Peter Kraus, the former Goldman Sachs banker who now leads US fund manager AllianceBernstein, has become its largest shareholder after parent Axa, after being awarded 2.7m shares, which could be worth more than $30m, to stay on until 2019 to complete his turnaround of the firm.

The additional 2.7m shares in AllianceBernstein Holding LP will be delivered gradually over the five years between 2014, when his new contract starts, to 2018. This is to ensure his "incentives are aligned with the long-term interests of AllianceBernstein and its unitholders", the company said.