Throughout the US, AllianceBernstein leases more than 92,000 square feet of space in San Antonio, TX and smaller properties in 21 other US cities. Its subsidiaries lease offices in 28 cities outside the US, most prominently in London and Hong Kong.

Seth Bernstein, AllianceBernstein's CEO, in a press conference in Nashville said the search was a year-long process, starting with a list of 30 cities, narrowed down to five. “Moving our corporate headquarters here allows us to offer advantages to our employees that we simply couldn't in the New York metro area,” he said. “A more affordable cost of living, with lower taxes and housing costs, a high quality of life, including much shorter commute times for many of our people and a brand-new, state of the art work environment, with all the best technology and tools, something our current, dated spaces in New York don't afford.”

In addition, the Wall Street Journal cited an AllianceBernstein memo to employees that cited state, city and property taxes compared with the New York metropolitan area as a reason for the move.

The new headquarters are expected to be finished in 2020 with the relocation scheduled for completion in 2022.

MarketWatch reported that the move is part of a broad cost-cutting effort. The publication wrote that for years the firm has been under extreme pressure caused by the rising popularity of index funds and low-cost investing. It noted this development reinforced a trend of finance jobs moving to less expensive cities in the US. Similarly, CNBC reported that similar to many asset managers focused on stock picking, AllianceBernstein has struggled to keep up with the shift toward passive investing. The business channel stated AllianceBernstein reported a $6 billion decline in assets under management in March.