Russell Investments tops transition management scores

Russell Investment’s global transition management team has received top marks in the 2010 annual surveys conducted by PLANSPONSOR and Global Investor magazines.

John Moore, Russell’s executive director investment services, says the international implementation services division transitioned more than NZ$911.8 billion in assets over the past year. He says it is great the team has been recognised for its global capabilities, risk management expertise and client-focused performance and service.

“Extreme volatility and liquidity issues made 2009 challenging and extraordinarily complex,” Mr Moore says. “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.

“This year Russell is encouraging its transition management clients to actively address the market uncertainties that they can control and to seek opportunities for risk management, cost savings and efficiency.”

Russell was ranked "Best in Class" by investment managers and non-US 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 organisation/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, recognising 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.

Sally Corbett, manager, investment services – Australia and New Zealand, says 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 honoured that our clients across the globe continue to recognise Russell for excellence in all aspects of transition management,” she says.

For more than 25 years, Russell has been a leader in improving transition management practices and strategies to help clients maximise 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. The Russell team offers clients access to a global, multi-venue trading platform and agency expertise in specialist equity, fixed income, currency and futures.
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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 inter-linked 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 US$179.4 billion in assets under management (as of 31/03/10) in its investment funds, retirement products, and institutional funds, and is well recognised for its depth of research and quality of manager selection. Russell offers a comprehensive range of implementation services that helps institutional clients maximise their assets. The Russell Indexes calculates 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, 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 www.russell.nz