AllianceBernstein on Monday anointed 20-year company veteran Sharon Fay, who is in charge of value equities, as chief investment officer of equities overseeing both value and growth teams. Lisa Shalett, head of growth equities, is leaving to join Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management as chief investment officer.

Shalett will report to Kunal Kamlani, head of global investment solutions.

Press Release from AllianceBernstein

NEW YORK, July 26, 2010 -- AllianceBernstein L.P. today announced that Sharon E. Fay, Head of Value Equities, has been named Chief Investment Officer of Equities, overseeing the teams responsible for the firm's Growth and Value investment services.

"Sharon is an experienced investor with a proven track record of delivering superior investment results for our clients," commented AllianceBernstein's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Peter S. Kraus. "She has demonstrated the leadership skills necessary to continue building and strengthening our style-pure equity platforms, as well as shaping them to meet the ever-changing needs of our clients around the globe."

A 20-year veteran of the firm, Sharon joined as a research analyst and then held a number of geographically diverse portfolio management positions - including Chief Investment Officer of Global Value Equities since 2003 - before being named Head of Value Equities in 2009. She has been a pioneer in International and Global investing and has transformed the firm's Value investments into a global platform.

The firm also announced that Lisa A. Shalett, Head of Growth Equities, will leave the firm to pursue another opportunity.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein is a leading global investment management firm that offers high-quality research and diversified investment services to institutional clients, individuals and private clients in major markets around the world. AllianceBernstein employs more than 500 investment professionals with expertise in growth equities, value equities, fixed income securities, blend strategies and alternative investments and, through its subsidiaries and joint venture, operates in more than 20 countries. AllianceBernstein's research disciplines include fundamental research, quantitative research, economic research and currency forecasting capabilities. Through its integrated global platform, AllianceBernstein is well-positioned to tailor investment solutions for its clients. AllianceBernstein also offers high-quality, in-depth research, portfolio strategy and brokerage-related services to institutional investors, and equity capital markets services to issuers of publicly-traded securities.

At June 30, 2010, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB) owned approximately 36.7% of the issued and outstanding AllianceBernstein Units and AXA, one of the largest global financial services organizations, owned an approximate 62.5% economic interest in AllianceBernstein.

Press Release from Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management

NEW YORK, Jul 26, 2010 -- Bank of America today announced that Lisa Shalett will join the firm as chief investment officer of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and head of Investment Management and Guidance. Based in New Jersey, Shalett will report to Kunal S. Kamlani, head of Global Investment Solutions.

"Lisa's intellectual acumen and proven leadership skills make her ideally suited to lead our efforts in working with clients to help achieve their goals through objective investment advice and guidance," said Kamlani. "Moreover, her experience with fundamental and quantitative research will complement our Investment Management and Guidance organization, which has become an invaluable differentiator for Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors and clients through its work on strategic asset allocation, portfolio construction, and best-in-class manager due diligence."

Shalett will be responsible for Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management investment strategy around the world. In addition, she will oversee Investment Management and Guidance's investment analytics and investment guidance teams, as well as the Ultra High Net Worth Investment Office, which creates institutional-caliber investment policies, asset allocation and portfolio solutions for ultra high net worth clients.

Shalett will join Bank of America from AllianceBernstein, L.P., where she served as partner and head of Global Growth Equities. In this role, she led the investment services unit responsible for managing all growth-style equity mandates. She also provided strategic direction and business oversight for product platforms and portfolios across the firm's institutional, retail and private client channels. She served as team lead on all U.S. research portfolios and the flagship Global Research Growth portfolio and was a member of the firm's Executive Committee.

Prior to this, Shalett served as chair and chief executive officer of Sanford C. Bernstein, LLC, where she oversaw global research, sales and trading. There, she helped lead the company to its broadest showing in the firm's history of top-ranked analysts, according to Greenwich and Institutional Investor surveys. Shalett previously held positions as global research director and equity analyst. Early in her career, she served as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group and Booz, Allen and Hamilton.

Shalett holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and economics, magna cum laude, from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Bank of America
Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships with 5,900 retail banking offices, more than 18,000 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 29 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (MLPF&S) and other subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation.

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