Update: Closure of Russell Low P/E ETF and Russell Small Cap Contrarian ETF

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Russell Low P/E ETF (LWPE) - On Friday, October 5, 2012, the earlier than anticipated closure of LWPE was announced as the result of the in-kind redemption of all outstanding shares of the Fund. In the settlement process, it was discovered that the redemption request did not include all outstanding shares, but due to the timing of this discovery, this trade was not able to be rejected. In anticipation of the final redemption of shares, October 4 was the last day the Russell Low P/E ETF traded on NYSE Arca. The Fund is closed and trading will not resume on the exchange. Trading is available on an over-the-counter basis until October 12, 2012. Shortly thereafter, Shareholders holding shares that were not delivered as part of the in-kind redemption will receive cash for their shares as part of the completion of the trade settlement process. Shareholders should contact their broker-dealer or financial advisor for additional information.

Russell Small Cap Contrarian ETF (SCTR) - On Friday, October 5, 2012, the earlier than anticipated closure of SCTR was announced as the result of the in-kind redemption of all outstanding shares of the Fund. It was discovered prior to the start of the settlement process that this redemption request did not include all outstanding shares and the redemption request was rejected. In anticipation of the final redemption of shares, October 5 was the last day the Fund traded on NASDAQ. Trading will not resume on the exchange but is available on an over-the-counter basis thru October 16, 2012. On October 16, 2012, SCTR will commence the process of liquidating its assets and, consequently, will not be pursuing its investment objective. Full liquidation of the Fund is intended to be completed by October 24, 2012. During the liquidation period between October 16 and October 24, 2012, the Fund will not carry on any business, except for the purposes of winding down its affairs and distributing investment income, capital gains and assets to shareholders. At the end of this process, Shareholders will receive cash equal to the amount of the net asset value of their Fund shares, which will include any capital gains and dividends, deposited into the cash portion of their brokerage accounts. Shareholders should contact their broker-dealer or financial advisor for additional information.

Remaining U.S. Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”)

As previously announced and described below, the liquidation date for the remaining 23 Funds remains unchanged. The remaining Funds (which are listed below) were closed to new investment on October 9, 2012. The last day of trading for the remaining Funds will be October 16, 2012 and full liquidation of those Funds is intended to be completed by October 24, 2012.

Shareholders may sell their holdings on the applicable exchange through October 16, 2012, incurring any applicable transaction fees from their broker-dealer. All remaining shareholders will receive cash equal to the amount of the net asset value of their Fund shares, which will include any capital gains and dividends, deposited into the cash portion of their brokerage accounts. Shareholders receiving the final liquidation cash distribution will not incur transaction fees from their broker-dealer in connection with this distribution or the cancellation of their Fund shares. Moreover, shareholders will not bear any expenses associated with the liquidation of the Funds other than bearing indirectly the portfolio transaction costs incurred in liquidating the Funds' assets in advance of the Funds' closure.

On October 16, 2012, the Funds will commence the process of liquidating their assets and, consequently, will not be pursuing their investment objectives. During the liquidation period between October 16 and October 24, 2012, the passively managed ETFs will not carry on any business, except for the purposes of winding down their affairs and distributing investment income, capital gains and assets to shareholders.

About Russell Investments

Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offer actively managed multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Working with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals, Russell's core capabilities extend across capital markets insights, manager research, portfolio construction, portfolio implementation and Indexes.

Russell has about $152 billion in assets under management (as of 6/30/2012) and works with 2,400 institutional clients, more than 580 independent distribution partners and advisors, and individual investors globally. As a consultant to some of the largest pools of capital in the world, Russell has $2.4 trillion in assets under advisement (as of 12/31/11). It has four decades of experience researching and selecting investment managers and meets annually with more than 2,200 managers around the world. Russell traded more than $1.5 trillion in 2011 through its implementation services business. Russell calculates more than 80,000 benchmarks daily covering 98% of the investable market globally, 85 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $3.9 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indexes.

Russell is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, USA, and has offices around the world including Amsterdam, Auckland, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Melbourne, Milan, New York, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com or follow us@Russell_News.

RISKS

ETFs are subject to risks similar to those of stocks, including, if applicable, those related to short-selling and margin account maintenance. There is no guarantee that dividends will be paid. If stocks held by the ETF reduce or stop paying dividends, the ETF’s ability to generate income may be affected. The ETFs are passively managed and may not match or achieve a high degree of correlation with the return of their corresponding index. As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in an ETF, and you could lose money on an investment in an ETF.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in Russell ETFs. This and other information can be found in the fund prospectus, which may be obtained by calling 888-RSL-ETFS (888-775-3837) or by downloading the file from russelletfs.com. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Russell ETFs are distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc. (“ALPS”). Russell Investment Management Company (“RIMCo,” dba Russell Investments) serves as the investment advisor to the ETFs. ALPS and RIMCo are separate and unaffiliated. Neither ALPS nor RIMCo nor any of their affiliates provides tax advice.

Russell Investment Group, a Washington, USA corporation, operates through subsidiaries worldwide including Russell Investments. Russell Investment Group 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 InvestmentsJennifer Tice, 206-505-1858
[email protected]

Source: Russell Investments