Strategy. The Fund seeks to maximize real return. Real return is the rate of return after adjusting for inflation. The Fund pursues an aggressive investment strategy involving a variety of asset classes. The Fund invests primarily in instruments that the Adviser expects to outperform broad equity indices during periods of rising inflation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund expects to invest its assets principally in the following instruments that, in the judgment of the Adviser, are affected directly or indirectly by the level and change in rate of inflation: inflation-indexed fixed-income securities, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) and similar bonds issued by governments outside of the United States; commodities; commodity-related equity securities; real estate equity securities; inflation sensitive equity securities, which … Show more… The Fund seeks to maximize real return. Real return is the rate of return after adjusting for inflation. The Fund pursues an aggressive investment strategy involving a variety of asset classes. The Fund invests primarily in instruments that the Adviser expects to outperform broad equity indices during periods of rising inflation. Under normal circumstances, the Fund expects to invest its assets principally in the following instruments that, in the judgment of the Adviser, are affected directly or indirectly by the level and change in rate of inflation: inflation-indexed fixed-income securities, such as Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) and similar bonds issued by governments outside of the United States; commodities; commodity-related equity securities; real estate equity securities; inflation sensitive equity securities, which the Fund defines as equity securities of companies that the Adviser believes have the ability to pass along increasing costs to consumers and maintain or grow margins in rising inflation environments, including equity securities of utilities and infrastructure-related companies (inflation sensitive equities); securities and derivatives linked to the price of other assets (such as commodities, stock indices and real estate); and currencies. The Fund expects its investments in fixed-income securities to have a broad range of maturities and quality levels. The Fund seeks inflation protection from investments around the globe, both in developed and emerging market countries. In selecting securities for purchase and sale, the Adviser utilizes its qualitative and quantitative resources to determine overall inflation sensitivity, asset allocation, and security selection. The Adviser assesses the securities risks and inflation sensitivity as well as the securities impact on the overall risks and inflation sensitivity of the Fund. When its analysis indicates that changes are necessary, the Adviser intends to implement them through a combination of changes to underlying positions and the use of inflation swaps and other types of derivatives, such as interest rate swaps. The Fund anticipates that its targeted investment mix, other than its investments in inflation-indexed fixed-income securities, will focus on commodity-related equity securities, commodities and commodity derivatives, real estate equity securities and inflation sensitive equities to provide a balance between expected return and inflation protection. The Fund may vary its investment allocations among these asset classes, at times significantly. Its commodities investments will include significant exposure to energy commodities, but will also include agricultural products, and industrial and precious metals, such as gold. The Funds investments in real estate equity securities will include real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other real estate-related securities. The Fund invests in both U.S. and non-U.S. Dollar-denominated equity or fixed-income securities. The Fund may invest in currencies for hedging or for investment purposes, both in the spot market and through long or short positions in currency-related derivatives. The Fund does not ordinarily expect to hedge its foreign currency exposure because it will be balanced by investments in U.S. Dollar-denominated securities, although it may hedge the exposure under certain circumstances. The Fund may enter into derivatives, such as options, futures contracts, forwards, swaps or structured notes, to a significant extent, subject to the limits of applicable law. The Fund intends to use leverage for investment purposes through the use of cash made available by derivatives transactions to make other investments in accordance with its investment policies. In determining when and to what extent to employ leverage or enter into derivatives transactions, the Adviser considers factors such as the relative risks and returns expected of potential investments and the cost of such transactions. The Adviser considers the impact of derivatives in making its assessments of the Funds risks. The resulting exposures to markets, sectors, issuers or specific securities will be continuously monitored by the Adviser. The Fund may seek to gain exposure to physical commodities traded in the commodities markets through use of a variety of derivative instruments, including investments in commodity index-linked notes. The Adviser expects to seek exposure to commodities and commodity-related instruments and derivatives primarily through investments in AllianceBernstein Cayman Inflation Strategy, Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Fund organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the Subsidiary). The Subsidiary is advised by the Adviser and has the same investment objective and substantially similar investment policies and restrictions as the Fund except that the Subsidiary, unlike the Fund, may invest, without limitation, in commodities and commodity-related instruments. The Fund is subject to the risks associated with the commodities, derivatives and other instruments in which the Subsidiary invests, to the extent of its investment in the Subsidiary. The Fund limits its investment in the Subsidiary to no more than 25% of its net assets. Investment in the Subsidiary is expected to provide the Fund with commodity exposure within the limitations of federal tax requirements that apply to the Fund. Show less