Three AllianceBernstein Leaders Join SASB's Standards Advisory Group

Valerie Grant, Alexia Howard and Yumi Narita will work to enhance sustainability related disclosure

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Jul 16, 2019, 08:30 ET

NEW YORK, July 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceBernstein L.P. (AB) and AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB Holding) (NYSE:AB) announced today that Valerie Grant, Alexia Howard and Yumi Narita have been selected to join the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board's (SASB) Standards Advisory Group (SAG). Each of these senior leaders at AB will work to enhance sustainability-related disclosure by advising SASB on matters related to the development and implementation of standards in the technology & communication, consumer goods and food & beverage sectors, respectively. Their volunteer efforts will ensure that investors and other stakeholders benefit from standards that are market-informed, timely and of the highest quality.

Valerie Grant is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager for the firm's Responsible U.S. Equities portfolio, a large cap equity portfolio designed to give clients exposure to companies that are performing well or improving on the dimension of corporate responsibility while generating attractive risk-adjusted returns. She has been with AB for 13 years and has played a key role in expanding the firm's responsible investing capabilities.

Alexia Howard is a Senior Vice President, Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at AB Bernstein, where she has covered the U.S. foods sector since 2006. She has conducted research and written extensively on how health, wellness and sustainability have become important investment themes in the food industry. She was also a member of the SASB working group that developed the organization's first sustainability standards for the packaged food and agricultural sectors.

Yumi Narita is a Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Governance at AB. She has been engaging companies on environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities on behalf of investors for 15 years, supporting the standardization of performance metrics and more consistent disclosure. Through her work, she has developed a nuanced understanding how companies approach reporting on these metrics.

"We are excited that Valerie, Yumi and Alexia have been selected to join this important initiative at SASB," said Seth Bernstein, President and CEO, AllianceBernstein. "Their diverse backgrounds in portfolio management, governance and research will bring unique perspectives to the conversation on developing consistent standards for materiality and disclosure, which is vitally important for improving market efficiency and capital allocation as well as creating better societal outcomes over the long term."

In addition to their commitment to sustainability, the SAG members are united in their belief that standards can improve the quality and comparability of sustainability-related information, support of SASB's mission to provide investors with relevant and decision-useful information, and willingness to engage a diverse set of stakeholders in the development of standards for disclosure.

"Our team is eager to receive valuable market feedback from this impressive group of experts who comprehend the ever-changing sustainability issues impacting their industries," said Bryan Esterly, Director of Research – Standards at SASB. "The diversity of their backgrounds and perspectives will be critical as we look to ensure the standards are globally applicable, cost-effective for companies, and decision-useful for investors."

AB believes that being a responsible investor starts with being a responsible company. The firm has been a signatory to the United Nations supported Principles of Responsible Investing since 2011, and regularly reports on its activities relating to responsible investing, corporate social responsibility, proxy voting, governance, and stewardship. For more information on AB's commitment to sustainability and responsible investing, click here.

About AllianceBernstein
AllianceBernstein is a leading global investment management firm that offers high-quality research and diversified investment services to institutional investors, individuals and private wealth clients in major world markets.

As of March 31, 2019, including both the general partnership and limited partnership interests in AllianceBernstein, AllianceBernstein Holding owned approximately 35.2% of AllianceBernstein and AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. ("EQH"), directly and through various subsidiaries, owned an approximate 65.6% economic interest in AllianceBernstein. Additional information about AB may be found on our website, www.alliancebernstein.com.

About SASB
The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Foundation is an independent, nonprofit standard-setting organization that develops and maintains robust reporting standards that enable businesses around the world to identify, manage and communicate financially material sustainability information to their investors. SASB standards are evidence based, developed with broad market participation, and are designed to be cost-effective for companies and decision-useful for investors. To download any of the 77 industry-specific standards, or learn more about SASB, please visit www.SASB.org and follow us @SASB.

SOURCE AllianceBernstein