GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS	12 Months Ended
GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS	Dec. 31, 2017
Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets [Abstract]
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets	GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the estimated fair value of identifiable net assets acquired in a business combination. The Company tests goodwill for recoverability each annual reporting period at December 31 and at interim periods if facts or circumstances are indicative of potential impairment. Effective January 1, 2017, the Company early adopted new goodwill guidance that eliminates Step 2 from the impairment model and continues to limit the measure of goodwill impairment to the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill. There was no resulting impact on the carrying amount of the Company’s goodwill from adoption of this new guidance. The carrying value of the Company’s goodwill was $3,584 million and $3,584 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, resulting from its investment in AB as well as direct strategic acquisitions of AB, including its purchase of Sanford C. Bernstein, Inc. For purpose of testing this goodwill for impairment, the Company applied a discounted cash flow valuation technique to measure the fair value of the reporting unit, sourcing the underlying cash flows and assumptions from AB’s current business plan projections and adjusting the result to reflect the noncontrolling interest in AB as well as incremental taxes at the Company level as related to the form and structure of its investment in AB. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company’s annual testing resulted in no impairment of this goodwill as the fair value of the reporting unit exceeded its carrying amount at each respective date. Similarly, no impairments resulted from the Company’s interim assessments of goodwill during the periods then ended. In the fourth quarter of 2017 and as further described in Note 18, Business Segment Information, the Company recast its operating segments to align with the reorganization of its reporting structure, resulting in multiple operating segments for its previously defined Financial Advisory/Insurance segment and to which no goodwill was ascribed. Accordingly, all of the Company’s goodwill was reassigned to the Company’s Investment Management and Research segment, also deemed a reporting unit for purpose of assessing goodwill recoverability. The gross carrying amount of AB related intangible assets was $623 million and $625 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively and the accumulated amortization of these intangible assets was $498 million and $468 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Amortization expense related to the AB intangible assets totaled $31 million, $29 million and $28 million for 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Estimated annual amortization expense for each of the next two years is approximately $30 million, then approximately $23 million in year three and $7 million in years four and five. At December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, net deferred sales commissions from AB totaled $30 million and $64 million and are included within other assets. Based on the December 31, 2017 net asset balance, the estimated amortization expense of deferred sales commissions for each of the next five years is $21 million, $6 million, $3 million, $0 million and $0 million. The Company tests the deferred sales commission asset for impairment quarterly by comparing undiscounted future cash flows to the recorded value, net of accumulated amortization. Each quarter, significant assumptions used to estimate the future cash flows are updated to reflect management’s consideration of current market conditions and expectations made with respect to future market levels and redemption rates. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company determined the deferred sales commission asset was not impaired. On September 23, 2016, AB acquired a 100% ownership interest in Ramius Alternative Solutions LLC (“RASL”), a global alternative investment management business that, as of the acquisition date, had approximately $2.5 billion in AUM. RASL offers a range of customized alternative investment and advisory solutions to a global institutional client base. On the acquisition date, AB made a cash payment of $21 million and recorded a contingent consideration payable of $12 million based on projected fee revenues over a five-year measurement period. Goodwill in the amount of $22 million and finite-lived intangible assets of $10 million related to investment management contracts also were recognized at the date of acquisition. On June 20, 2014, AB acquired an 82% ownership interest in CPH Capital Fondsmaeglerselskab A/S (“CPH”), a Danish asset management firm that managed approximately $3,000 million in global core equity assets for institutional investors, for a cash payment of $64 million and a contingent consideration payable of $9 million based on projected assets under management levels over a three-year measurement period. Also recognized on the date of acquisition were $58 million of goodwill, $24 million of finite-lived intangible assets related to separately-managed account relationships and $4 million of indefinite-lived intangible assets related to an acquired fund’s investment contract. Redeemable noncontrolling interest of $17 million was recorded as related to the fair value of CPH purchased by AB. During 2016 and 2015, AB purchased additional shares of CPH, bringing its ownership interest to 90.0% as of December 31, 2016. The acquisitions described above did not have a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated revenues or net income. As a result, supplemental pro forma information has not been provided. Additional information regarding the contingent payment obligations associated with these and other acquisitions made by AB is included in Note 7, Fair Value Disclosures. Capitalized Software Capitalized software, net of accumulated amortization, amounted to $162 million and $170 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and is recorded in other assets. Amortization of capitalized software in 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $47 million, $52 million and $55 million, respectively, recorded in other operating costs and expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Income (loss).

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.