Russell acquires Towers Perrin’s HR Services Operation in Australia (Russell.com)

Russell acquires Towers Perrin's HR Services Operation in Australia
Clients will see full suite of investment products under one roof

TACOMA — August 30, 2004 — Russell Investment Group and Towers Perrin (Australia) Pty Ltd, a leading advisor to Australia's largest superannuation funds, have signed an agreement whereby Russell acquired the HR Services business of Towers Perrin in Australia. The agreement means 270 Towers Perrin employees in Australia will join Russell and increase the number of Russell associates in Australia from almost 70 to approximately 340. This agreement has no impact on the other parts of the Towers Perrin's global HR Services business or the Tillinghast business in Australia.

The acquisition will bring together an unmatched spectrum of services for Australian clients, including asset consulting, implementation services, independent actuarial advice and stand-alone administration services. Clients requiring a more comprehensive outsourcing solution can take advantage of a master trust, a tailored total outsourcing solution, and a range of multi-manager funds.

This move follows three years of successful collaboration between the two firms, which have shared investment research resources and jointly service many of Australia's largest superannuation outsourcing relationships.

Russell president and CEO Craig Ueland said, "This acquisition is the natural outgrowth of our strategic alliance with Towers Perrin and will help both our existing and new superannuation clients in Australia through a streamlined organizational structure that places a broad range of investment and administrative services under one roof. We are very fortunate to acquire this first-rate group of people and capabilities."

Key elements of the deal include:

The HR Services business of Towers Perrin in Australia will now be known as Russell Employee Benefits and will become a wholly-owned Russell subsidiary;
The HR Services business of Towers Perrin and Russell's asset consulting practices will integrate. The two consulting practices, which have been sharing the same underlying manager research since 2002, will be fully integrated to create Australia's largest asset consulting business;
Alan Schoenheimer will continue as managing director of Russell's overall Australasian business, and
David Solomon, managing director of Towers Perrin's HR Services business in Australia, will become managing director of Russell Employee Benefits. In this role he will help Towers Perrin Australia employees and clients through the transition to the new parent.

"The Australian superannuation market is one of the most sophisticated and rapidly changing of any in the world, and Russell intends to remain at the forefront of the investment industry in Australia in the years ahead, just as we have over the past two decades," said Ueland, who opened Russell's Sydney office in 1986. "This acquisition ensures Russell can continue to deliver best-in-class services to Australia's largest superannuation funds and employer sponsors."

About Towers Perrin:
Towers Perrin is a global professional services firm that helps organizations around the world improve their performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The firm provides innovative solutions to client issues in three areas: Human Resource Services, which provides human resource consulting and administration services; Reinsurance, which provides reinsurance intermediary services; and Tillinghast, which provides management and actuarial consulting to the financial services industry. Together, these businesses have over 8,000 employees and 78 offices in 76 cities and 24 countries. More information about Towers Perrin is available at http://www.towersperrin.com.

About Russell:
Russell Investment Group, a global leader in multi-manager investment services, provides investment products and services in more than 35 countries. Russell manages more than $110 billion in assets and advises clients worldwide representing more than $1.8 trillion. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo. For more information, go to http://www.russell.com.

Contact: Steve Claiborne 253.594.1858

Russell Investment Group is a registered trade name of Frank Russell Company, a Washington, USA corporation, which operates through subsidiaries worldwide. Frank Russell Company is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

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