Russell’s Transition Management Services Earn Top Rankings in Industry Surveys

TACOMA, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Russell Investments has again been named a leader in transition management services.

Russell's transition management team received top marks in the 2010 annual surveys conducted by PLANSPONSOR and Global Investor magazines and has been recognized for its global capabilities, risk management expertise and client-focused performance and service.

"Extreme volatility and liquidity issues made 2009 challenging and extraordinarily complex. Russell's transition management team excels in these environments, and this third-party recognition acknowledges the expertise and level of service we provide to clients even during difficult market conditions," said Steve Kirschner, head of transition management, Americas. "This year, Russell is encouraging its transition management clients to actively address the market uncertainties that they can control and seek opportunities for risk management, cost savings and efficiency."

Russell was ranked "Best in Class" by investment managers and non-U.S. clients in PLANSPONSOR's 2010 transition management survey. Overall, Russell's scores were strong in all survey categories, which include pre-trade, post-trade, execution and organization/support.

In PLANSPONSOR's May 2010 issue, one client commented, "Russell handles our transitions efficiently; they appropriately manage risk, provide complete project management capabilities, and work with us on creative solutions to complex transition issues. Our transition costs versus their estimate are never a surprise to us. Russell's execution in 2009 was excellent."

For the sixth consecutive year, Russell was also named one of the top firms in Global Investor's transition management survey. Russell took first place in the "Qualifiers in all Regions" category, recognizing Russell's high standards across the globe. In addition, Russell received top marks in every survey category, including project management, operational efficiency, pre-trade analysis, trading/execution, risk management, reporting during transition, post-trade analysis, accuracy of pre-trade estimate, transparency of fees and costs, relationship management and overall service.

"Russell remains a global leader in client-centric transition management services by promoting a focus on the needs of investors with full transparency and agency execution across all asset types, including foreign exchange, fiduciary protection and access to global liquidity. We are honored that our clients continue to recognize Russell for excellence in all aspects of transition management," said Chris Adolph, head of transition management, EMEA.

For more than 25 years, Russell has been a leader in improving transition management practices and strategies to help clients maximize their assets. Russell also developed the widely-used T Standard as an objective tool that allows investors to measure the performance of their portfolio in transition.

Russell's transition management team operates within the Russell Implementation Services division and transitioned more than $581 billion in assets in 2009. The Russell team offers clients access to a global, multi-venue trading platform and agency expertise in specialist equity, fixed income, currency and futures teams.

About Russell Investments

Founded in 1936, Russell Investments is a global financial services firm that serves institutional investors, financial advisers and individuals in more than 40 countries. Over the course of its history, Russell's innovations have come to define many of the practices that are standard in the investment world today, and have earned the company a reputation for excellence and leadership.

Through a unique combination of wide-ranging and interlinked businesses, Russell delivers financial products, services and advice. A pioneer, Russell began its strategic pension fund consulting business in 1969 and today is trusted by many well-known worldwide institutions for investment advice. The firm has $179 billion in assets under management (as of 3/31/10) in its mutual funds, retirement products, and institutional funds, and is well recognized for its depth of research and quality of manager selection. Russell offers a comprehensive range of implementation services that helps institutional clients maximize their assets. The Russell Indexes calculate over 50,000 benchmarks daily covering 65 countries and more than 10,000 securities.

Russell is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington, USA with offices in Amsterdam, Auckland, Chicago, Johannesburg, London, Melbourne, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit us at http://www.russell.com.

Russell Investment Group is a Washington, USA corporation, which operates through subsidiaries worldwide, including Russell Investments, and is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Russell Investments is the owner of the trademarks, service marks and copyrights related to its indexes.

Russell Implementation Services Inc. member FINRA / SIPC

Russell Investments
Jordan McKerney, 253-439-1858
Matt Burkhard, 718-875-2122

Source: Russell Investments