Russell Investments launches Russell UK Mid 150 Index

- Launched following consultation with major investment banks
- Designed for the creation of more tradable UK mid-cap index products
- First dedicated UK equity index from Russell Investments


Russell Investments today announced the launch of the Russell UK Mid 150 Index ("the Index"), in response to specific sell-side demand for exposure to the UK mid-cap market that can be traded with high efficiency. The first UK-dedicated index from Russell reflects the organization’s focus on designing European indexes that meet the trading and liquidity needs of today's market participants.

The Index provides a representation of the UK mid-cap market, comprising 150 stocks from across the mid-cap universe which are listed on UK stock exchanges and denominated in sterling. It uses an innovative screening process whereby on a monthly basis stocks are screened according to their capacity to be traded in volume. This approach to constituent selection ensures that the Index as a whole can be easily and rapidly traded within an index-based portfolio.

Gareth Parker, senior director of index research and design for Russell Investments Europe, commented: "The UK Mid 150 Index follows Russell’s rules-based, transparent index approach and has been designed with our clients’ needs firmly in mind. The index is a trading-oriented one, and constituents are evaluated monthly in order to provide greater liquidity, higher capacity and lower costs for those looking to access UK mid-cap investment opportunities."

Russell consulted with a number of large global investment banks and product issuers, including Barclays, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, to understand the needs of their buy side clients for products that are readily and quickly tradable, and have a high investment capacity in what can be a relatively illiquid market.

Stephane Degroote, sales director for indexes at Russell Investments Europe, commented: "We are excited to have worked in close collaboration with key global investment banks to deliver a unique market access tool for the UK mid-cap segment. This is in response to growing investor demand for more tradable and cost-effective hedging, tactical investment and cash management solutions in small- and mid-cap stocks."

The new Index is currently available for use by the European investment community. Furthermore, Russell Indexes has been working with NYSE Liffe on the development of futures based on the Russell UK Mid 150 Index. These new futures are expected to be made available for trading on Bclear, the exchange’s trade administration and clearing service.

Russell's tradition of objective, transparent and rules-based index construction has been the hallmark of Russell Indexes since the company first introduced U.S. equity market capitalization indexes in 1984. Russell, creator of the first small cap index in the U.S. - the Russell 2000® - has again tapped its global market intelligence and expertise in index construction and methodology to develop this new tool for European investors.

The Index is one of a series of alternative indexes developed by Russell in recent years to provide better trading tools for European investors in small- and mid-cap equity markets. It follows the launch of the Russell Europe SMID 300 Index in 2012 to provide exposure to the 300 most rapidly tradable constituents from the small- and mid-cap (SMID) equity opportunity set in developed Europe.

For more information about the Russell Europe UK Mid 150 Index including details on its construction and methodology, go to the Russell Indexes Europe website.


About Russell Investments

Russell Investments (Russell) is a global asset manager and one of only a few firms that offers actively managed multi-asset portfolios and services that include advice, investments and implementation. Russell stands with institutional investors, financial advisors and individuals working with their advisors—using the firm’s core capabilities that extend across capital market insights, manager research, portfolio construction, portfolio implementation and indexes to help each achieve their desired investment outcomes.

Russell has more than $246 billion* in assets under management (as of 9/30/2013) and works with over 2,500 institutional clients, independent distribution partners 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 6/30/2013). 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 $1.4 trillion in 2012 through its implementation services business. Russell also calculates approximately 700,000 benchmarks daily covering 98% of the investable market globally, which includes more than 80 countries and more than 10,000 securities. Approximately $4.1 trillion in assets are benchmarked to the Russell Indexes.

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Russell operates globally, including through its offices in Seattle, New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Toronto, Chicago, San Diego, Milwaukee and Edinburgh. For more information about how Russell helps to improve financial security for people, visit www.russell.com or follow @Russell_News.


Contacts:

Emma Collins
Russell Investments
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Tim Benedict
Russell Investments
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*includes more than $70 billion of derivative overlay assets under management not included prior to June 30, 2013



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