had no effect on net assets.

NOTE E

Transactions in Shares of Beneficial Interest

Transactions, all at $1.00 per share, were as follows:

 

    
     Shares      
    

May 6,
2013(a) to

April 30,

2014

     
  

 

 

   
Class 1     

Shares sold

     1,820,339,791     

Shares issued in reinvestment of dividends

     97,564     

Shares redeemed

     (1,322,646,864  

 

   

Net increase

     497,790,491     

 

   

 

(a)   

Commencement of operations.

NOTE F

Risks Involved in Investing in the Portfolio

Money Market Fund Risk—Money market funds are sometimes unable to maintain a net asset value (“NAV”) at $1.00 per share and, as it is generally referred to, “break the buck.” In that event, an investor in a money market fund would, upon redemption, receive less than $1.00 per share. The Portfolio’s shareholders should not rely on or expect an affiliate of the Portfolio to purchase distressed assets from the Portfolio, make capital infusions, enter into credit support agreements or take other actions to prevent the Portfolio from breaking the buck. In addition, you should be aware that significant redemptions by large investors in the Portfolio could have a material adverse effect on the Portfolio’s other shareholders. The Portfolio’s NAV could be affected by forced selling during periods of high redemption pressures and/or illiquid markets. Money market funds are also subject to regulatory risk. The Commission continues to evaluate the rules governing money market funds, including Rule 2a-7. It is possible that changes to Rule 2a-7 could significantly impact the money market fund industry generally and, therefore, could affect the operation or performance of the Portfolio.

Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk—The Portfolio’s primary risks are interest rate risk and credit risk. Because the Portfolio invests in short-term securities, a

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       13   

Notes to Financial Statements


 

 

decline in interest rates will affect the Portfolio’s yield as the securities mature or are sold and the Portfolio purchases new short-term securities with a lower yield. Generally, an increase in interest rates causes the value of a debt instrument to decrease. The change in value for shorter-term securities is usually smaller than for securities with longer maturities. In addition, if interest rates remain low for an extended period of time, the Portfolio may have difficulties in maintaining a positive yield, paying expenses out of the Portfolio’s assets, or maintaining a stable $1.00 NAV.

Credit risk is the possibility that a security’s credit rating will be downgraded or that the issuer of the security will default (fail to make scheduled interest and principal payments or to fulfill its repurchase obligations). The Portfolio invests in highly-rated securities to minimize credit risk.

Liquidity Risk—Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are difficult to purchase or sell, which may prevent the Portfolio from selling out of these securities at an advantageous time or price.

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

NOTE G

Subsequent Events

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

 

14     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Notes to Financial Statements


FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Selected Data For A Share Of Beneficial Interest Outstanding Throughout Each Period

 

    Class 1  
    May 6,
2013(a) to
April 30,

2014
 

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $  1.00   
 

 

 

 

Income From Investment Operations

 

Net investment income(b)(c)

    .0002   

Net realized and unrealized gain on investment transactions(d)

    .0000   
 

 

 

 

Net increase in net asset value from operations

    .0002   
 

 

 

 

Less: Dividends

 

Dividends from net investment income

    (.0002
 

 

 

 

Net asset value, end of period

    $  1.00   
 

 

 

 

Total Return

 

Total investment return based on net asset value(e)

    .02  % 

Ratios/Supplemental Data

 

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

    $497,785   

Ratio to average net assets of:

 

Expenses, net of waivers/reimbursements

    .07  %^ 

Expenses, before waivers/reimbursements

    .41  %^ 

Net investment income(a)

    .02  %^ 

 

(a)   Commencement of operations.

 

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

 

(c)   Based on average shares outstanding.

 

(d)   Amount is less than $0.00005.

 

(e)   Total investment return is calculated assuming an initial investment made at the net asset value at the beginning of the period, reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at net asset value during the period, and redemption on the last day of the period. 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.

 

^   Annualized.

See notes to financial statements.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       15   

Financial Highlights


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED

PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors of AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc. and the Shareholders of Government Reserves Portfolio:

We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities, including the portfolio of investments, of Government Reserves Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) (one of the portfolios constituting AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc.) as of April 30, 2014, and the related statement of operations, statement of changes in net assets, and the financial highlights for the period May 6, 2013 (commencement of operations) to April 30, 2014. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Portfolio’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audit.

We conducted our audit 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 Portfolio’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audit 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 Portfolio’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 April 30, 2014, by correspondence with the custodian and others. We believe that our audit provides 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 Government Reserves Portfolio of AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc. at April 30, 2014, and the results of its operations, the changes in its net assets, and the financial highlights for the period May 6, 2013 (commencement of operations) to April 30, 2014, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

LOGO

New York, New York

June 26, 2014

 

16     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm


TAX INFORMATION

(unaudited)

For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the distributions paid by the Portfolio during the taxable period ended April 30, 2014. For foreign shareholders, 97.81% of ordinary dividends paid may be considered to be qualifying to be taxed as interest-related dividends.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       17   

Tax Information


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

Raymond J. Papera, Vice President

Maria R. Cona, Vice President

Edward Dombrowski, Vice President

  

Lucas Krupa, Vice President

Phyllis J. Clarke, Controller

Emilie D. Wrapp, Secretary

Joseph J. Mantineo, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Vincent S. Noto, Chief Compliance Officer

 

Custodian and Accounting Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

 

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. Mr. Foulk is the sole member of the Fair Value Pricing Committee.

 

18     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

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* AND AGE

(YEAR FIRST 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
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 the head of AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”) since July 2008; Director of ABI and President of the AllianceBernstein 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.     103      None

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       19   

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,

ADDRESS* AND AGE

(YEAR FIRST 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
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS    

Marshall C. Turner, Jr., ##

Chairman of the Board

72

(2005)

 

Private Investor since prior to 2009. Former CEO of Dupont Photomasks, Inc. (components of semi-conductor manufacturing), 2003-2006, and interim CEO 1999-2000. Interim CEO of MEMC Electronic Materials, Inc. (semi-conductor and solar cell substrates) from November 2008 until March 2009. 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 AllianceBernstein fund since 1992, and director or trustee of multiple AllianceBernstein funds since 2005. He is Chairman of the AllianceBernstein Funds since January 2014, and the Chairman of the Independent Directors Committee of such Funds since February 2014.

    103     

Xilinx, Inc. (programmable logic semi-conductors) and SunEdison, Inc. (semi-conductor substrates, solar materials and solar power plants) since prior to 2009

     

John H. Dobkin, ##

72

(1998)

  Independent Consultant since prior to 2009. 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 AllianceBernstein Funds since 1992, and as Chairman of the Audit Committees of a number of such Funds from 2001-2008.     103      None

 

20     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,

ADDRESS* AND AGE

(YEAR FIRST 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
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS
(continued)
   

Michael J. Downey, ##

70

(2005)

  Private Investor since prior to 2009. Formerly, managing partner of Lexington Capital, LLC (investment advisory firm) from December 1997 until December 2003. 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 AllianceBernstein Funds since 2005 and is a director and Chairman of one other registered investment company.     103      Asia Pacific Fund, Inc. since prior to 2009, Prospect Acquisition Corp. (financial services) from 2007 until 2009 and The Merger Fund since prior to 2009 until 2013
     

William H. Foulk, Jr., #, ##

81

(1998)

 

Investment Adviser and an Independent Consultant since prior to 2009. 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 AllianceBernstein Funds since 1983, and has been Chairman of the Independent Directors Committee of the AllianceBernstein 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.

    103      None

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       21   

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,

ADDRESS* AND AGE

(YEAR FIRST 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
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 2009. He served as Chairman of the Board of PLX Technology (semi-conductors) since prior to 2009 until February 2014. 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 was a Director of Cirrus Logic Corporation (semi-conductors) from 1984 until July 2011. He has served as a director or trustee of one or more of the AllianceBernstein Funds since 1982.

    103      PLX Technology (semi-conductors) since prior to 2009 until February 2014, and Cirrus Logic Corporation (semi-conductors) since prior to 2009 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 AllianceBernstein Funds since 2006.     103      None

 

22     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,

ADDRESS* AND AGE

(YEAR FIRST 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
PAST FIVE YEARS
     

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 Board IQ, 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 Committee, of the AllianceBernstein Funds since 2008.     103     

None

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       23   

Management of the Fund


 

NAME,

ADDRESS* AND AGE

(YEAR FIRST 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
PAST FIVE YEARS
DISINTERESTED DIRECTORS
(continued)
   

Earl D. Weiner, ##

74

(2007)

  Of Counsel, and Partner prior to January 2007, of the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and member of 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 AllianceBernstein Funds since 2007 and is Chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committees of the Funds.     103      None

 

*   The address for each of the Fund’s 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 Fair Value Pricing Committee.

 

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

 

24     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

Management of the Fund


 

Officer Information

Certain information concerning the Fund’s officers is set forth 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 AllianceBernstein 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.
     

Raymond J. Papera

58

   Senior Vice President    Senior Vice President of the Adviser,** with which he has been associated since prior to 2009.
     
Maria R. Cona
59
   Vice President    Vice President of the Adviser,** with which she has been associated since prior to 2009.
     

Edward J. Dombrowski
36

   Vice President    Vice President of the Adviser,** with which he has been associated since prior to 2009.
     

Lucas Krupa

27

   Vice President   

Associate Officer of the Adviser** and Money Markets Associate on the Fixed Income Cash Management team with which he has been associated since June 2010. Prior thereto, he was associated with Omnicom Capital Inc. since prior to 2009.

     

Emilie D. Wrapp

58

   Secretary    Senior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of ABI,** with which she has been associated since prior to 2009.
     

Joseph J. Mantineo

55

   Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer    Senior Vice President of AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”),** with which he has been associated since prior to 2009.
     

Phyllis J. Clarke

53

   Controller    Vice President of ABIS,** with which she has been associated since prior to 2009.
     

Vincent S. Noto

49

   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 2009.

 

*   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 1-800-227-4618, for a free prospectus or SAI.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       25   

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

The Portfolio is a money market fund subject to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act. The Portfolio’s investment objective is to maximize current income to the extent consistent with safety of principal and liquidity. The Portfolio invests at least 80%, and normally substantially all, of its net assets in marketable obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities.3 The Portfolio’s weighted maturity and weighted average life will not exceed 60 and 120 days, respectively. The remaining maturity of each of the Portfolio’s investments will not exceed 397 days unless otherwise permitted by Rule 2a-7. The Adviser proposed the Barclays Capital 1-3 Month U. S. Treasury Index to be the primary benchmark for the Portfolio. The Adviser expects Lipper, Inc. (“Lipper”) to place the Portfolio in its Institutional U.S. Government Money Market Funds category and Morningstar to place the Portfolio in its Taxable Money Market category.

The Fund has adopted a multi-class plan under Rule 18f-3 under the 1940 Act. Pursuant to the plan, at present, the Fund’s series are authorized to issue nine classes of shares. Accordingly, the Adviser proposes that the 18f-3 Plan authorize all nine classes of shares, notwithstanding the Portfolio is intended as a vehicle for Private and Institutional Clients, so only Class 1 shares of the Portfolio, which are available only to such clients, will initially be offered. The offering of Class 2 shares, which are normally intended for Private Clients with larger accounts, is not expected to be offered for at least one year after launch.

 

1   The information in the fee evaluation was completed on January 24, 2013 and discussed with the Board of Directors on February 5-6, 2013.

 

2   Future references to the Portfolio do not include “AllianceBernstein.”

 

3   Repurchase agreements relating to government securities and other commitments are considered government securities for the purposes of the 80% requirement.

 

26     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO


 

 

The Senior Officer’s evaluation considered the following factors:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

These factors, with the exception of the first factor, are generally referred to as the “Gartenberg factors,” which were articulated by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1982. Gartenberg v. Merrill Lynch Asset Management, Inc., 694 F. 2d 923 (2d Cir. 1982). On March 30, 2010, the Supreme Court held the Gartenberg decision was correct in its basic formulation of what §36(b) requires: to face liability under §36(b), “an investment adviser must charge a fee that is so disproportionately large that it bears no reasonable relationship to the services rendered and could not have been the product of arm’s length bargaining.” Jones v. Harris Associates L.P., 130 S. Ct. 1418 (2010). In the Jones decision, the Court stated the Gartenberg approach fully incorporates the correct understanding of fiduciary duty within the context of section 36(b) and noted with approval that “Gartenberg insists that all relevant circumstances be taken into account” and “uses the range of fees that might result from arm’s length bargaining as the benchmark for reviewing challenged fees.”4

ADVISORY FEES, NET ASSETS, & EXPENSE RATIOS

The Adviser proposed that the Portfolio pays the advisory fee set forth below for receiving the services to be provided pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement.

 

Portfolio   Advisory Fee
Government Reserves Portfolio5   0.20% of average daily net assets

In addition to paying the advisory fee, the Investment Advisory Agreement provides for the Adviser to be reimbursed for providing administrative and accounting services.

 

4   Jones v. Harris at 1427.

 

5   The advisory fee schedule for the Portfolio has a lower effective fee rate than the advisory fee schedule of the Low Risk category, in which the Portfolio would have been categorized had the Adviser proposed to implement the NYAG related fee schedule. The advisory fee schedule for the Low Risk category is as follows: 0.45% on the first $2.5 billion, 0.40% on the next $2.5 billion and 0.35% on the balance.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       27   


 

 

The Portfolio’s Expense Limitation Agreement calls for the Adviser to establish an expense cap of 0.19% for the Portfolio’s Class 1 shares for an initial one year period after the Portfolio commences operations. Under the Expense Limitation Agreement, the Adviser may be able to recoup all or a portion of the Portfolio’s offering expenses for a three year period after the Portfolio commences operations to the extent that the reimbursement does not cause the expense ratio of the Portfolio to exceed its expense cap or cause the Portfolio to have a negative yield.6

 

Portfolio   Expense Cap Pursuant to
Expense Limitation
Undertaking
     Estimated
Gross
Expense
Ratio7
 
Government Reserves Portfolio   Class 1      0.19      0.42

 

I. ADVISORY FEES CHARGED TO INSTITUTIONAL AND OTHER CLIENTS

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

 

6   Offering expenses consist principally of the legal, accounting and federal and states securities registration fees paid by the Portfolio.

 

7   The Portfolio’s estimated gross expense ratios are based on an initial estimate of the Portfolio’s net assets at $500 million.

 

28     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO


 

 

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

Notwithstanding the Adviser’s view that managing an investment company is not comparable to managing other institutional accounts because the services provided are different, the Supreme Court has indicated consideration should be given to the advisory fees charged to institutional accounts with a similar investment style as the Portfolio.8 In addition to the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule, set forth below are the Portfolio’s projected advisory fee and what would have been the effective advisory fee of the Portfolio had the AllianceBernstein Institutional fee schedule been applicable to the Portfolio based on the initial estimate of the Portfolio’s net assets at $500 million.9

 

Portfolio  

Projected

Net Assets

($MM)

   

AllianceBernstein

Institutional

Fee Schedule

  Effective
AB Inst.
Adv. Fee
(%)
   

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee

(%)

  Difference  
Government Reserves Portfolio     $500.0     

Fixed Income Money

Market Schedule 0.10%

Minimum Account Size: $100 million

    0.100%      0.200%     0.100%   

 

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

 

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

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       29   


 

 

The Adviser manages Exchange Reserves and Government STIF Portfolio, which have a similar investment style as the Portfolio, and their advisory fee schedules are set forth in the table below. Also set forth are what would have been the effective advisory fees of the Portfolio had the advisory fee schedules for Exchange Reserves and Government STIF Portfolio been applicable to the Portfolio based on the initial estimate of the Portfolio net assets at $500 million:

 

Portfolio  

ABMF

Fund

 

ABMF

Fee Schedule

 

ABMF

Effective
Fee (%)

   

Portfolio

Advisory

Fee (%)

   

Difference

(%)

 
Government Reserves
Portfolio
  Exchange Reserves  

0.25% on the first 1.25 billion

0.24% on the next $250 million

0.23% on the next $250 million

0.22% on the next $250 million

0.21% on the next $1.0 billion

0.20% on the balance

    0.250%        0.200%        -0.050%   
  Government STIF Portfolio10   Zero fee     0.000%        0.200%        0.200%   

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

 

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

Lipper, an analytical service that is not affiliated with the Adviser, compared the fees charged to the Portfolio with fees charged to other investment companies for similar services offered by other investment advisers.11 Lipper’s analysis included the comparison of the Portfolio’s contractual management fee, estimated at an initial

 

10   Government STIF Portfolio is not charged an advisory fee although the fund’s investment advisory agreement provides for the Adviser to be reimbursed for providing certain non-advisory services. The fund is intended to provide an investment option to institutional clients of the Adviser, including all of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds with the exception of Exchange Reserves, for short-term investment of uninvested cash. The fund is intended to offer clients competitive short-term returns and enable the Adviser to deliver more consistent and predictable returns while reducing expenses for clients. The Adviser will be compensated for its services to the fund by compensation the Adviser receives from institutional clients that invest in the fund.

 

11   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.

 

30     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO


 

 

asset level of $500 million, to the median of the Portfolio’s Lipper Expense Group (“EG”)12 and the Portfolio’s contractual management fee ranking.13

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

 

Portfolio   Contractual
Management
Fee (%)14
   

Lipper Exp.
Group

Median (%)

    Rank  
Government Reserves Portfolio     0.200        0.255        4/8   

Lipper also compared the Portfolio’s projected total expense ratio to the medians of the Portfolio’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 classification/objective and load type as the subject Portfolio.15 The Portfolio’s total expense ratio rankings are also shown in the table below. It should be noted that many of the Portfolio’s peers’ investment advisers are waiving advisory fees and/or reimbursing expenses as a result of the current interest rate environment, resulting in low total expenses. To show the effect of these advisory fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, gross Lipper expense ratio information is also provided.

 

Portfolio  

Expense

Ratio
(%)16

    Lipper Exp.
Group
Median (%)
   

Lipper

Group

Rank

   

Lipper Exp.
Universe

Median (%)

   

Lipper
Universe

Rank

 
Government Reserves Portfolio          

Net

    0.190        0.129        7/8        0.129        148/161   

Gross17

    0.320        0.337        2/8        0.264        101/161   

 

12   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.

 

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

 

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

 

15   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.
16   Projected total expense ratio information pertains to the Portfolio’s Class 1 shares.

 

17   Gross expense ratios exclude 12b-1/non-12b-1 service fees.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       31   


 

 

 

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 Portfolio. The Senior Officer has retained a consultant to provide independent advice regarding the alignment of the two profitability systems as well as the methodologies and allocations utilized by both profitability systems. See Section IV for additional discussion.

 

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

The Portfolio has not yet commenced operations. Therefore, there is no historic profitability data with respect to the Adviser’s investment services to the Portfolio.

In addition to the Adviser’s direct profits from managing the Portfolio, certain of the Adviser’s affiliates have business relationships with the Portfolio and may earn a profit from providing other services to the Portfolio. The courts have referred to this type of business opportunity as “fall-out benefits” to the Adviser and indicated that such benefits should be factored into the evaluation of the total relationship between the Portfolio and the Adviser. Neither case law nor common business practice precludes the Adviser’s affiliates from earning a reasonable profit on this type of relationship provided the affiliates’ charges and services are competitive and the relationship otherwise complies with the 40 Act restrictions. These affiliates will provide transfer agent, distribution and brokerage related services to the Portfolio and will receive transfer agent fees, Rule 12b-1 payments, front-end sales loads and contingent deferred sales charges (“CDSC”).

AllianceBernstein Investments, Inc. (“ABI”), an affiliate of the Adviser, is the Fund’s principal underwriter. ABI and the Adviser have disclosed in the Portfolio’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 Portfolio. In 2011, ABI paid approximately 0.04% of the average monthly assets of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds or approximately $17 million for distribution services and educational support (revenue sharing payments).

AllianceBernstein Investor Services, Inc. (“ABIS”), the affiliated transfer agent of the Adviser, will charge a fee of $20 per account of Class 1 and 2 shares or, if higher, a minimum fee of $1,500 per month for providing transfer agency services to the Portfolio. In addition, the Adviser will pay ABIS amounts for out of pocket expenses incurred in providing services to the Portfolio. To the extent retail share classes are offered in the future, the ABIS fee schedule for those classes of the AllianceBernstein Mutual Funds will be used.

 

32     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO


 

 

 

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.

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.

In February 2008, the independent consultant provided the Board of Directors an update of the Deli18 study on advisory fees and various fund characteristics.19 The independent consultant first reiterated the results of his previous two dimensional comparison analysis (fund size and family size) with the Board of Directors.20 The independent consultant then discussed the results of the regression model that was utilized to study the effects of various factors on advisory fees. The regression model output indicated that the bulk of the variation in 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.

 

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

 

19   As mentioned previously, the Supreme Court cautioned against accepting mutual fund fee comparisons without careful scrutiny since the fees may not be the product of negotiations conducted at arm’s length. See Jones V. Harris at 1429.

 

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

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       33   


 

 

 

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

With assets under management of approximately $430 billion as of December 31, 2012, the Adviser has the investment experience to manage and provide non-investment services (described in Section I) to the Portfolio.

Since the Portfolio has not yet commenced operations, the Portfolio has no performance history. The Adviser does manage Exchange Reserves and Government STIF Portfolio which have a similar investment style as the Portfolio. Set forth in the table below are the 1, 3, 5, 10 year and since inception performance returns of these retail mutual funds against their benchmarks as of December 31, 2012:

 

    

Periods Ending December 31, 2012

Annualized Net Performance (%)

 
     1 Year
(%)
    3 Year
(%)
    5 Year
(%)
    10 Year
(%)
    Since
Inception
(%)
 
Exchange Reserves     0.19        0.08        0.50        1.38        2.52   
Lipper Money Market Funds Average21     0.02        0.02        0.47        1.45        2.87   
Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Bills Index     0.12        0.16        0.64        1.83        3.26   
Inception Date: March 25, 1994   
         
Government STIF Portfolio     0.13        0.13        0.60        N/A        1.38   
Lipper Money Market Funds Average21     0.02        0.02        0.47        N/A        1.17   
Inception Date: December 13, 2006   

CONCLUSION:

Based on the factors discussed above, the Senior Officer’s conclusion is that the Investment Advisory Agreement for the Portfolio is reasonable and within the range of what would have been negotiated at arm’s length in light of all the surrounding circumstances. However, the Portfolio’s advisory fee schedule, which has no breakpoints, lacks the potential for sharing economies of scale through breakpoints. The Senior Officer recommended that the Directors monitor the Portfolio’s effective advisory fee to ensure the reasonableness of the fee in comparison to the Portfolio’s Lipper peers as the Portfolio grows in asset size. This conclusion in respect of the Portfolio is based on an evaluation of all of these factors and no single factor was dispositive.

Dated: March 5, 2013

 

21   Benchmark inception is the nearest month end after the mutual fund’s actual inception date.

 

34     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO


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

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN 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 Discovery Equity Portfolio

International Growth Fund

International/Global Value

Global Value Fund

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

Fixed Income (continued)

Taxable

Bond Inflation Strategy

Global Bond Fund

High Income Fund

Intermediate Bond Portfolio

Limited Duration High Income Portfolio

Short Duration Portfolio

Alternatives

Dynamic All Market Fund

Global Real Estate Investment Fund

Global Risk Allocation Fund

Market Neutral Strategy-Global

Market Neutral Strategy-U.S.

Real Asset Strategy

Select US Long/Short Portfolio

Unconstrained Bond Fund

Asset Allocation/Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset

Emerging Markets Multi-Asset Portfolio

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 National Municipal Income Fund

 

We also offer Exchange Reserves, which serves as the money market fund exchange vehicle for the AllianceBernstein 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.alliancebernstein.com or contact your AllianceBernstein investments representative. Please read the prospectus and/or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

 

ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO       35   

AllianceBernstein Family of Funds


NOTES

 

 

36     ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO


ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN BOND FUND GOVERNMENT RESERVES PORTFOLIO

1345 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10105

800.221.5672

 

LOGO

 

 

GR-0151-0414   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 Government Reserves

     2013       $ —         $ —         $ —     
     2014       $ 20,375       $ —         $ 11,645   

(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 Government Reserves

     2013       $ —         $ —     
         $ —     
         $ —     
     2014       $ 305,175       $ 11,645   
         $ —     
         $ (11,645

(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): AllianceBernstein Bond Fund, Inc.

 

By:  

/s/ Robert M. Keith

  Robert M. Keith
  President

Date: June 23, 2014

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: June 23, 2014

 

By:  

/s/ Joseph J. Mantineo

  Joseph J. Mantineo
  Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

Date: June 23, 2014