AllianceBernstein to bring 1,000 jobs to Nashville, boost city's financial stature

AllianceBernstein, a New York-based global investment management firm, is bringing 1,050 jobs to Nashville, city and state officials announced Wednesday.

AllianceBernstein’s $70 million investment in Nashville marks a renewal in the financial sector for the city, once known as a Wall Street hub in the South. It also demonstrates a shift from Wall Street as New York firms look for more affordable markets.

"This is not somebody's back office operations that we are going to get in Nashville," Gov. Bill Haslam said. “This is literally the global headquarters of a major financial firm that is coming to Nashville. We are incredibly grateful you have chosen us."

AllianceBernstein manages $549 billion in assets and employs nearly 3,500 employees. It provides money management services to institutional investors, individuals and private wealth clients in 22 countries.

Why they chose Nashville

Seth Bernstein, president and CEO of AllianceBernstein, said Nashville was chosen among 30 cities. Its cost of living, affordability and quality of life made it stand out among competitors.

"Nashville emerged as the clear winner by every metric we analyzed: housing, education, cultural amenities, weather, cost of living, business friendliness, the ability to source the country's top talent, diversity and inclusion and more. No other city could compete."

Bernstein also emphasized the strengths Nashville's market offers in comparison to New York. While many in Nashville point to a lack of affordable housing and heavy congestion as the city's greatest weaknesses, those issues are more challenging in cities like New York. He cited lower taxes, housing costs and, shorter commute times.

More:One of Nashville's affordable housing initiatives nears nullification in Tennessee Senate

More:After referendum defeat, opponents and supporters agree transit remains priority

"Moving our corporate headquarters allows us to offer advantages to employees we just simply couldn't do  could do in New York metropolitan area," he said.

Mayor David Briley emphasized's Nashville's legacy as a Southern financial hub, a reputation that has been diminished with a wave of bank consolidations that pulled headquarters from Nashville to Atlanta and Charlotte in past decades.  Third National Bank, First American National Bank and Commerce Union Bank were among Nashville banks merged into other banks in the 1980s and 1990s.

More recently, several regional banks have expanded offices in Nashville and three local banks joined public markets, including CapStar Financial Holdings, Franklin Financial Network and Avenue Financial Holdings, bought by Pinnacle Financial Holdings. Pinnacle joined the Nasdaq exchange in 2002.

"In a way we have lost a little bit of that sense of being the 'Wall Street of the South,'" Briley said. "Recently, I think we are starting to claw our way back. I look at this relocation of AllianceBernstein bringing its headquarters here to Nashville as a big step in that direction."

The new office AllianceBernstein headquarters, expected to be completed by 2020, will include finance, IT, operations, legal, compliance, internal audit human resources, sales and marketing. 

Jim Gingrich, AllianceBernstein chief operations officer, said the site is not yet determined but it will be located in the city’s “Central Business District,” without offering more details.

Briley's office said the city is in conversations about financial incentives for AllianceBernstein, but terms have not been finalized. Haslam said he did not have a final number for state incentives.

Bernstein said the move allowed the firm to provide a “brand new, state-of-the art work environment with all of the best technology and tools," and to move out of dated facilities in New York.

Bernstein, who joined AllianceBernstein in 2017 after 32 years at JPMorgan, will be moving to the city along with other company officials. Of the 1,050 employees moving to Nashville, some will be local hires, officials said. Officials said the company will keep a New York presence.

The average salary of those moving to Nashville will range between $150,000 and $200,000, Gingrich said.

The first AllianceBernstein employees to move to Nashville will arrive this year and the transition is expected to be completed by 2022, Bernstein said.

Asked about the failed transit plan, Gingrich said the long-term trajectory of the city was important to the company.

"Part of our evaluation was not just what Tennessee and Nashville were today, but what do we think Nashville will be in 10, 20, 30 years from now," he said. "This is a place that is committed to making investments in infrastructure.....We have to grow and Nashville has to grow to continue to attract the best talent and you have to make the investments necessary to do that."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.