A Tennessee law enacted last month that specifically cuts taxes for publicly traded investment firms will benefit AllianceBernstein Holding LP in its move to Nashville from New York City.
It’s unclear whether the firm sought the tax break. No Tennessee companies qualified when the state legislature considered it in February. Governor Bill Haslam signed the proposal into law April 9 and AllianceBernstein, which manages $550 billion, announced May 2 it was moving its headquarters, including 1,050 legal, marketing and IT workers, to the home of country music, starting this year. The firm said it considered 30 cities.
Other New York-based financial firms have expanded operations in quieter environs with cheaper office rents. Among them are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Salt Lake City; Deutsche Bank AG in Jacksonville, Florida; and Pacific Investment Management Co. in Austin, Texas.
But AllianceBernstein is different. Though the asset manager is keeping portfolio management, sell-side trading and its wealth-management businesses in New York, the firm is also planning to relocate its chief executive officer. Seth Bernstein said he plans to move to Nashville in 2020.
‘Significant Statement’
“Administrative, technology and business-operations jobs have been moving to lower-cost venues for decades in the financial industry,” said Kathryn Wylde, CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a local booster group. “A headquarters move is certainly a significant statement.”
Jonathan Freedman, an AllianceBernstein spokesman, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
AllianceBernstein has been consolidating office space to reduce costs. In an October conference call with investors, the firm said it vacated a floor at its Manhattan headquarters to market it for sublease, a move that was expected to save about $3.6 million a year.
As late as February, an AllianceBernstein securities filing said it was exploring potential locations for “a second principal location.” An account of the site-selection process published on the Williamson County, Tennessee, Chamber of Commerce’s website said that Nashville didn’t appear on AllianceBernstein’s radar until the firm had whittled its list to six finalists.
Tax Credit